The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-09-28

the government is still in theory, at
least. the people.
RAILROADS AND THE PUBLIC.
The supreme court Of the United
States held in the Granger cases (Munn
VS.. Illinois, "a U. 81 and has reiterated
In many case since that time out Of
mind the control of common carriers
and their regulation as to rates and in
all other matters, rested In the govern
ment. Though in this country trans
portation by railroad is carried on by
private corporations" said the inter-
state commerce commission in their last
report (1899) to congress, ut is essen
TALLY government function. This ap-
railroad construction. 1t is a universal
maxim that private property cannot be
taken for private uses, but only for the
public use. Yet no railroad can be built
without the appropriation of private
property. 1t equally appears from the
relation of the carriers business to the
community. A merchant may sell to
one customer for one price and to an
other customer for another price, as best
subserves his interest, without violating
any sense of right and wrong, but it is
universally felt that the rates of public
transportation should be uniform to all.
The railway is, from its very nature in
respect to the greater part of it's busi-
ness. virtual monopoly. If the busi-
ness Of transportation is essentially a
government function, then the govern
ment must see that it is properly dis
charged. If it is in essence a monop-
oily, then it must be regulated. The two
things, of necessity, go hand in hand"
THE PUBLIC is SOVEREIGN.
This is very clear statement Of the
proposition. Railroads can only be con-
structed by reason Of having rights of
way condemned for them as public
use, and being public use, they are
necessarily subject to public regulation.
Indeed, the fact that you sit here, that
we have an interstate commission, and
that "a states or more have their rail-
road commissions, is conclusive that the
sovereign, of whom the supreme court
of the Union and of every state, is
merely an agency-the sovereign people
have decided once for all that these
iron horses shall be bitted and bridled.
The sun will not, cannot. go back a
single degree on the dial of Ahaz. Mr.
ingalls,, president of two great systems,
in his address to you last year, frankly
said: Regulation by the people has
come to stay, and railroad manager
who does not recognize that fact is
back number" He further said that the
mass of railway managers fully recog-
nized the permanence of public control
and regulation and were earnestly seek
ing a solution of the difficulties attend
ant upon it.
No one can doubt that If all the rail-
way managers Loyalty accepted the yoke
of the law, all questions Of difference
between railways and the people would
be fairly settled by the boards provided
by the law for that purpose. 1t Is be-
cause many managers do not accept it
but resort to injunctions (often issued
by their former attorneys, promoted to
the bench) to set aside rates, regula-
tions and tax assessments made by your
commissions that the present unsatis-
factory condition of affairs exists.
OWNERSHIP VS.. CONTROL.
1t results that the real question-and
we are face to face with it's whether
it is practical to control these great |
forces, these immense aggregations of
capital, by commissions and by statutes, |
or shall it be necessary to take the |
absolute ownership of them over in the |
government.
Great Britain and the United States,
the answer has been that government |
ownership is indispensable to safe and |
just control. Accordingly, in almost all |
other countries, including even the Aus
tralian and other British colonies, the |
or at least the controlling |
lines, are owned by their respective |
governments. In the United States and |
the contracted territory embraced in the |
British Isles, the experiment of govern
ment control, without government own
ership, is on trial.
There are evils in government owner |
ship. There are dificulties in govern
ment control, unless it has ownership.
1t is those diniculties which you have
had to face since the creations of your
commissions. You know
their magnitude. The histories of your
various bodies and the published pro-
of your meetings in these joint |
sessions for ten years past, show how
FULLY you have grasped the situation and
with what ability you have discussed
the problem it presents.s
ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM.
There are many aspects in which the
railroad problem presents itself: 80
1. The relation of common carriers
to their stockholders. v.s %
2. To one another. -
8. To their employees. I
4. To the government. sr'5
8. Their relation to the humble in
dividuals who are often treated ass If
they had no right to express their opin-
ions on such serious and intricate mat
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