The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-05-27

the best routes. The result was an ex-
tremely even system Of competition.
Competition produced the same effects III
has produced In Amerca-good and bad.
IL tended TO tine rapid development OF the
country. It caused railroad rates To De-
come lower in i}elgium than they were
or had been in any other part OF Europe,
or any other country except the Ohlteu
States. On the other hand, IL caused All
sorts of oppressive preferences, special
rates, special contracts with private indi-
viduals, the government ITSELF In spite
OF all the central authority could do, be-
ing worse sinner than any OF the pri-
vato lines In the matter OF giving special
rates 10 individuals. The people would
not stand that the government road
should not make money, while "a private
road, apparently not quite SO well situ-
ated, should make money. They tried TO
prohibit the competition OF private lines
by law IL was partly ended by the an.
sorption OF the competing lines ana
partly by pooling arrangements There
Is ono largo private company-the BEL
GUM Grand Contral-that has most
inilexible pooling contract with the gov
eminent
"In Germany also, about the year 1870,
there was tolerable equality, IN Prussia
particularly, between the state railroads
and the competing private lines, ana
there was also system OF discrimlna-
tions. Just in SO far AS the state either
consolidated with private railroads or on
tered into pooling contracts with then,
the Determinations were abolished, but
not until then They never had discrim-
ination 80 badly in Germany as In Amer
lea, or as badly as they had in Belgium
even, but thoy had some, and 1T was only
abolished by consolidation and pooling.
"Ab present the Prussian government
owns practically all its railroads. but
there was n timo when ID had lnrgo pool
..x.. A. laNAE
Tho Austrian government ana the
private railroad men have cdme 10 the
cOuclusi m that the only way thoy can
possibly abolish discrimination is Dy sys-
TENS Of pooling The two main cities
Vienna and Buda- Pest, the capitals OF
Austria and Hungary. are connected by
TWO railroads and the river Danube, one
Of those railroads having been built 10y
the state. As soon as the second railroad
was made there was this division MADE,
which included the state road and second
road and the water route, cach carrying
it's percentage although the water route
was natural water course, ana
so any body who said he would go into
pool would be considered TO be very
strange man and "a man who was making
trouble.
"a still stronger instance, perhaps, Is
the Arlberg Tunnel. Before they had
opened that road they made a percen tage
division between that and the existing
roads by dividing the traffic at each END
OF the tunnel. The parties co this division
We're tho Austrian state railroads, Aus
trian private railroads, Bavarian railroads
two or three Swiss private companies, rail
roads in other South German states and
several French companies that formed re-
mote connections. They state themselves
in all that Is written on the subject, that
the only way of avoiding discrimination
between competing points Is by such per-
centage divisions with the authority OF
the government"
Pools Should BE Legalized.
Prof. Hadley said later in his work on
RAILROAD Transportation" (lSs6): with
all the police power which the German
government controls, u power hundred
fold greater than anything wc have in
this country, and with all its dread OF
irresponsible combinations 1t seems that
pools are not a thing which can be pre-.
vented, and that the only way TO control
them Is to recognize them as legal and
then hold them responsible for any evils
which may arise under their MANAGE
ment "
Speaking of the governments of Central
Europe, he said: Ito secure Obedience
to this (prohibitory) system they must
take away the temptation to violate IL.
This can only be done by q system OF pool
ing contracts. These are accordingly
legalized and enforced. They are carried
on to an extent undreamed OF In America.
They have both traffic pools and money
pools. There are pools between state roads
and private roads, between railroads and
water routes. "
The committee of the German Empire
reported prior to its purchases of It's main
railway lines: 1.-The uniting OF the prop
erty, of the traffic and of the management
of the inland main lines under the strong
arm of the state, are the only efficient
and proper means to solve the task
This clearly Ia n government pool.
This long study, these concurrent con-
clusions and the clearly just and bene-
fetal mercantile AS well as railway results
which followed these policies In those
great countries cannot be ignored by
denunciations and arbitrary declarations
of our dissimilar conditions, which really
differ only because our conditions are
even moro complicated, because our rates
average not more than two-thirds those
which prevail in those nations under their
enforceable contracts and because, IN
stead of jealous nations which assisted
the solution, we presumably have har-
monious states which should do so.
Any act or amendments which substi-
tute theories for these actual carrying and
commercial experiences throughout the
world and paradoxies for principles, will
continue impracticable, Intellectual and
hurtful to consistent carriers and patrons.
Senator Cullom said in the "Indepen-
dent In October, 1892:
1.-The stock holder in railroad corpora
ton owns his stock as fully and is entitled
TO as much consideration In respect to mis-
rights as If he were stockholder I'm any
other enterprise, and the state is bound to
respect those rights.
May we not, therefore, soon say with
Won Humb boldt that the "chasms which
divide facts from each other are rapidly
filling upr'
GEORGE r. BLANCHARD
(This article concludes the series sd
p0rATO pATcU EIINn