The herald., 1898-10-31
ON THE DECISION IN THE JOINT
TRAFFIC CASE
SOME AGREEMENT NECESSARY
All the Railroads Ask Il Permission
to Arrange for Uniform Rates
for Everybody
Associated Press Special Wire.

|
pew, having made a study of the decision by
the supreme court on traffic associations,
gives his opinion as follows:
"The decision of the supreme court neces-
states the dissolution of the joint traffic
association as at present constituted. Broad
" stated, the decision means that there shall
be no association among railroads by which
they will have any understanding or agree
ment in order to continue either the main
| tenance of rates or the prevention of rate
cutting or the prevention of discrimina-
tions against weak shippers in favor Of strong
ones, or against small localities and those
along the line in favor of great terminal
cities.
1T is absolutely necessary for the railroads
of the country to know the movement OF
traffic and traffic conditions, as to freight
which is to be moved at the different reser-
voirs where it is concentrated. 1t Is also
necessary that they know whether and how
this freight is securing an outlet, II TOR & ex-
port through the Gulf Of Mexico or by the
Canadian route, or by the Atlantic seaboard.
at will be necessary, therefore, that some
| association shall exist as statistical bureau
| for the purpose of gathering this information
| and presenting it in frequent reports to the
| lines which are members. All that the rail-
ways ask is that under form OF voluntary
| agreement VI POoiihe iuWt .hSs A,'"s ~
permitted to arrange among themselves so
| that there shall be uniform rates to every
| BODY who ships over the various lines for the
| same service.
"The great error of the people who framed
| the interstate commerce. act Is IN supposlhg
that in preventing the railroads from agree
| ing upon rates and having pool they are
getting lower rates for the people and pre-
venting determinations. Their legislation
proceeded upon the thought that there is
| but one line, for instance, between New ork
and Chicago, whereas there are eight lines;
Now, it is possible for a combination, Of
capitalists to take the weak line and snip
ment much below the current rates. lhe
weak line may be in the hands of a receiver
| and have no obligations to pay either upon
| lis stock or upon its bonds-in other words,
upon the invested capital which built 1T.
| The other lines cannot afford to go INTO
bankruptcy by following this rate, ana SO
| they let the weaker line have this trafhc or
they conduct their own traffic upon reason
"Tbe fact of this is very soon evident
The rates which those big shippers get over
this bankrupt line enable. them to make
| their product so much cheaper that the
people who are situated upon other lines
or who send to market from other places
than the terminus of the bankrupt line
will be driven out Of business: This
the antitrust, anti-corporation, anti-combi
nation people, by their own device. have
created combination and trust. lnis
process has been going on ever since the
interstate commerce act and the anti-pool
| ing proclamation were in force. II the pro
cess continues the present rapid progress
of the consolidation of every. product IT
the hands of one concern or few men vii
continue, until both the producer and CON
sumer Of the country have their prices tixed
| by the combination in the various products
of the people If the eight lines. however
were in position where they could protect
each other and the public. in giving equa
opportunities by all lines. then the enter
prise and energy and natural facilities OF IN
termediate places, with smaller expense and
less capital in their business, with the own
ers attending to their own affairs, would re-
suit in a wide distribution of independent
business in the farmer finding many com.
petitors for the produce of his farm and
the railways having thousands Of customers
instead OF very few.
"The objections to a pooling law have al
ways been that the railways would combine
to raise prices. 1t is apparently useless fol
the railroad man to say, what he knows tc
be fact, that the demands of the different
markets, the competition of the waterways
and the conditions of the different centers
at which freight is gathered make it impos
sible for the railways to raise rates. The
railways ask for no pooling law except upon
these conditions:
"First-That the pooling contract shall
not be made until it has been approved by
| the interstate commerce commission; and
"Second-That if the rates prove oppres
sive or unjust in the traffic which is subject
to the pool, the interstate commerce com
mission shall have the right to step in and
right what is wrong, if there is any, or alb
rogate the pool.
"The only objection have ever heard is
that the government cannot be trusted. Ger
tainly there has been nothing in the con-
duct of the interstate commission since its
| formation which iistifies such charge The
railroads do not care how much The inter
state commerce commission is strengthened.
| il in its present form it is not entirely salts
factory. The railroads are anxious that the
commission should be as strong and judicial
as possible. The nearer it approaches the
absolutely independent form of the supreme
court of the United States the better it will
suit the railroads. Failing, however, in
legislation on the subject and supposing that
| the law remains as the supreme court has
decided, against railroad pooling and agree.
ments under present statutes, the natural
| tendency of the railroads will be to follow
| the general trend Of other business of the
country. This will not be rapid process,
but this tendency will be sure. The weaker
lines will be unable to stand the strain of
irregular and wholly uncertain and unre-
munerative compensation which follows. So
they will be bankrupted and ultimately alb
sorbed by the stronger lines and the business
! of the country will be in the hands of the
latter. This absorption and the consequent
| formation of few gigantic corporations to
do the carrying business of the country
would threaten another railway agitation,
whether wise or not, and long period of
disturbance of business-that sort of dis
turbance which makes bad titles, because
the business man has factors to deal with
in legislation and uncertain rates which
make it impossible for the wisest to forecast
the future.
"This decision will be fortunate docu-
| ment if congress, in calm way,
will take up the whole question and legis-
late so that the public andlrailways and their
investors and their employees may be fully
protected, that large freedom for agreement
may be granted to the railway among them
selves under strict supervision and rigid
control of the government of the United
States. If the government is not equal to
the task Of impartial supervision of this bus
mess under these conditions it had better
retire from the thought of resuming the re-
sponsibilties for Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii
and the Philippines"
The War Inquirers
CAMP POLAND, Knoxville, Tenn,
Oct. 30.-Nine members of the war investi.
eating committee reached here today. Th
visited the divisional hospital and examined
=