The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-08


There is, however, one field in which
present legislation has worked great good,
and in which the legislation may be ex-
tended and made more drastic and effective
to great advantage. / refer to the congress
sional legislation in reference TO interstate
commerce and to state legislation in refer
ence to railroad rates and service.
1.-The same considerations that apply to the
railroad apply in a lesser degree to other
corporations performing public service, like
water and gas companies, which use the
public streets of the city and furnish light
and water to the people.
THE legislation as to such corporations
accomplisheS TO a greater or less degree
two things:
Il. 1t requires uniformity of rates so that
the corporation must render service to one
man on the same terms which it renders
similar service TO another, and prohibits
any discrimination.
1.-The legislation that we have on that
subject is far from perfect. but it has been
effective enough to diminish the evil of dis
elimination so much that it can hardly be
said TO exist at all to-day. When 1 am told
that such legislation is ineffective like to
point TO the highway robbery that was
practiced on the community in favor of the
Standard Oil Company not so long ago but
that IL is within the easy memory OF many
of us, and / like to point also to the fact
that even the Standard Oil Company has
been compelled to become almost a law
abiding citizen by reason Of such legisla-
ton.
REASONABLE RATES.
So 1t regulates rates and enforces rea-
sonable rates. Legislation along this line
has not been so effective. There are in
herent difficulties in the way. There is
no standard of reasonableness of rates
except the standard of judges conscience,
and that standard varies in different tribu-
mails, in different judges in the same tribu-
nal, and in the same judge sometimes, ac-
cording TO the way his dinner digested the
night before.
IF you fix an arbitrary rate by legis-
lation or executive action, you have a still
greater trouble. for the conscience of the
judge. however imperfect 1t may be- is the
best conscience we can find for such a pur-
| pose.
notwithstanding these difficulties the
groSser evils have been corrected by such
| legislation, standards, however difficult of
attainment, and however imperfect have
been evolved, and the community has
received considerable relief and benefit
There is to my mind no doubt but that
| legislation along these lines to prevent dis
| elimination In rates and to secure reason
able rates from corporations enjoying public
| franchises and performing quasi-public du-
ties should be extended and perfected.
There is a great field for such legislation
| to occupy and the legislator should not hes
Little. in my Judgment. can be accom-
| plished by directly prohibiting combina-
| ton. You must make combination unproft-
| able and then the prohibition is unneces-
airy As long as the combination is profit
| able the combiners will keep ahead of the
legislators. Whatever may be the fate Of
| Court or the United States, Is there any
| man expects that the Great Northern and
the Northern Pacifie ; railroads ever to be
| distribution of the securities held by the
| Northern Securities Company as much as 1t
| will, and the securities will be distributed
| in accordance with the decree OF the court
| but within twenty-four hours after their
| distribution they will find their way back
into mammoth safe, with mammoth
| nav in a certain building, corner of Wall
| and Broad streets, New York.
| FOR HIGHER TAXES.
I'VE must make combination Improbable
| "How?
| 1--WE can tax them more
| 'A.re large part of the cost of govern
| ment now is caused by the expense of
preventing and suppressing disturbances
| caused by labor troubles between great
| combinations and their employees. The
| small operator and the employer Of rela-
| lively few men comes into closer con-
| tact with them and there is, not much
| probability of trouble. Besides, the great
| concerns are all corporations, while a
| large percentage of the smaller operators
| are unincorporated. The corporation is the
| creature of the State and the State is at
| liberty to impose harder terms and more
| conditions upon its operations than upon
1
| or the State that is the creator can con-
| troll its own creature.
There is logic then. in taxing the great
| higher rate than the small operators are
taxed. This can easily be done without
| running counter to any provision OF the
| State Constitution which would prohibit
| direct taxation at different rates IT could
| easily be amended if the amendment is
| thought desirable.
| lie a franchise M
| posed by most of the States upon cor
| porations at the time of their incorpora-
ton and annually thereafter. This fran
| chise tax is in almost all cases tax In
| some way graded so as TO tax the small
| corporation at a higher rate than the
large one. The first million dollars pay
| O higher rate of taxes than the second,
and so on. In my judgment the grada-
| ton should be continued, but IL should be
a grading up instead of down, l would
have the first hundred thousand free and
| the first million cheap and raise the rate
with each succeeding million. The United
States Steel Corporation now has CAPT
| talization of something over $,eooOO,UO:
The graduation stages might be slow and
easy enough to please the most conserva-
| tive, and yet result in taxation or 10
| per cent upon the last hundred millions:
| How long would the United States Steel
Corporation continue under that system OF
| taxation?
LIMIT ON EXPANSION.
This tax could be imposed in any or
| every State where the corporation was
doing business or by the United States.
1t is easy in this way to put limit upon
the expansion of capitalization, and that
puts limit perforce upon the extent OF
the combination.
"2 We can compel them to render better
and cheaper service
IF the combination of the Northern Pa
! cifc and the Great Northern is a great
| enough public disaster to have warranted
| the attention which it has attracted, II
| could have been prevented much easier
| than by a hundred Sherman trust laws by
! a single United States statute that re-
| quired any railroad corporation engaged
| in interstate commerce TO reduce its rates
| competition had been prevented by COM
| ment.
| 80 If necessary the State itself can enter
| the Industrial field a producer ana re-
| store the force of competition TO It's Tor
| mer supremacy by becoming itself COM
| petitor of the great trusts The modern
| combination has become too big Tor any
| private competitor. If we must IND COM
| petitor the State must enter the field Inc
| only possible competitor OF Dlll1on-dollaI
| trust Is a hundred billion dollar State.
This involves no new principle and no
| new form of State activity. The State in
| one or the other of it's different forms OF
| activity-natiOnal. State or municipal-iS al
ready in the industrial field. The United
| States government is one OF the largest
common carriers in the land. 1t carries the