New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-03-25
EFFECT ON RAILROADS.
r,,r rRANSMISSOURI FREIGHT AssoClA'
TON DECISION DISCUSSED.

p FOWLER, RUSSELL
SAGE AND OTHERS.
,,oa =, Managers Of the Joint Traffic Asso-
Ii, continued their regular sessions yesterday
,Sa same as before the decision was rendered by
,ho limited States Supreme Court declaring the
rrarsm,ssouri Freight Association illegal under
.,e sherman Antitrust law. James < carter.
counsel for the association. ADVISED that until the
.,u text Of the decision had been received and
.o,s,dered at least there should be no steps look
,rs 10 the ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF the association In
- words until the bearing OF the decision
,no association was determined IL should go on
heretofore
.orroad Chicago has been trying TO disrupt 1t.
IRON, the first attacks on the ASSOCIATION and re-
no~,s tina, IT was going 10 pieces have been in
-, from, that point. 1t was therefore
v,.naor that Chicago redoubled ;s efforts when
~. Transmissouri decision was rendered. 1t not
orl, nroceedcd 70 demolish the Joint Traffic Asso.
teton NJ one crack. hut also every other traffic
association in the country. Chicago had made 80
,ruch noise in the past on this subject that It's
VIZ rocket over the Supreme Court decision. was
,oolea for Chicago can lie to beat the cars at all
.,n.s and when circumstances seem to impart a
.n,n,onca OF truth to OF its lies, II becomes
s.,iad with ioy IT Is now beside itself because
!, thinks the traffic associations are doomed The
LAWYERS OF the associations have not yet said
rbether the decision In the case OF the Trans
missouri Association applies to other associations.
Tho decision was generally discussed yesterday.
MR.. DEPEw's STATEMENT.
chauncey NJ Depew in his official relation as
chairman Of the Board of Control of the Joint
rroac Association. made the following Statement
,os, nth; regarding the attitude OF the Joint
80 association: The decision OF the Supreme
Gov, IN the interstate commerce matter is most
s.or,I,ng and far-reac ching. When the Antitrust
,ou was on It's passage. neither Its promoters nor
re enemies imagined that railway contracts for
,hA stability Of rates and equal treatment or the
,nbi, could be declared a ffust. The difficulty of
annlvng the Antitrust law to railway contracts
nv the judicial mind IS illustrated by the fact that
three Judges Of the United States Court in this
dls.ric, and three United States judges in the
rransmjssouri case and four of the nine judges Of
the Supreme Cour; of the United States have held
such contracts TO be lawful. while five judges OF
,he United States Supreme Court and one United
State Judge in the Transmissouri case have de-
clared such contracts Illegal When the Supreme
Cont Of The United States renders decision on a
matter Of such vas, importance by majority of
one and the lower courts and four members of the
Supreme Bench susta'a the railway position, We
the members of the Joint Traffic Association, do
not regard our case as settled until it has been
finally passed upon at Washington. Our contract
m IA dale has been sustained by the United
States District Court and the United States APP
peae Court and until these decisions are reversed
hv the Supreme Court our association is existing
and acting under the law.
STILL GREAT FAITH.
The United States District-Attorrey and the At
torney- General may ask for rehearins before the
Appellate Court they may go directly to the
Supreme Court In either We still have great
faith in the Joint Traffic agreement IT was drawn
after the suit had been begun against the Trans
missouri Association by the ablest lawyers In the
country and with the intention of meeting every
objection raised by the Attorney-Generhl OF the
United States to the TransmssOur agreement. If,
however il is finally decided that any effort by the
railroad companies TO give TO the public, without
discrimination or favoritism, equal stable and rea
sonable rates g a crime under the laws as they
novr stand then there will be such demorallza-
ton of rates with the disastrous effects which fol-
low railway wars, upon securities, upon credit anu
upon business, that all the efforts OF the extra
session of Congress TO bring around prosperity and
confidence will go for nothing. The public gets
no benefit from a railway war or a decentralization
of rates. The small dealer. the independent shop
keeper the manufacturer with limited means and
the farmer are all at such times at the mercy oil
the big operator and the big Spectator. because
IN se great capitalists and incpent trusts can play
off one line against another and secure rates which
are impossible TO people of limited resources and
credit.
A MILLION MEN EMHIO1 Eli.
There are when business is normal and times
are prosperous in round numbers, a million mon
,mployed on railroads The hard times OF the last
three years have taken between 10000 and 100000 Of
Them off the payroll. a general railroad war
would keep these most deserving men out Of work
and their families in distress, and add TO their
numbers on account of the enforced economies OF
operation. Instead of railway compacts like the
Joint Traffic agreement creating trusts just 10
such extent as such agreements can be MADE
legal and approach pool they are the only effect
I've weapon yet discovered by which trusts can be
successfully checked or resisted. 1t is the getting
81 rates by firm or a combination of firms. be-
tween common points. lower than others when
creates trust The trust once completed ana
practically the product In which II
leas then dictates TO the railroads It's own terms.
and competition can no longer exist. The same
business man will deny that the rates between
New-York and Chicago. for instance, east ana
west bound. should be the same to every shipper,
no matter which one Of the eight lires he chooses
10 take. The business man can be successful with
business sagaciy and industry when he has TO deal
with the ordinary factors of supply and demand,
but when the transportation charge TO market Is
uncertain his calculations are worthless, his bust.
ness experience is Of no value and he becomes a
Spectator upon things he can neither control nor
divine the reason being that each Of the eigh,
lines may have different rates and fuctuating ones
II these conditions exist very nearly ali the Inter
mediate and smaller centres Of manufacturing In
dustries are wiped out
PREVENTED BY WISE LEGISLATION.
Such conditions which are unnatural antique
and barbarous; which exist in no other country
but the United States. can be prevented by wise
legislation. II the railroads were permitted by law
to make pooling contracts. those contracts 10 be
void until approved by the Interstate Commerce
N, 70 (ounp
mission having the power TO inquire into their
operations all the time and abrogate them at any
tine then would get rid OF the curse OF Amer-
can transportation, discrimination against indivd-
uals and localities against other individuals and
other localities the favored ones always being the
Dig shipper and the big places and the sufferers
the rest OF the country Through the Interstate
Commerce Commission the Government would have