The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-07
FoRAKER,s POOLING BILL.

expressed the hostility of the mass of
men to all those schemes that have for
their purpose the Capitalization Of
power to the end that the price Of
products or service could be advanced
beyond the free competitive point.
Whether it was a nail trust, combina-
ton Of refiners and congress, or rail-
way agreements to maintain rates, the
spirit and the object Of which were all
alike, we have constantly opposed
them. In spite of all opposition, defy
ing public opinion and enactments,
combinations and trusts have gone on
forming, increasing, some gaining
permanence and others crumbling be-
meath their own weight or falling be-
fore competition invited by their own
greed. Among railways, managers con-
tracts, gentlemen's agreements and
other rate-maintaining arrangements
have been made and broken, with vio-
lent fluctuations of rates, disordering
trade. Largely because of this, in or
der to prevent them, consultations
have been made putting ever-increas-
ing mileage into huge systems and
diminishing the opportunities for rate
cutting, while rendering more possible
the maintenance Of pools. Self-preser-
walton as we'll as proft-making induced
this.
The development last year Of the
joint traffic association of the trunk
lines east Of Chicago indicated a
change, the men representing the cap
ital invested taking charge Of traffic
rates instead Of leaving them to am
bilious managers to make or break
When this becomes the rule there will
be no need of written contracts. be-
cause a dozen men can quietly confer
and direct rates in 'consonance with
their agreements. No antitrust act can
reach them, for there can be no proof
Of contracts violating it. This is not
only the possible, but the probable out
come of the antitrust decision of the
supreme court. There are already in
dications Of Its presence. 1t is this
DT0COnCSlV6Q
theories that induces the Globe to
ask those who have shared It's views
on railway pools whether it is more ad-
vantageous to the public to allow such
condition to find place, or even for
old conditions to be restored, in neither
of which had the public any word Of
potency, or to create one in which the
public would be a party to the making
of rates and pools through it's author
lied apd competent representatives
1t seems to us that if there is lodged
in the interstate commission exclusive
power to decide whether the rates pro-
posed are reasonable or rot, and to or
der their modification at any time when
they are unfair or unjust, the public
will have attained an that it could
have >if the roads were nationalized.
Judging by the experience of those
countries that have governmentalized
railways, and comparing rates there
and here, even now, there is no doubt
that the advantage would be with the
pan u private management under
supervision Aside from the manifest
advantage Of uniformity and stability
of rates, supporting trade and COM
merce, would be the certainty that no
one was obtaining an advantage over
a competitor through secret agree
ments for rebates. 1t is these consid-
eratiOns that bring us to the convic-
ton that the Foraker bill, if enacted.
would be for the public good. 1t re-
moves all the objections to the Patter-
son bill Of two years ago. 1t requires
all pooling contracts to be submitted
to the interstate commission and twen-
ty days given for examination. The
commission can disapprove of the con-
tract II 1t IS Convinced that ct would
result in unreasonable rates, unjust
discrimination, insufficient service to
the public, Or otherwise contravene anv
of the provisions of the Interstate COM
merce act" The commission is further
directed to continuously investigate the
working of all agreements approved
by it and has power to void them
whenever it finds them producing
any of the above results From these
decisions right of appeal is given to
the United States supreme court.