The advocate., 1891-12-23
following from the Liverpool Courier Of
January %, 1891:

After the council given them yesterday by
NJ. A. B. Foawoad, of OrmskiFk, it may be
expected that the Liverpool District Farm
ers' Club will he on the watch for tangible
evidences of their grievances against the
railway companies Under
certain circumstances competition operates
to the advantage of the public, and rival
carriers are constrained to convey goods
from place to place at moderate charges;
but where a company is not held in check,
the tendency is for rates to advance. In
many cases, too, special interests of the
companies are promoted at the expense Of
localities, and even individuals are sub
jected to the wrong Of preferential charges.
(There are no complaints in Britain that
these determinations are practiced for the
purpose of enriching the officials) Hence
the necessity for the railway commission to
regulate the magnates of the iron road, who
when left without restraint, pay little re-
gard to interests other than those of their
shareholders,
Although Mr.. Acworth fails to men
tion this phase Of English railway ad-
ministration, it would appear that the
evils of discrimination are common un-
der corporate management in Great
Britain, and that they are inherent to and
inseperable from such management; and
that the questions of rates, discrimina-
tions and free traffic in fuel can be salts
factorily adjusted only by national own
ership, and If for no other reasons such
ownership is greatly to be desired.
The failure to furnish equipment to do
the business of the tributary countrG
promptly is one of the greatest evils Of
corporate administration, enabling Off
cials to practice most injurious and OPP
pressive forms of discrimination, and
is one that neither federal nor state COM
mission pays much attention to. With
national ownership sufficiency Of cars
would be provided. On many roads the
funds that should have been devoted to
furnishing the needed equipment, and
which the corporations contracted to pro-
vide when they accepted their charters,
have been divided as construction profits
or, as in the case of the Santa Fe, Union
Pacific and many others, diverted to the
payment Of unearned dividends, while
the public suffers from this failure to
comply with charter obligations; yet Mr..
Dillon informs us that the citizen COM
mits an impertinence when he inquiries
why contract obligations, which are the
express consideration for the exceptional
powers granted, are not performed.
Another great advantage which
would result from national ownership
would be such an adjustment OF rates
that traffic " Tould take the natural short
route, and not, as under corporate man
agement, be sent around by the way Of
Robin Hoods barn, when 1t might reach
its destination by route but two-thirds
as long, and thus saving the unnecessary
tax to which the industries Of the coun-
try are subjected. That traffic can be
sent by these roundabout routes at the
same or less rates than is charged for the
shorter ones is prima faeie evidence
that the ratss are too high. If it costs q
given Gum to transport specific amount
Of merchandise thousand miles, it Is
clear that it will cost a greater sum to
transport it fifteen hundred; and yet traf-
fic is daily diverted from the thousand