Morning journal and courier., 1890-12-05
PROHIBITION or POOLS.

Growth OF the RaIlway Device for |
Providing Cut-Threat Competition
early Attempts to Obv1ate the |
Evfls-The Dead Road.
Judge Cooley gave a long account in his
lecture yesterday afternoon of the condi
lions which brought about the forming of
railroad pools. An exhaustive and cut
throat system of competition had at last
brought the roads Of the country to crit
ical point. Many of them were going into
bankruptcy. Railroad associations as RENE
dies began to form in various parts of the
country, first of all in the southwest. The
plan was to bring the roads Of particular
section together for forming to some ex-
tent legislative body, agreeing upon
rate, and the most important of all, the
enforcing of them For many reasons at
uniform rates it was found that some
roads could do little or no business. The
general result was that there was consider
able breaking of agreements, etc. To
make them more effective this device Of
pooling was finally fixed upon. The pur-
pose was to give all roads such share as
they would be likely to obtain in open
competition.
to some common head and record made,
SO it could be seen that the pooling ar
rangement was being carried out.
It did not, however, prevent competition
as in the sense of trust, but did prevent
some of the worst results of rate wars.
There were certain weaknesses in the
scheme. Whenever manager thought he
could do better by outside fighting he
withdrew.
Its history is stormy one of broken
and renewed promises. There is no doubt
that the railroads gained some advantage
from the device, as giving more general
stability. Competition nevertheless always
existed in some form or other.
While the pooling arrangements contin-
| ued there was tendency toward lower
| rates, but this was dependent upon other
sources, which the pooling could not check.
Rate wars are not justly due to compeit-
ton and gen orally are not of public advan
tage.
The feeling that existed in congress
when this provision was passed against
pooling was prejudice which extended
| over the entire country. Pooling never
prevented the building of new roads, to
keep competition within reasonable con-
troll. New roads were built even where
they were not needed by any business
| demand.
| One for instance as long as from
Buffalo to Chicago. Also similar expen-
sive and useless roads in the northwest.
There is no line of work easier to play a
| confidence game than that of new rail-
| road. Men have made immense fortunes
in them, simply by forcing them upon the
owners of existing lines. In the case of a
railroad the worst one is dead road and
then is the time that it is going to do the
| most mischief Under the management
of the coroner, receiver, it is, SO long as
it can pay running expenses going to OBJ
tain it's share of traffic at some rate
Pooling did something toward check
ing discrimination beyond a doubt. The
railroad men have believed that its pro
hibition was not only contrary
to their own interests, but those of the
public as we'll They have attempted tt
make pooling legal and proposed bring
ing it under the supervision of the inter
state commerce commission. It is of the
utmost Importance for both the roads ani
the public that rates be fixed and kept in
violate. While competition is 30 ACTIVE
that it almost brings about war, never
theless there is constant tendency toward
consolidation going on every day which
has been especially marked in the past fiv