The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-11-20
Equalize Opportunity.

Congressman cooper OIL WlSCOllSlI,
chairman of the insular affairs committee
of the house of representatives, is out
in an interview in the Milwaukee Free
Press In which he says that in his opin-
ion the great contributing cause Of the
power Of the trusts is the enjoyment of
special railway rates. He holds that If
all the people can only be made equal be-
fore the railways the trusts will always
he tempered hy the fear of possible COM
petition. In this interview Congressman
mark:
The very basis of our government is
the equality Of all men before the law
equality of opportunity ito earn
livelihood. Everybody admits that 1t
would be a grievous wrong for the state
to interfere with this equality. 1t is just
as wrong for the state to permit one of
its creatures or agents, like a railway
company. to interfere with it,
In those sentences Mr.. Cooper has sue
ceedeG In stating the essential Justice
and necessity Of state regulation Of dan
get Gus corporations as well as they might
be. put in many pages America has GER
tainly always lnetnt equality Of oppor-
tunity. When the growth of new indus
trial conditions and agencies threatens
that equality, the state is in no way pa
ternaiistic when it intervenes to use it's
powers to restore equality.
1t would be wrong for the state directly
to destroy equality, and it is almost as
grave an offense for the state to permit
its creatures to interfere with it. When
they manifest tendency to do 50, it. is
clearly the business Of government to re-
strain and, If necessary, destroy them.
There is no doubt that unjust discrimi-
nation by railway companies is the chief
promoter Of the excessive power for evil
Of some of the large corporations. Equal
ization Of railway rates would not destroy
the trusts, but 1t would deprive them of
an unfair advantage. In eighteen months
the railways paid the Standard Oil COM
pany $4,000, 900 in rebates, and not only
paid them on the oil shipped by the COM
pany, but also on that shipped by it's
competitors. BY connivance of the rail-
ways the Standards competitors were
ing business.
1t is hardly possible for one company
to maintain itself in business against a
competitor that, by means of rebates.
secures transportation rates that are
about so per cent less than the other has
tn nav ct tho }Iuyouc thot THO +
sort of thing have. their charters from
government and owe their right of way
privilege to the public nature Of their
function. H.. - ~
But the railways are not the chief Of
tenders in this matter. They would pre-
fer to have one rate for all. 1t would
mean greater income to them, less fric-
ton and less expense in getting business.
1t Is the big shipper, playing upon the
rivalry Of competing lines, who is gener-
ally primarily to blame. The railroads
seek his business and he dictates the
terms. There is hardly railroad man
in the United States who has not grit
ted" his teeth at the injustice Of the thing,
when force of circumstances has driven
him to give big shipper a secret rate or
rebate. - -
According to Congressman Cooper there
are only two ways to equalize railway
rates. One is to authorize pools and traf-
fic agreements. and the other is govern
ment ownership Of railways. That is. to
say the choice is between wise govern
ment regulation Of railways and public
ownership. The revised Elkins bill will
come up in congress again at the ap-
proa ching session, and it or some meas
ure that improves upon it should be passed
as an experiment II nothing else. The
sooner we find out how far it is possible
to equalize rates without government own
ership the better it will be.