The record-union., 1898-10-31


seaboard.
..It will be necessary, therefore, that
some association should exist as a sta
tistical bureau for the purpose of gath
ering this information and presenting
it in frequent reports to the lines which
are members. All that the railways
ask is that under form Of voluntary
agreement or a pooling law they may
be permitted to arrange among them
selves so that there shall be uniform
rates to everybody who ships over the
various lines for the same service.
1.-The great error Of the people who
framed the Interstate Commerce Act is
supposing that in preventing the rail-
roads from agreeing upon rates and
having a pool they are getting lower
rates for the people and preventing dis
ordinations. Their legislation pro-
ceeded upon the thought that there is
but one line, for instance, between New
York and Chicago, whereas there are
eight lines. Now, 1t Is possible for a
combination of capitalists to take the
weak line and ship its products over
that line upon an agreement much be-
low the current rates. The weak line
may be in the hands of a receiver and
have no obligations to pay, either upon
it's stock or upon its bonds-in other
words, upon the invested capital which
built it. The other lines cannot afford
to go into bankruptcy by following
this rate and so they let the weaker
line have this traffic or they conduct
their own traffic upon reasonable rates.
THE effect of this is very soon evil
dent. The rates which these big ship
pers get over this bankrupt line enable
them to make their product SO much
cheaper than the people who are situ-
ated upon the other lines, or who send
to market from other places than the
terminus of the bankrupt line, that they
drive them out of business. Then the
antitrust, anti-corporation, anti-com-
bination people by their own device
nave created a combination and a.
trust. This process has been going on
ever since the Interstate Commerce Act
ana the anti-pooling proclamation were
IN force. If the process continues the
present rapid progress of the consoli-
datlon of every product into the hands
OF one concern or a few men will con-
t1nue until botH the producer and con-
sumer OF the country would have their
prices fixed 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
equal opportunities by all lines. then
the enterprise and energy and natural
facilities Of intermediate places, with
smaller expense and less capital in their
business, with the owners attending to
their own affairs, would result in a
wide distribution Of independent busi-
ness, in the farmer finding many COM
petitors for the produce of his farm
and the railways having, thousands Of
customers instead of a very few.
THE objection to a pooling law has
always been that the railways would
combine to raise prices. 1t is appar-
emily useless for the railroadman to say
what he knows to be a fact, that the
demands of the different markets, the
competition of the waterways and the
conditions of the different eenters at
which freight is gathered, make it i'm
possible 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
sion, and.
Second, that If the rates prove op-
pressive or unjust in the traffic which
is subject to the pool, the Interstate
Commerce Commission shall have the
right to step in and right the wrong, if
there is any, or abrogate the pool. The
only objection I have ever heard is
that the Government cannot be trusted.
ir,1xy ftoy~ H.
conduct of the Interstate Commerce
Commission since it's formation which
justifies such a charge The railroads
do not care how much the Interstate
Commerce Commission is strengthened.
if in its present form it is not entirely
satisfactory. The railroads are anxious
that the commission should be as
strong and judicial as possible. The
nearest 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 suppos-
ing that the law remains as the Su-
preme Court has decided, against rail-
road pooling and agreements under
present statutes, the natural tendency
of the railroads will be to follow the
general trend of the other business of
the country. This will not be a rapid
process, but this tendency will be sure.
The weaker lines will be unable to
stand the strain of irregular and wholly
uncertain or unremunerative compen-
sation which follows. So they will be
bankrupted and ultimately absorbed
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 a few gigantic
corporations to do the carrying buSi-
ness of the country would threaten an
other railway agitation, whether wise
or not, and a long period Of disturbance
of business-that sort of disturbance
which makes bad times, because the
business has factors to deal with in
legislation and in uncertain rates,
which make it impossible for the wisest
head to forecast the future.
This decision will be a fortunate
document If Congress in a calm, broad
way will take up the whole question
and SO legislate that the public and
railways and their investors and their
employees may be fully protected, that
large freedom for agreement may be
granted to the railways among them
selves under strict supervision and
rigid control of the United States. If
the Government is not equal to the
task of impartial supervision of this
business under these conditions it had
better retire from the thought of as
Stunning the responsibilities for Cuba,
Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philip
pines
Message Of Condolences.
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