The Springfield herald., 1898-06-10
on US abroad and suffering and want In
many family and community at home.

on us abroad and suffering and want IN
many family and community at home.
"one of the chief difficulties with the
law a. 1t stands today is that the pun
ishment for private contracts and rebates
Is entirely out of proportion to the offense.
The imprisonment clause put In as
an amendment to the Interstate COM
merce law and believe the commission
and everyone who has watched its work
inSs Will agree with me that 1t has been
failure; more than a failure, that 1t
has caused perhaps more decentralization
than anything else. The public has not
believed in 1t. 1t has been impossible to
secure conviction: 1t has prevented the
railway official who desired to be honest
from complaining of his competitor whom
he thought was dishonest. In fact. 1t has
been what every law is that is not sup
ported by public sentiment-a failure.
What. In fact. is the manner of conduct
ins business today? The railway official
who desires to be honest and law-abidins
sees traffic leave his line and finds the
freight that he was carrying hauled to
tho warehouse OF his rival. the earnings
OF his line decreasing and complaints
from the management of loss of earnings.
and in the distance he secs looming up
the loss of his position. At the same
time, the shipper who desires to obey
the law sees some rival selling merchan-
meet. and he knows very well that he Is
securing concessions from some railway
to enable him to do this. The railway
agent and the shipper who wish to obey
the law sit down together and look II
over. What relief is there for them?
They can complain of their rivals. possi-
bly, convict them under the interstate
commerce law and send them to the PEN
itentiary, but such action would bring
down upon them the condemnation OF the
public and would ruin their business; for.
as stated before the public does not be-
lieve In this severe feature of the law,
and will not support anyone who enforces
1t. The result Is. these men. IN Despair
are driven to do Just what their opponents
are doing-they become lawbreakers
themselves. have drawn no fancy pic
ture; 1t is what is occurring every day
around you.
rs 1t wise, is 1t broad statesmanship.
to leave business as large as that OF
the railways-one in which one-hfth at
least of our population is engaged. one
which affects the comfort and happiness
of nine-tenths of the people-is 1t wise 10
leave 1t outside of the law? 1t Is said
that the most expensive occupation 10
tho community is that of the burglar, ne
has to spend so much time and destroy
so much to get so little. Is 1t worth while
to force the great railway interests of
the country into the same position?
who opposes this legislation? First.
certain people who desire the government
to own and operate the railways Sec
ond. others who wish that the Interstate
railway commission should make all
rates. Third and lastly certain railway
managers who are opposed to any and
all legislation and who object to any con-
troll and believe that they should be left
entirely alone.
LAS to the first parties need not spend
much time upon them. Very few people
in this country are ready to launch the
government into the management OF 49,
900 miles of railway and the employment
OF a million of men. 1t would in the END
be the destruction of the republic. One
wishes the interstate commerce commits
sion to regulate everything; the other
wants them to regulate nothing.
rs 1t not better is 1t not wise. for US to
take a medium course? The question of
making rates Is a most important and
most delicate business. The question
whether the grain from Nebraska shall
be exported to Europe via the Atlantic
ports or through the gulf or by way OF
Canada, the question of what tariff 1t is
profitable to make (and this usually do
pends entirely upon what freight there
is to carry back). the protection of differ
ent ports. the development of different
classes of business. all involve such i'm
mense interests that the human mind that
realized the task would shrink from CIV
ing 1t to one set of men. no matter how
wise or experienced they were, and =
man who would desire this power would
be rash beyond conception.
"Pitted against this view and deter
mined to prevent any legislation 10 the
railway manager who believes that he
should be left to sail his own boat. night
his own battle. manage his line as he
pleases. This plan was all very well Is
years ago, but the people have decided
otherwise and he who does not change
and recognize the present situation is a
back number. Regulation by the people
has come to stay.
'All of us who have any interest In our
country. who desire its prosperity. are in
terested in the solution of this great
question. 1t is not a time for the donna
gogue to howl about corporations. 1t IL
not q time to talk about the wrongdoings
of railway managers. There are always
some. in any business. who will not do
right, and there always will be, but the
great mass of railway managers to-day, I
assure you, are as honestly seeking a So
luton of this question as are you or any
member of the legislative body. be-
lieve I voice the belief of very large
majority Of them that the two provis-