The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-02
Spirit of the Press
Power to Fix Railroad Rates.

chicago tribune.
The governors of Iowa and Mime
sofa and a representative of Gov. La
Toilette. OF Wisconsin, have been in
consultation with President Roosevelt
in the hope of securing his aid in
forcing a revision of freight rates in
the West and of extending the pow
ers of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission. This seems to indicate that
strong pressure will be brought to
bear upon the next Congress to pass
the Quarles- Cooper bill or some legis-
Ia ton with similar intent. e., to
give the commerce commission power
to fix a reasonable freight rate when
1t has found the one in force unreal
Sonable.
Up to 1899 the tendency of freight
rates was downward and the impress
sion was that they would not and
could not be advanced. Railway traf-
fic managers often affirmed this in
testimony. But since the fall of 1899
there has been "a general advance i'll
the charges of transporting such mer
chandise as coal. iron, grain, lumber,
live stock, and many other classes of
commodities while at the same time
many advances have been brought
about by changes in classification.
Further advances are contemplated
by railroad officials and freely ac-
kncwledged.
Why are the rates increasing? The
railroads answer thai material ana
wages have advanced and that there
fore they must charge more for SER
vice which costs them more. This eX-
PLANTATION overloOkS the fact that
freight traffic has increased enor-
mously in recent years. 1t is q well
established principle shat increased
business does not mean a correspond
ing expense in handling it. The pen
efits of increased traffic should go far
toward equalizing increased cost Of
material and operatives, #, indeed, It
does not Overtcp them. If it were not
Sc well known that railroads are be-
ing constantly water ed by new bond
and stock issues, the explanation
might be taken with more serious
ness.
In a recent inquiry of the Interstate
Commerce Commission the traffic
manager of a large railroad system
testified that he made an advance on
rates to the Southwest because the
financial manager of the company III
New York instructed him TO do so.
This seems to contradict the theory
often advanced by railroads thai
freight rates are the result of a deli
cate adjustment to conditions which
can only be understood by men long
experienced in traffic management. In
the case mentioned the advance in
rates was the arbitrary fiat of the fl
nancier of the road, the same indiVlG-
ual who determines how much new
stock the property can float in wall
street without injurinS its reputation
as dividend Garner. The public re-
members too we'll how the Northern
Securities Company roads embraced
in the intended merger. This is an
explanation of why freight rates have
t. be increased from time to time 1t
is certainly worth as much as the
statement that material and wages
have advanced
The power TO levy freight rates is
in reality the POWER to levy a tax upon
nearly everyth .ng that enters into the
life and commerce of the country. BY
it's quasi public character the rail
road is possessed of a power which IL
almost equivalent to a governmental
function. Nobody questions the righI
of the railroads to impose a charge
foI transportation. But the charges
should bear some relation to the in
terests of the public. The right OF
Congress to regulate rates is unqUes-
toned the need of it is evident Why
then should the public not be safe
guarded against The cupidity which is
a recognized trait of human nature?
The original intention was to give
t0e commerce commission the power
20 fix reasonable transportation rates.
The need of this power is even more
imperative now than in 1887, for low
the tendency of rates is upward. The
NEXT Congress should restore to the
commission it's originally intended al
thority. Give it the power to fix rair
rate and to put that rate into imme-
diate operation when it is satisfied the
one in force is unsafe. Then let the
railroads show the courts that the
commission has made a mistake.