The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1905-05-26
RAILROADS AND PROGRESS.

In his testimony before the senate
committee ON interstate commerce at
Washington ON May 4. Prof Hugo r.
Meyer of the Chicago university. an
expert on railroad management. made
this statement.
let us look at what might have
happened II We had needed the pro
tests ~ the farmers Of New York and
Ohio and Pennsylvania lin the 7Os.
when grain from the west began pour.
ing to the Atlantic scaboardj. and
acted upon the doctrine which the In.
terstato commerce commission has
enunciatcd time and again. that no
man may be deprived Of the ad.
Vantagcs accruing to him by virtue
OF his geographical position We could
not have west Of the Mississippi a
population Of millions of people who
are prosperous and are great con.
sumers. We never should have seen
the years when we built 10000 and
10000 miles Of railway, for there
would have been no farmers west Of
the Mississippi river who could have
used the land that would have been
opened up by the building Of those
railways. And II We had not seen tho
years when we could build 10000 and
10000 miles Of railway a year ws
should not have to day east OF tho
Mississippi a steel and iron produc.
ing center. which is at once the mar.
vel and the despair Of Europe. because
We could not have built up n steel and
iron industry II there had been no
market for ~ product
We could not have In New England
a great boot and shoe industry: we
could not have In New England a
great cotton milling Industry: we
could not have spread throughout New
York and Pennsylvania and Ohio man.
ufacturlng Industries Of the most al.
yorsined kinds. because those indus.
tries would have no market among
the farmers west OF the Mississippi
river.
And while tho progress Of this
country. while the development OF
the agricultural west Of this country.
did mean the impairment OF the az.
rlcultural value east OF the Mississippi
river. that ran up into hundreds Of
millions Of dollars, Il meant Incident.
ally the building up Of great manu-
featuring industries that added to the
value OF this land by Thousands OF
millions OF dollars And. gentlemen.
those things were not foroseen In the
'70's. The statesmen and the public
men OF this country did not see what
part the agricultural development Of
the west was going 20 play In The In.
dustrlal development Of the east. And
| you may read the decisions OF the
Interstate commerce commission from
the hrst TO the last. and what n one
Of the greatest characteristics Of those
decislons7 The continued inability to
see the question In this large way.
Tho Interstate commerce commits.
sion never can see anything more
than that the farm land OF some farm.
er IL decreasing In value. or that soma
man who has a -four mill with a pro.
duction Of nifty barrels a day Ia be-
Ing crowded out II never can see
that the destruction or impairment Of
farm values In this place means the
building up Of farm values In that
place. and that that shifting OF values
Is n necessary incident TO the Indus.
trial and manufacturing development OF
this country And n we shall give
10 the Interstate commerce commits.
sion power TO regulate rates. we shall
no longer have our rates regulated
on the statesmanlike basis on which
they have been regulated In the past
by the railway men. who really have
been great Statesmen, who really have
been great builders of empires. who
have had an imagination that rivals
the imagination of the greatest poet
and Of the greatest inventor. and who
have operated with courage and dar,
ing that rivals the courage and dar.
Ing Of the greatest military general
hut we shall have our rates regulated
by n body OF civil servants. bureau.
Gratis, whose bosottlng sin the world
over is that they never can grasp
situation In a large way and with the
grasp ~ the statesman: that they
never can see the fact that they arc
confronted with a small evil; that
that evil Is relatively small, and that
Il cannot be corrected except by tho
creation Of evils and abuses which
are Infinitely greater than the one
Tint be- IA Ia anrr4gtaN %