The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-05-27


with that of prescribing maximum rates
Additional powers are certainly unneces.
sary if those we now nave are, as
firmly believe, sufficient to deal witt
these matters.
Adverse Effect Is Exaggerated.
As to the concentration of ownership
of our railroads: While consolidation and
unifeation of railroad control have ran.
idly progressed since 1888 | believe tho
public idea of its extent and of its ad.
verse effect upon the nations commerce,
have been greatly exaggerated. 1t is one
of the natural results OF the passage OF
the interstate commerce law and of the
Sherman antitrust law, ana In this mat
ter the railroads have only moved with
the commercial current
But admitting that railroad centraliza.
ton is the rule of the present era nc
creditable evidence is produced to show
that it has unfavorably affected the gen.
eral commerce of the country, or in.
creased the rates charged for it's trans.
portation. If railroad rates have beer
here and there recently slightly ad-
vaneed, it has not been because of con-
solicitations or of decreased competition
between the carriers, but due solely to
the higher price of the labor and ma-
terials that enter into the cost of pro-
ducing all forms of railroad transporta-
tion
1T is as untrue that the officials and
owners of the railroads are stiff necked
in their opposition to all public SUPER
vision of their rates or regulations, as il
is that they favor and are building up
gigantic combinations to the injury on
exclusion of any other of their customers,
and that they themselves have become
the greatest of all monopoles.
A Few Men Cannot Do It.
Il do not believe that there is among
railroad officials anywhere any real OF
active opposition to a proper and reason.
able public supervision of their tariffs OF
business methods, but / confidently APP
peal to every person familiar in practice
with general transportation necessities
and requirements for confirmation OF tne
statement that no five or ten men in New
York or elsewhere, do or can make the
tariffs of one-half or even one-tenth OF
the railroads of the country. But the
magnitude of the task of sectional not
to say national making, is so well
understood by those charged with tins
RESPONSIBILITIES of railroad management
and the difficulties of reducing the num-
Der of those engaged in 1t are so great
that | have yet to meet the well Versed
railroad official who believes it possible
to select any five or any twenty men no
matter how able honest or expert, TO
whom could be safely entrusted the power
To supervise or prescribe, either IN Wnole
or in part, the transportation rates OF
this great country without imminent ana
widespread danger to every commefeiai
interest.
IT believe I voice almost without dis
sent railroad opinion in saying that IL
accepts the general principle that the
governments rela on to public transport
tation companies should be that of wise
supervision to prevent. in so far as IS
practicable, every unjust practice. elther
by them or against them, but that the
making of tariffs for service to be rem
dered be left ir the hands of those VINO
must bear the cost of producing thar
service and IS free as possible from the
restraints of statute Law, to the end that
the notwithstanding necessities OF traae
and commerce may be freely met ana
provided or as they of necessity are III
every other walk of life; having reason
allie faith that the agencies that have
been mainly instrr mental In building up
so successfully and wonderfully the
worlds intercourse cannot have so sud
denly gone wrong in the performance OF
their most important functions as to war
rant their hasty APPLICATION of drastic ana
untried remedies that now make the last
state worse than the first
Franklin Mcveaeh Speaks.
Franklin Mcveagh of Chics.go followed
President Tuttle and spoke at times Wit
tily and sarcastically concerning the Chi
cago strike, pointing out the mistakes OF
the union leaders whom he character
lied as unfit.
Robert T. Moore of st. Louis was the
next speaker and spoke of the advance
in civilization, industry and arts as re-
vealed bv the ST Louis exposition.
Melville e. Ingalls, chairman OF tho
board of directors of the Zig Four rail-
road closed with "-Auf Wiedersehen.