Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16

STATE O. lt-NdS a L:Tgt HltlNr Is unjust or
lmpracticab.e. These gentlemen have been
apparently unable 10 advise the commisSiCl
oil the governing principles upon which
their opinions are based. Why. They are
practical men, know the facts and know the
results; have followed the wisdom of their
predecessors and while they can tell YOU
under the so.emnity Of in oath that the dis
tance or mileage basis in general Is not
practicable or Just 10 the people, they are
unable 10 explain 70 you clearly the priuci-
pies upon which result is reached. Bust
ness men in general have some practical
knowledge OF our laws; they do business
under them: they know that in the main
they are Just, but when asked 10 state the
principles upon which these rules OF law
are founded, few. II any. could give
AN ACCURATE RESPONSE.
Our freight traffic managers appear be-
fore YOU in the same light. They are prdc-
teal business men ana reach practical r.
suits from their knowledge Of facts and
their conscience. without pIuSlng 70 reflect
upon or formulate the principles which con-
troI. To ascertain such principles, You
must go 10 the political economist aS the
business man goes 10 his lawyer or 10
Blackstone TO ascertain the principle upon
which Il known Just rule Of law : founded.
Mr.. Alexander, in I treatise Published in
1SNl. using as q basis the more complete
work Of Professor HaGleY Of \ ale college,
undertaking 10 generalize, states the rule
upon which railway tariffs should be con-
structed, thus Briefly. the principles
upon which railway tariffs must be formed
may be summarized as follows. They must
not exceed q reasonable profit 70 IT," carrier
a. i maximum. and may ne reduced to what
the traffic viii bear - q minimum i II docs
not involve the carrier in actual and ptrma-
urut loss. Between these limits they should
BE- adjusted in proportion to value Of service
rendered.
As explained by the phlosophic Bishop
in his work on criminal law. the world Is
full Of principles; there Is no vacuum.
Sometimes these principles are conflicting.
The question which should control I given
state OF facts often furnishes food for Sc
rioUs thought and much pcrpLezily.
You Will observe that Mr.. Alexander err
tirely eliminates the supposed principle Of
cost Of service, with The qualification only
that the carrier should not permanently DO
business at figures known ~ De below the
cost Of service
Casually viewed, It seems that it is uu-
just 10 charge Il uau II Il near point the
same aS Il citizen more distant In other
words. that he - entitled to some aGVa,s-
tHge by reason of proximity. The man iii
the forest by reason ot proximity may be-
entitled TO extract all tie honey
from. tae bee Tree. WlJu9a. "a.t-
il" for his nei--hbor 10 arrive 20
StIt.Tt III me SitGIS. y ..4tu tfsta-- On INC
shore OF Tivy:' ana building MS own bod;,
if OF equal pluck and strength, vii doubt
less reach tie port Oi destination sooner
than his more distant EcIL!IbJr. tie : eli
titled 10 the
ADVANTAGE or HIS NATURAL Leo, ,IIoN.
But Il railroad Is moi thing Of nature.
ami hence man cannot have q MAJ Url .o .l-
ton on railroad. In talS Couu.rN IL IS q
combination Of private capital aud a. fran
Chi>e granted by the state. not for lie bcLe-
81 of any locality, but for the state Ia aur-
eral, and hence can be administered by Ie
r. iiuOad company " the state for the benefit
of the people a large. regardless OF tu"
peculiar interest OF any locality. whether it
be near or far from the terminus of the RAJ
road. No man can claim any natural aG-
vantage from the railroad on account o.
distance, because no natural rights can
exist III an artificial creation. CouSgqu cntlN.
unless II can bee shown that II j. 10 the III
tereSt OF the state IL large that man
nearer the market should receive cheaper
transportation than his more distant neigh
boz. the question of distance should not be
considered, except as ii effects the cost OF
service below 0Llch the rate maker should
not permanently 20.
Alexander statement OF the principles
of rate-udhjI% IS subject 10 the criticism
that value Of service and what the traffic
will bear properiy UNDERSTOOD are Two
names for the sau-e thing.
The principles upOu which railway tariffs
are and should be constructed can be more
accurately stated thus: Value Of service
not exceeding Il reasonable profit for the
carrier and not permanently less than the
cost OF service; provided. when the demand
At the point Of consumption can be supplied
from either Of TWO or more places ON the
sane route, then rates Should he less from
the place from which the cost of service IS
less.
While there may be apparent exceptions,
or minor principles operating in the same
field, yet we believe that every question Of
tariff making. membarraSSeG by abnormal
conditions, can be correctly solved by these
principles.
What is the value Of service \ man has
property at San Angelo which can bc -rtd
on the Galveston market. Ordinarily the
value of the transportation service 10 him
Is such a price as Will enable him to pay the
transportation charge and still sell his
property on tine Galveston market
AT REASONABLE PROFIT.
The same rule determines the value Of
the service TO the man who has properly at
Temple intended for sale at Galveston. If
the property is worth the same at San An
gco as at Temple, that Is. if the cost OF pro-
ducing it al the two places Is the same, the
value Of the transportation services from
the two places to Galveston VIII be the
same II the man from Temple pays no
more for the service than ii is worth. can
lie Justly complain that the service is worth
no more to the man at San Angelo and
hence he cannot afford 10 pay more;
1t is true that the railway company is
making 4 greater profit out Of the Temple
man. This result under similar conditions
follows in all business transactions As eX-
planned by one OF the salt manufacturers
before the commission. the lnanGfIrturcr
sells the bulk Of his product ii markets
that are accessible, with normal profits.
while he disposes Of his surplus in some
less dccesSiu Die market or at some market
where competition is greater, at a slight
profit. or maybe at cost. This is doing 10
injury, but comforting benefit on the Gus
toner in the accessible market who pays 4
h igher price for if the manufacture could
not dispose of his surplus he would either
have to sell the bulk Of his product at an in
creased profit to compensate Tor the loss or
reduce the capacity OF his works, which
would cause the same result. for, as eX-
planned by Mr.. Marshall Of the Colorado
salt works, the smaller the plant operated
the larger Tie cost Of production. On the
same principle the railway company ~ Civ
ing its surplus facilities to the san hegelO |
man at :. less rate per mile than the s'mple
man instead of doing the Temple II an an Ill
justice confers on him benefit, for if It
loses the business of the San Angelo man on
account of having to charge more than the
value of the service. IL will have 70 make !
up the loss out Of the Temple man and Is
other customers, which may result ,
in the Temple man making less than a rea-
sOuable profit. OF course if the value OF |
service TO the San Angelo man Is less than
the cost of the service, leaving no surplus /