Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-16

1t Is, however, this very provision that, In
my Judgment, renders the law Ineffective.
When you provide punishment for an
act committed b yam official of a corpora
ton in the way of business which Is done
every day by 30 per cent of the business
men engaged m private affairs without
punishment, You are making that a crime
which the publiG conscience does not con-
slider one, and therefore such law has not
the support of the public The public will
not support any one, either railway off,
cial or business man, who gives inforna-
ton leading tor conviction under such
law. The jaw should be changed, making
II an .offeDses punishable by fine. You may
make the fine $500 or 81 600, or 5000, If
you please 1t will then be supported, and
you will have no difficulty in getting evil
dence, and the law can be enforced.
3Propbsed Remedy.
ut is hardly worth while to treat agree
ments of railway corporations as more
sacred than any other of the business at
fairs of men, or to throw around them
greater punishn1ents and penalties My
Judgment is that what is necessary in the
way of legislation Is, first, that we should
amend the interstate commerce law, as 1t
exists, by allowing railways to make agree
ments for the maintenance Of tariffs and
the division of business, all rates and tar
ms unGer such agreements to be subject TO
the supervision of the interstate commerce
commission as to whether they are reason
able or not: that all violations of these
agreements. as between the railways them
selves, should be subject to damages by
suits IN the courts, like other ordinary af-
fairs; that, any shipper wronged could
bring suit, or on any complaint of the pub
lie violations should be punished by fines
Then [ should provide further for the
greatest publicity of accounts and the af-
fairs or these great corporations; that their
accounts should be kept according to the
rules prescribed by the interstate commerce
commission; that that commission should
employ experts similar to those appointed
by the bank examiner, who should, at
stated times, and at other times, as the
commission concluded wise, examine the
accounts Of all the railways, and should
make report of their affairs.
Limitation of Railway Lines.
Il would provide then, further, that no
railway should be built except upon the ap-
proTal of the commission, and no charter
should be issued except a proper and suf-
fctent capital was fully paid up. The time
has gone by when It is necessary to allow
what you might call 'skylarking corpora
tons to be organized. Henceforth the rail-
way business is to be a conservative,
steady business; and If a new line Is de-
sired it should not be authorized unless
capital Is willing to take the risk. This
Will prevent the building of parallel and
competing lines in the future, which are of
no Use to the public.
Opposes Government Ownership.
1.-THE tendency with many writers and
thinkers today is for the government to
own and manage these great highways. AS
the government is at present constituted
and managed. I should consider this a ma
tional calamity. To avoid it we should en-
deaVor as far possible to see that these
corporations are treated fairly. that the
public is also given proper consideration
and, above all, that the great army of en-
ployes is well taken care Of
Il am a EeIever. myself, in Notwithstanding
as applied to railways, and that in the fu-
ture 1t will work out the solution Of the
question between employer and employee
and avoid strikes and friction. Many of
the great corporations are working to this
end by r1bans Of their pension lists. hos
pitfalls, etc, BUT they cannot make much
progress in I hiS fine if they are to be ham
pered by Rgfslation such as is applied to
no other of the Industries of this country.
Factor 5p Developing the Country.
ct must be remembered that the great
factor in the Development and Improvement
of this country IS the railways, and any
thing that unidstly and unduly Expresses
them hin4cra and retards the development
of the country. 1t is time that disre-
garded the cry Of the demagogues against
the railways and treated them like bus
mess corporations, necessary and essential
to our progress land development. And 10
repeat and sum up it seems to me that for
this purpose. 1t is necessary that he pres
ent law should be amended by legalizing
contracts between railways, subject 20 the
inspection and approval of the interstate
commerce commission, that infractions of
that law should be punished like other bus
mess transactions by a fine and no attempt
should be made to make it criminal Of
Tense: that d more thorough inspection of
the accounts Of railways should be made and
greater publicity given. so that the public
may know what is being done, what they
are buying and what they are getting, and
that they should be protected from raids
by spectators and blackmailers, and no
rival line allowed except upon a hearing
and decision by the commissioners that
such a line is needed.
Testimony This Afternoon.
The industrial commission reassembled at
3:15 o'clock this afternoon, when Messrs.
VIM T. Graham, vice president, and F. s.
Wheeler, treasurer, of the American Tin
Plate Company appeared and testified