Evening star., 1897-04-13
A POOLING BILL
Railway Magnates Understood to Be
Favoring Such a Measure.
DR.. DEPEW LEADS The MOVEMENT
His Views at Length Upon the
Necessity for Such a Bill.
o T H E r PIN 10 N S

1t is understood that the great railway
nagnates who manage the affairs of the
Joint Traffic Association and the numerou.
| lines included in the organization are pre-
| pairing to push the passage CT railwa.
pooling bill by Congress.
These officials are said to be anticipating
| an adverse decision from the United State:
Supreme Court on the Joint Trafhc Asso
ciation case when it is argued next fall
and already are gathering statistical mat
ter to show why their interests should b.
protected by national legislation. Presi
| dent Depew of the New York Central, wht
| is also at the head of the Joint Traffic AS
sociation, declares, as will be seen below
| that the only proper relief is to be fount
| in a good pooling bill, and will. it is said
bend his energies in this direction during
| the present session of Congress. Mr.. De
pew thinks that the bill introduced by
Senator Foraker will protect the interest.
of the roads.
Some of the railroad presidents have de
clared their willingness to have the Su
preme Court declare the Joint Traffic AS
ISOLATION illegal in order that they ma,
| take steps toward securing fayorable legs
lation, and they think that the sooner the.
go about this method Of prote ,tlng traffic
interests the better off they will be.
The Foraker bill practically nullifies tn,
| anti-traffic contract clause of the Sherman
law of 1880. and gives the roads the righ
to make certain contracts under the super
vision of the interstate commerce uom
mission. Eastern railway men think tina
the legalizing of railway pooling will have
a healthy effect on their business.
Chnuncey Dcpew Talks.
In response to information as to the real
objects of the Joint Traffic Association
President Depew replied as follows:
when we formed this ass ociation the
rates were agreed upon that should be
charged on west-bound freight from New
York. That means high-class goods tC
merchants. One of the great merchants OF
the west promptly said: I never have paid
within % cents a hundred of tariff rates,
| and / won't co it now. His business was
on what we call one of the weak lines. He
took it off that line and put it on one of
the strongest lines. That left the weak
line without any west-bound business. If
there had been pool We could have trans
ferred to that line enough west-bound bus
mess to compensate it. or We could have
given it money enough to make up the
loss.
But the interstate commerce commits
sion forbids pools of that kind" continued
Mr.. Depew. Then the weak line said
We nave got to have business So we
Simply closed our eyes while the weak line
gave a rate % cents a hundred less than
the rest of us charged. Their facilities
being limited, the business of this firm vir-
tually filed them up. And that was done
under the interstate commerce law and
according to the interstate commerce law
Now, then, pool could have prevented
that. because We could have made it pos
sible for that firm to punish any line for
not giving it a less rate than the general
public got.
Will Start Industries Anew.
The other benefit expected to be derived is
that it will start up industries that have
been crippled by the Wilson tariff bill. Sc
that with confidence and CT edit on the enc
side there will be new industries started and
new employment for labor. and on the
other side there will be the revival of par
alyzed industries and then employment,
which is prosperity.
Now, this tariff legislation will fail in its
object if this railroad decision leads to the
breaking up of these traffic assoca tons
and to general decentralization in railroad
rates.
In the first place, TO manufacturer can
rake his usual contracts for the purchase
of his raw material, to be delivered at his
mill or factory, and for the delivery of the
manufactured product of his factory to
city merchants in distant cities, unless he
knows before he makes his contract for the
purchase of his raw material or the sale
of his manufactured product what his
freight rate is to be on both. If there is a
general decentralization of rates, he cannot
lively. There will oe seasons of feverish
activity for little while, and then mills
closing, factories closing, and hundreds of
thousands of men out of employment.
Politicians and Railroad Men.
Il am looking at this, you may say. from
the standpoint of the railroad man. But in
these observations l am looking at it from
the staESpoint of citizen and public man.
l know it is fashionable for politicians to
cor tt-t III,
our votes and for opinions with the
greatest care before election, and after cleo
tion to say that we are engaged in a dis
loyal and unpatriotc business, and that
the railroad is a necessary curse on the
country. But the railroad and the business
man, the railroad and the laboring man,
the railroad and the farm, are inextricably
bound up together, and when the railroads
are hghting each other and doing bad busi-
ness, you can find the business of the
country demoralized, you can find labor out
or employment, and you can find the party
In power going out of power.
The Remedy Described.
Now, what is the remedy? There is but
one that l know of. and that is in some
form of agreement between the railroads OF
the different sections where the systems
are practically one-you may call it con.
tract or call 1t a pool-that agreement to be
made under the supervision and only with
the approval of the interstate commerce
commission.
That agreement should be subject to
amendment or to abolition by the inter-
state commerce commission, the rates to
be fixed under that agreement to be sub
jcct to supervision and change by the in
terstate commerce commission. If that is
trust, then the United States is the trus-
tee. The only objection that tha dema-
gogue can make to that proposition is that
he cannot trust his government TO run
railroads. If he cannot. then the govern
ment is a failure"
The Foraker Bill.
A leading official of the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad Company in talking yester-
day to Star reporter about Joint Traffic
Association n tiers said:
"The so-called Foraker bill which was
recer tly introduced into the United States
Senate, and concerning which there seems
to be considerable misunderstanding pro-
poses various amendments to the interstate
commerce law. 1t was not prepared in
view Of the anti trust decision in the trans
Missouri case. 1t was completed before
that decision was made. and would have
been introduced II that decision had not
been made. The only effect Of the decision
10 to make the necessity for its enactment
E,ore imperative.
Receiver FeltOn's Views.
Receiver 8. NJ. FELTON, Of the Queen and
Crescent route, which extends from Gin
cinnati to New Orleans. was, among other