The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-05-23
Licenses For Canadian Railways.

1t iS evident that the only strictly Amer
lean railroad system having any interest Il
the suggestion that the Canadian railroad
should be licensed to do business In tn
United States as recommended in Senate
CULLoM's report is the Vanderbilt system
which owns and operates the Canada South
ern Railroad, lying wholly In Canada, ant
connecting the New York Central with thu
Michigan Central. Such an amendment
to the Interstate law as would permi
the Canada Southern to engage under
the protection OF license, In the Interstate
carrying trade would be clearly in the inter
est OF the VANDERBILT railroads. for II
would permit them to keep all the lines
running that they own. But would 1t be fail
to any other trunk line system2
We have searched the report OF Senator
CULLoM's committee with care, to see II any
Of the gentlemen they examined recon-
mended system Of licenses. So far as we
have been able to ascertain, not single one
OF them made such a recommendation. The
one who came nearest to it was Mr.. HENRY
b. LEDYARD, President and general manager
| OF the Michigan Central; but he did not go
SO far as to suggest the adoption Of licenses.
He merely proposed that the Canadian COM
panies should be forced to file an undertaking
to abide by the terms OF our law before
they should be permitted to do business in
this country; and that they should not be
allowed to change their rates without the
consent of the Interstate Commerce Com
missioners. Neither President DEPEw nor
President NEWELL made the slightest refer
ence to the license system; and, OF course,
none OF the other trunk line Presidents could
be interested in 1t at ALL
This being the case the inference to be
drawn Is that if the Canadian railroads can
not be brought under the control OF the
Interstate Commerce act as well in Canada
as in tho United States, in their local as well
as in their through business, then these gen.
uemen all concur in holding that the Cana
dian railroads should be excluded from our
carrying trade altogether.
This is manifestly fair and businesslike
conclusion, for it will be seen that while this
would cut of the Canada Southern line, as
well as all the other Canadian railroads, the
VANDERBILT system as q whole would not
suffer, because it has two independent rail-
roads lying wholly within the United States.
1t would more than make up any loss
to It's Canadian line by the increased business
its other lines would get from the traffic
which now goes by the Grand Trunk and
the Canadian Pacific.
This reflection must have occurred to Pres-
dent DEPEw and his advisers. Hence
their omission to advocate the license sys-
TEN which had been brought forward the
year before in Washington, most probably
by some paid agent OF the Canadian COM
panies, was not due to accident or oversight
but rather to sense OF its inadequacy, or
to an enlarged and liberal view Of what
would be fair to the country at large, and
TO the other American trunk lines.
The more 1t is examined the more inde-
feasible will the proposed license system
appear. 1t seems to be ono OF those COM
promise measures demanded by no Ameri-
can company, but specially designed to pro-
tect the interests OF the subsidized Canadian
military and political railroads. 1t Is, OF
course, pleasing to such OF their American
patrons as are more selfish than patriotic;
and it has the questionable merit of salts
flying certain local prejudices and interests
on the Canadian border by keeping open the
Canadian lines. But, like most compromise
measures, 1t must In the end prove to be q
disappointment to the statesmen who have
brought it forward. 1t is totally inadequate
to the emergency, and it will most probably
be kicked out OF Congress, as 1t deserves.