The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-31
Defines Object In Forming Joint
Traffic Association.
ASSIST COMMERCE ACT
ASSOCIATION NECESSARY AS
STATISTICAL BUREAU.
People Erred In Surprising That In
Preventing a Pool They Were Get
ting Better Rates-Railroads Anx-
ious That Government Shall Su-
pervise and Control Pooling.

New York, Oct. SO.-Chauncey NJ.
Depew, having made a study of the
decision by the supreme court on the
traffic associations. gives his opinion as
follows:
THE decision of the supreme court
necessitates the dissolution of the Joint
Traffic association as at present consti-
tuted. Broadly stated, the decision
means that there shall be no assocla-
ton among railroads by which they
will have any agreement in regard TO
rates. either the maintenance of rates
or the prevention of rate-cutting. or
the prevention of determinations
against weak shippers in favor of
strong ones or against small localities
and those along the lines in favor of
the great terminal cities.
'The object of the Joint Traffic asSo-
citation was, first, TO assist the inter-
state commerce act; second, to prevent
secret rate-cutting, and, third, to pre-
vent the favoritism to great cities and
to great shippers which are gradually
wiping out intermediate towns and the
small business men.
ct is absolutely necessary for the
railroads of the country to know the
lions as to freight which is to be moved
at the different reservoirs where it is
concentrated. It is also necessary that
they know whether and why this
freight is securing an outlet, if for ex
port, through the gulf of Mexico or by
the Canadian route OF by the Atlantic
seaboard.
SOME ASSOCIATION MUST EXIST.
TT will be necessary, therefore, that
some association should exist as 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 a 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. In
other words, as the railroads are semi
public corporations, then the public
should be treated upon lines the same
as the government treats people who
use the postoffice, or the same as men
are treated who use the telegraph lines,
viz, uniform rates and the same treat
ment to every one for like service.
The great error of the people who
framed the interstate commerce act
was in supposing that in preventing the
having a pool they are getting lower
rates for the public and preventing dis
ordinations. Their legislation proceed
ed on the thought that there is but one
line, for instance, between New York
and Chicago, whereas there are eight
lines. Now it is possible for a combina-
ton of capital to take the weak line
and ship its product over that line upon
an agreement much below the current
rates. The weak line may be in the
hands of a receiver and have no obliga-
lions to pay, either upon its stock or
upon it's 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 regular and 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 that the people who are stu
ated upon the other lines or who sent
to market from other places than the
terminus of the bankrupt lines are
driven out of business. Then the anti
trust anti-corporation, anti-combina-
ton people by their own device have
created a combination and trust This
process has been going on ever since
the Interstate commerce act and the
anti-pOoling provision were enforced If
the process continues, the present rapid
progress of the consolidation of every
product into the hands of one concern
or few men will continue until both
the producers and consumers of the
country will have their prices fixed by
the combination in the various products
of the people. If the eight lines, how
ever, were in a position where they
% L
in giving equal options by all lines, then
the enterprise and energy and natural
facilities of intermediate places, with
smaller expenses and less capital in
their business, with the owners attend
ing to their own affairs, would result in
a wide distribution of Independent bus
mess, in the farmer finding many COM
petitors for the produce of his farm and
the railways having thousands of Gus
toners instead of a very few
REGULATES RATES
The objection to a pooling law has
always been that the railways would
combine to raise prices. It is appar-
entity useless for the railroad man 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 centers
at which freight is gathered make it
impossible for the railways to raise
rates. But the railways are not only
willing but anxious that this danger
should be obviated by giving the gov
eminent supervision and control over
all pooling rates. The railroads ask
for no pooling law except upon these
conditions: First, the pooling contract
shall not be made until it has been ap-
proved by the interstate commerce
commission, and, second. that if the
rates prove oppressive 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