The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-04-12
(To BE CONTINUED }
GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF
RAILWAYS.
Mica, N. 9.

A9S S@
IA Decade OF Federal Railway Regu
lation," by Prof. Henry @. Adams,
in the April Atlantic. He reviews the
history of the Inter state Commerce
Commission and sums up the results
achieved and the present situation.
Under the head
'THE POWER OF RAILWAY MAGNATEs"
he says:
It lies in the theory of modern go
ciety that men should succeed or fail
according to their abilities. As a mat.
ter of fact, a railway manager has it
within his power, through the ma
nipulation Of rates, to make or de
stroy; to determine which person in
the community and which communi-
ties in the State shall attain CONNER
cha success, and which shall struggle
in vain for its attainment. {.
Suppose, for example, that one cattle
dealer in Chicago is selected by q pool
of railways to control the shipment of
meats from Chicago to the sesboard,
and that, in order to secure him this
control, he receives q rate Of ten per
cent. less than than the rates charged
other dealers; it is evident that the
favored shipper will quickly destroy
the business Of other shippers by bid
ding more for cattle than they can
afford to bid. Admitting that the dis.
discrimination ia not approved by com
mon law, what remedy has the small
shipper which is sufficiently speedy in
it's action to rescue the business which
he observes to be slipping from hint
He has no remedy; and for this reR
son ia it essential that DETERMINATIONS
of the sort referred to should be made
a statutory misdemeanoT, and that
some special method of procedure,
more rapid in it's operations than an
ordinary court, should be established
to cause the railways to deslst from
their wrong doings.
THE FUTURE OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE,
is another suject treated by Prof.
Adams. 1t may ultimately prove to
be the case, he says; that there is nc
compromise bet ween public ownership
and management on the one hand ana
private ownership and management on
the other, but n has no right to
quote the ten years experiece Of the
support of such a declaration. This
is true because the law itself scarcely
proceeded beyond the limit of suggest
ing certain principles and indicating
certain processes, and Congress has
not, by the amendments passed since
1887, shown much solicitude respect
ing the efficiency of the act. It is
true, also, because the courts have
thought it necessary to deny certain
authorities claimed by the commission,
and Congress has not shown itself
jealous for the dignity of the admins
trative body, which it created. And
finally it is true because the duty Of
administering the act TO regulate COM
merce was imposed upon the commits
sion without adequate provision in the
way of administrative machinery, and
ten years is too short a time to create
that machinery when every step is to
be contested by all the processes known
to corporation lawyers. For the pub.
lie the case stands where it stood ten
years ago. Now, as then, is it neces-
sary to decide on the basis Of theory,
and in the light of political, social,
and industrial consideration, rather
than on the basis of a satisfactory test,
whather the rail ways shall be con.
trOlled by the government without be-
ing owned, OF controlled through gov
ernmental ownership. The danger is
that the country will drift into an
answer Of this question without an ap
probation of it's tremendous signif.
canoe.