Omaha daily bee., 1905-07-09

RAILROAD REGULATION SoPHTsTRY.
Governmental Regulation of Railroad
Rates was the sub, ect chosen by George
H. Peck Of Chicago, general attorney for
the Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul rail
road, in his annual address before the
Colorado Bar association last week. Mr..
Peck scored the Esch-Townsend bin
roundly and pronounced the whole
scheme Of the bill illogical, awkward,
unscientifc and unconstitutional" He
said that 1T was impossible to believe
that congress would delegate executive,
judicial and legislative powers to one
body Of men, and also took the ground
that 1t would be manifestly unfair to
the railroads to place their existence in
the hands Of q body with little or no
experience in railroad affairs or railroad
rates"
In these declarations Mr.. Peck has
simply reiterated the argument of rail
way attorneys and railway presidents
before the senate committee on inter
state commerce in opposition to enlar-
ging the powers of the Interstate Com
merce commission. They argued also
that the commission cannot exercise rate
making powers under our constitution
because 1t would be an attempt to con-
fer upon them legislative, judicial and
executive authority.
II the railway attorneys, who rank
among the highest in their profession,
actually believe the proposed bill en-
larging the powers of the commission is
unconstitutional. are they not wasting
their breath in needless contention? Are
the railroad managers not wasting
money in the campaign of education
which they are conducting so vigorously
and Systematically to defeat the pro-
posed measure2
The contention Of railway managers
that 1t would be utterly impossible for
commission of seven to adjust nationally
the $1,000 freight rate schedules now in
force in the country is designed to create
Of congress anticipates that the commits
sion will attempt to formulate $4,000
rate schedules, or even 100 rate sched-
ules within the next five years. All
that is contemplated by the law is that
the commission would recognize all ex-
listing rates as fair and reasonable until
complaints are filed against specific
schedules, and II upon investigation they
are found to be extortionate or discrim-
native the commission would so declare,
and IL the railroads declined to make
the change recommended, the commits
sion would make the change, subject to
final revision by the supreme court.
The railroad managers say they are
willing to let the commission make such
findings, provided the new rates do not
go into effect. until after the supreme
court has passed upon them. That
would mean simply procrastination and
no relief. The old rates would stand,
and if the supreme court made a de-
cislon sustaining the commission. the
roads would make trivial changes and
a new rate case would have to be made
up with several years more of procrasti-
nation and litigation,
If it is unfair to the railroads for con-
gress to give discretionary power to re-
duce rate which is regarded as exces-
sive or discrlminative to a commission
made up of men with little or no ex-
perience In railroad affairs and railroad
rates, would 1t not be more manifestly
unfair to place that same power in the
hands Of judges, who have less ex-
perience in railroad affairs and railroad
rates than body of men especially
chosen with view to the intelligent ex-
ercise of these functions?
The apprehension of railway mana
gers that commission rate cutting would
be tantamount to a confiscation of prop
erty is groundless and far less of a
menace to the railroad income than has
been the periodic rate cutting by reck-
less traffic managers who seek to force
competitive lines to divide traffic. At
the very worst, an unreasonably low
rate would be set aside by the courts,
while, If the railroads have their way,
an excessive rate would have to stand
until the courts set 1t aside, and in the
meantime patrons of the railroads would
continue to be subjected to the conhsca-
tion Of their property with practically
no recourse or redress against railroads
who maintain salaried STATS of the
ablest laWyers I'm the land.