The sun., 1897-03-28
Fair Play for the Railroads.

The Supreme Court of the United States
having decided that all traffic agreements
between railroads are in restraint Of trade,
are therefore violations of the Trust
act, and consequently are null and void,
there seems to be nothing for the rail-
roads to do at present but dissolve their
traffic associations and fall back upon
the honesty and capacity Of their
managers. AS suggested many times
in the columns of THE Sun, much
good might be done toward steadying
rates and decreasing expenses by discharg-
ing the rate cutters and confirming the
exercise Of the rate.making power to the
Boards Of Directors, but this seems to be q
method far too drastic for the average rail.
road management TO adopt. At all events,
none has adopted 1t yet, though 1t is diff.
cult to imagine any good reason why it
should not now be tried. Meanwhile,
one source of great injury and inf.
mite wrong to the American railroads
continues to exert its baleful influence
upon their traffic, and this is all the more
inexcusable because 1t is fully within the
power Of the Federal Government to abolish
it. OF course, we refer to the bonding
privileges and the Treasury regulations un.
der which the Canadian railroads, and
especially the Canadian Pacific, are per.
mitted to engage in the interstate carrying
trade along our northern border.
As we have frequently pointed out, this
trade is secured by cut rates for alien rail.
roads which were built for political and
strategic purposes by British subsidies, and
in IN ha TTttt taH tofo
1t is in principle just as much a vio-
lation of the laws regulating our coast
Ing trade as 1t would be to permit ships
bearing British registers to engage in
carrying merchandise between New York
and Norfolk. If 1t Is a good thing
for the people of the United States
as whole to permit the Canadian railroads
to carry merchandise from St. Louis or Chi
cago or Philadelphia or Baltimore to San
Francisco through Canada, then It would
be good thing to permit foreign steamers
to carry freights between Boston, New
York, Charleston, Savannah and New Or
leans, or between Portland and San Fran
cisco, and the curious thing about it is that
some free-trade member Of Congress has not
long since introduced and secured the pas
sage Of an act to legalize this traffic.
The permission granted to the Canadian
railroads to prey upon our commerce in the
manner indicated puts many million dol.
lars into their treasures annually, and is
equivalent to direct subsidy to the Brit
ish Government and it's dependencies with
which to make war upon us. 1t would not
be giving aid and comfort to possible pub.
lie enemy more effectively II Congress were
to make an annual appropriation to arm,
equip and maintain a division of the British
army or q section of the British navy!
Only few days ago it was announced
that the Canadian Pacific Railroad Com
pany had closed a contract for fleet of fast
steamers to run in connection with It
across the Atlantic and to receive an an.
nual subsidy of $75O,OOO from the British
and Canadian Governments. or course
these steamers will be designed to carry
guns, and in case Of war will become open
cruisers against our commerce as a part of
the British navy.
Is 1t not about time for Congress or the
Administration of President MCKINLEY to
adopt policy which shall put an end to
this altruistic folly, and relieve our common
carriers from the cutthroat competition of
the Canadian railroads to which they have
been 30 long and unjustly subjected' The
way Is plain, and there could be no more
favorable time than the present for doing
n simple act of justice to one of our greatest
national interests.