Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-01-17
COOLEY AND HIS HOBBY
He Attends the Dinner of the Boston
Merchants Association and Talks.
He UphOlds the Long and Short Haul
and the Pooling Clauses of the
Commerce Law Railroad Companies
Rather Than the law Need Reforming

BOSTON, The annual dinner of the
Saston Merchants association. which
took place Tuesday evening in the Hote
Vendome proved to be grand affair.
Among the invited guests were the fol-
lowing: Chairman Cooley, of the inter
state commerce commission; Prof. Rich
ard Ely, of Johns Hopkins university
T. B. Thurber, Gov. Ames, Pres. Capen,
of Tufts college; Gen. Francis A. Walker,
Josiah Benton, Jr., and Gen. n. p. Banks
After dinner "Com petition and Comb
nation," and allied subjects, was an
nOunced as the topic for discussion.
Judge Cooley was the first speaker. He
said in part: San urgent call for mod
ifcation of an act which comes from rail-
road circles has sprung up recently.
The period of which the law oper-
ated most to the benefit of railroads
was precisely that during which its
provisions were being observed. | think
that an undeniable fact, aid if it is, it is
deserving of more attention than 1t has
received DIP to this time from the man
ayers of railroads. 1t was also a period
during which the law was com planned of
least. There are very vigorous com
plants low. They relate main
ly to the clauses of the act
which forbid a greater charge on
shorter hanl on the same line in the
same direction where the circumstances
and conditions are similar, and that
which makes pooling unlawful The
fist mentioned clause embodles the prin-
cipal right in itself. In large sections
of country the roads have come into con
formity with it, and not suffered any loss
fro 1nIro In 9th nr
practicable to do so, at least
Immediately. But difficulties will
diminish as the managers come TO bet
ter understanding among themselves.
The law intends that the railroad bust
ness of the country shall be done openly
and with full publicity. This equal and
just purpose is defeated by contrivances
that are clearly opposed to the intent OF
the law, if not to its terms. Now, when
parties are thus busy in con-
irving methods for rendering the law
of no effect and their evaeions OF its
purpose are seen to have direct ten
dency to diminish cooperative revenues
they are hardly parties to and puF them
selves upon the stand to prove that the
law is IL iuring their roads. | must insist
that the argument now made for pooling
is radically unsound and vicious, because
it rests upon the sumption that
the violation of the law by one
is the Justification of another.
When the pool as it used TO be formed
broke up, there was no enforcing such
Obligations as had been incurred while it
existed, there was no com peLing the
payment of balances. Pools antag onize
the leading and the most valuable prin-
CT pies of industrial life in their at
tempt not to curb com petition merely,
but TO put al end to it. All these thing
go to show that something else needs re-
forming besides the law. One who inves
tigates railroad disorders will be surpris-
ed to find how many of them, thougn
plainly opposed to the spirit of the
law, may still be practically legal.
An evil in the railroad service is : a
combination between the scalper and the
unscrGpEiOus general passenger agent.
This will be broken up just as soon as
there is applied in railroad matters
maxims OF business prudence which are
expected to control railroad interests. If
the combination is in the same person
the two characters of railroad manager
in whatever official position-and of
Spectator in railroad stocks could be
rendered. impossible, we might hope to
see the time when fhe question what is
right and wrong in railroad matters
would be heard a good deal Oftener than
it is now, and the question, what can be
done in evasion of law without encoun-
tering it's penalties, good deal more un-
frequently"