The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-17
THE RAILROAD PROBLEM,

One Writer'S Views of the Governments
Relations to tho Giant Carriers-Fnilure
Of the Interstate Commerce Commits.
sion.
In the Atlantic Monthly for July,
Henry j. Fleitcher writes: 1.-THE gov
ernment Of the United States has htth-
er'to sllrunk from assuming some Of the
most important parts Of the duty i'm
posed on 1T by the constitution in regard
to Interstate commerce. That duty
cannot be adequately performed with
out taking cognizancc Of the relations
Of the transportation companies to at
least three different subdivisions Of the
community; those which they sustain
towards their own shareholders, their
own employees and the general body Of
the people who use the railways and
waterways in trade and travel. The
first of these relations concerns the
ownership Of eleven billions (par value)
Of stock ard bonds Of railway compan-
les alone. and a trackage Of over 175, 900
miles; of which, between a fourth and
a fifth part have been plunged into in
solvency as q result of unregulated
construction and mismanagement coin
ctdeTt with a period OF severe general
depression. The second involves the eff
ficiency and happiness Of nearly 1,OOO.-
900 railway employees and the welfare
Of their families. and. as recent his
tory sharply reminds US. affects the
steady flow OF commerce through all Its
channels; 1t penstrates almost to the
core Of the greatest problem with which
soclety Is now s'truggling-the question
of the rights Of labor. Most of the leg
islation on the subject Of railway con-
trol has been directed toward the third
Of the.e divissons-the railway as a
common carrier-because 1t directly
concerns he greatest number of people
and the widest diversity of interests.
Need Of Koencr Supervision.
The comprehensive and intelligent
adjustment Of the relations between the
great agencies Of commerce and the
rest OF the public can never be affected
until each Of these divisions Is exam
imed In detail, and the responsibility Of
the government in respect to each is
recognized and assumed. Each one.
tentous as the entire problem of which
It is but a part, and It IL no wonder
that the duty Of graphing with them In
turn has been evaded and postponed,
while daily growing more and more
formidable. The time seems to have
come when II cannot be put off much
longer. The railway sytem has appar-
emily reached a climax in It's develop
ment. The old-fashioned idea of COM
petition as a regulator Of TITS seems
about to be laid aside, at least. 50 far
that result. and the alternative is before
the people of substituting in Its place
q well-ordered and equitable scheme Of
national control, or a concentrated,
pool-bound monopoly. regulated only
by seK-interest. A law abrogating the
old prohibition Of pooling will lead to
the final steps in the grand process Of
crystalhzation, which will speedily
transform the railways into a single,
compact whole. able to meet with unit
ed front any threatened attack. wheth-
er It be from dissatisfied labor or an
alarmed government. The consequence
eS VI ndNiHS ptTHliVteu t1iS uH1HCdt1Ou
to go 40 far, with 80 little attempt to
bring II within the control Of the only
government capable Of graphing with
II, will soon be apparent
Some Serious Omissions.
Not until 1885 did the National Con-
gress set itself seriously to the task Of
considering It's duty. under the oonsti-
tuition, toward the great subject of in
terstate commerce. The task has been
put of from time to time, because II
was too vast. too difficult, to dellcate--
because congress optimistically hoped
that somehow It would right Itself; It
was let alone in part because every
avenue of legislation was blocked by q
powerful and corrupt lobby. When ct
last Il had become . problem Of over.
shadwodng Importance. Il was tsa6en up
timidly. not a. . whole but piecsmeal,
and law was evolved which purport-
ed to concern itself only with one
branch Of the aubfeck and that mot tho