The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-03-22
MADDY DISCUSSES
RATE REGULATION
Erie Official Points Reasons
Why Commission Cannot
Do Work

j. II. Maddy, head of the department
of publicity of the Chicago & Erie, with
a party of railroad officials, and accom-
panied by Mrs. Maddy and her niece,
visited st. Paul yesterday. Mr.. Maddy
has been a close student of railroads
and was a Baltimore newspaper man
prior to the time he was appointed
publicity agent of the Baltimore &
Ohio railroad. A few months ago he
was taken over by the Erie and given
full charge of the news department of
the road.
Since his connection with the Erie he
has been busy presenting facts and
statistics bearing on the question of
government rate regulation. In speak
ing of this subject to I he Clio b e
yesterday he said:
The course taken by congress, or at
least the house of representatives, in
passing the Esch-Townsend bill. which
adds a practical rate making power to the
duties of the interstate commerce COM
mission, was noteworthy event. The
agitation that was commenced several
years ago against rebates, discrimina-
tons and alleged private car line abuses
did not contemplate giving rate making
power into the hands OF a commission
1t did contemplate correcting the abuses
as they were seen at that time.
When First Step Was Taken
Inc step IN tne line
that was really taken was the Elkins act,
which prohibits rebating. Chairman Ba-
con of the committee that sought for con-
greSs to pass the rate regulating act last
session admitted that rebating practically
ceased with the operation of the ElkinS
act. The railroads heartily favor the
anti-Tebate law and would welcome legis-
lation that would place the private car
lines under the jurisdiction of the inter-
state commerce commission.
The position of the roads in opposing
the Esch-Townsend bill was simply this:
They would not agree that il was right
and equitable for any body of men to
have the making of rates upon which the
business of the railroads was based. They
maintained that it was unjust for the in
terstate commerce commission or any
other body to be able to say that rate
was wrong and have the power to COM
mand the roads to lower il and make
the rate effective from the time of the
rendition of the opinion and until that
opinion should be set aside and modified
by court Of competent jurisdiction.
Held Against Commission
In justifying this stand the roads point
out that in the thirty-four cases from
roads to court, where the matters in dis
pute were the results of claims that the
rates were excessive, that the courts held
against the order of the commission in
thIrty-two out of the thirty-four tried
Now If the rates had been effective as
named by the commission the loss to the
rdiiroadS would have been enormous. 1t
might amount to millions and tens of mil
lions of dollars. 1t is the immediate eff
1ectlVeness OF the rates made by the COM
mission that the roads object to.
Ihere is nigh traffic official in st.
Paul who has come here recently Now
just to show how extremely difficult of
mastery is the question of rate making
for single line, will say that this Off
Ger although an acknowledged expert and
one of the best rate men in the world
hnds 1T necessary to leave his family in
chicago for six months until he can make
a careful inspection of the single line
upon which ne is to work. If this is true
OF an expert rate man working on single
line and with twenty-five years of val
liable experience back of him. how in the
name of common sense should a commits
sion sitting at Washington or travelling
all over the country. succeed where the
questions of rate making would involve
knowledge OF the most intricate kind as
TO conditions obtaining in thousands of
different sections and localities?
The fact that the courts have generally
held against the rulings OF the commits
sion when the claim has been that rates
were too high, seems to me to be answer
enough.
No railroad could do business Indefinite
~ If the freight rates charged its patrons
were excessive. No railroad could exist
II the rates were too low Consequently it
is the endeavor of all railroads to strike a
mean where the rates charged are as low
as possible and at the same time the rev
enue from the traffic pays a reasonab bic
amount on the invested capital