The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-28
A Threatened Disaster.

The more the decision of the United
States supreme court. declaring that traf-
/ ic agreements between railroads are in
! violation of the antitrust law, and there
/ fore unlawful, is studied the clearer it be-
| comes that the railroads and other vast
/ interests are threatened with great disas-
1 ter. If the decision stands we shall have
! the compulsory or free competition be-
| tween railroads which has been so per-
! sistenly called for by certain newspapers
/ and individuals. These newspapers and
/ individuals either do not know what the
| effect of such competition would be, or
knowing. they are anxious that the rail-
roads and vast business interests shall be
ruined.
Many times the Morning News has
pointed out what the effect of free COM
petition between the railroads would be,
! and those who take the trouble to study
the situation carefully, will reach the con-
clusion which we reached, namely, that
free railroad competition means the finan-
cial ruin of all the weaker railroads of
the country and the merging of them into
two or three great systems 1t also means
the ruin of many of the smaller bust
ness interests and the absorbing Of them
by a few greater interests of a similar
character. 1t means more than this; it
means the destruction of the wholesale
business houses of the smaller cities. The
business houses of the large cities will be
able. on account of the great amount Of
business which they have, and because Of
the number of transportation lines com
peting for their business, to get rates of
transportation which the business houses
Of smaller cities will not be able to COM
mand. Because of the discrimination in
favor of business houses which have a
vast trade great fortunes will be rapidly
accumulated and the business of the
country will pass into the control of a
steadily decreasing number of people
Congress, state legislatures and courts
pretend to be striving to bring about free
competition. What they have done and
what they are doing tend to make COM
binations, monopolies and trusts If the
supreme court decision, declaring traffic
associations Illegal. stands, there will be
there were before the traffic associations
were formed. Every interest of the coun-
try which depends upon transportation,
either directly or indirectly. will suffer to
greater or less extent. The uncertain
ty in respect to traffic rates will unset.le
nearly all kinds of business and the dis
examinations will make a few rich and
many poor. There is only one way to
avoid the disasters which are threatened
if the decision is adhered to, and that is
for congress to pass the pooling bill. That
practically gives the government conlrol
of the railroads. for while it permits the
railroads to agree upon rates it gives the
interstate commerce commission author
ity to lower the rates, when, in its opln-
ion, they are too high. Under sucn a
law the country could have fair and stable
rates. Without such law and without
traffic agreements rates can be neither
fair nor stable, and there can be no pros
perity for the railroads nor for the bust
ness interests which are dependant upon
railroad traffic rates.