The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-09-24
RAILWAY DISCRIMINATION.

THE HERALD is glad that the showing Of
railway discrimination against Salt Lake
has been made before the inter state COM
merce commission; not that we believe
much or any good will result from the ex-
posture, but there is satisfaction in showing
up the wrong dolngs of railway companies.
AT the outset we looked upon the inter
state commerce law as a piece of humbug
legislation and the operation of the act has
tended to confirm the original impression.
Few If any people in any community can
mention single direct or indirect benefit
that has resulted from the application of
the law. The railroad companies have
found ways for defeating the act-assum-
ing that the latter was intended for the
protection of the public-and have done as
they did before-just as they pleased. The
only protection that the law has afforded
is that given to the companies, which
enabled them to stand off the mob which
had been striking the roads so long for
passes that the railway officials were really
annoyed and were thankful for the excuse
which the act gave them for denying free
transportation to every Tom, DICK and
their cousins and their aunts, who asked
for deadhead tickets on the fiimsiest kind
of showings. While the law did not pre-
vent the giving of passes where they would
do the most good, it did furnish a reason
able and legitimate excuse for denying
them when it was desirable to refuse. We
remember when the bill was passed. such
i Of the railway people who could under
stand the awkwardy and loosely drawn
measure. did a good deal of chuckling in
their sleeves, and they have not yet ceased
to smile at the verdancy of the astute
statesmen, so called, who imagined they
were going to achieve wonders with the
legislation.
Yet, while we haven't the slightest idea
that the commission can or will issue and
enforce any order or regulation that will
compel the railroads to be fair and just to-
wards U tab, we are glad the exposure of
the rank discrimination has been officially
made. Ithas been made in the newspapers
and by merchants hundreds of times. We
know of one merchant, and there are
doubtless others, who made the exposure
every week for years by shipping his goods
from New York to San Francisco and hay
ing them returned to this city, thus saving
many thousands Of dollars year which
would have been lost if he had shipped di-
rect to Salt Lake. In our opinion the in
solutely powerless to correct the
evil complained of, being unable
to issue any order that cannot be
evaded. What Utah must wait for
is the time when the railway companies
will conclude that it will be to their inter
est to cease TO discriminate against this
territory; when they will regard it as
worth their while to ''pull' in this direc-
ton and not the other way; when they Will
think thai as much or more money Can be
made by the development of our resource s
as those of other places. Ever since there
have been ore reduction works in Ne
braska, Missouri and Colorado, the rail
ways have befriended them at the expense
of the local works, which latter have al
times been compelled to close down, al
though train-loads of ore passed The fur
naces every day en- route for smeiters five
hundred or thousand miles distant We
IOUoSlNC ObuSI udy IuC ldbt OIl
Idaho ore was materially reduced in the in
terest of the Salt Lake shelters and the
Idaho miners We don't know why the
change of policy occurred, unless it was
that the discrimination was so rank thai
it destroyed tie business. Perhaps, how
ever, the company concluded that it wa:
worth while to do something for Salt Lake
If So perhaps we should interpret this as
indicating general change of policy, ant
that the railway managers think the time
has come to cease doing everything fol
Pueblo, Denver, Omaha and Kansas City
and that some of the favors should be
brought further west Let US hope tina
this Is the case.
The plain truth is, and the fact canno
be successfully denied, that every day
since the first locomotive crossed the Utah
border, there has been manifest discrimna
ton against this territory. Protests anC
appeals have had no effect Our industrie.
and resources have suffered for the benef
of other places. This has been confessed
by some railway officials who were NOR,
frank than the policy of their companies
warranted, and others less frank have not
attempted to deny it.