The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-11-23
Rates and Rate Inequalities.

In his Raleigh speech the president
advanced no new argument in support
Of Federal control OF railway rates. With
Characteristic vigor he pounded recog-
nized evil, for the suppression of which
existing laws are only a little short
OF duly adequate. He made no allusion
to the possible result of stern and
unlelenting enforcement of laws already
provided for the restraint of what he
calls INSCRIPTIONS and ruthless cum
ming in railway management" by which
some big shippers and some railroad
managers who are always willing to take
unfair advantage of their weaker COM
petitors force other big shippers and big
railroad men who would like to do de-
Gently into similar acts of wrong and
injustice, under penalty of being left
behind in the race for success"
This, which is the main line of the
presidents argument, does not seem to
touch the principal issue of the present
consideration, namely, the question of
reasonable rates. Upon the issue of the
equality of rates and treatment for all
shippers there is little room for argu-
ment. Shippers, railways and the pub
lie are in general agreement upon that
point. With some elaboration of the
present laws. to which little or no OBJ
lection raised, the point of I'M
fair discrimination may be covered as
well as it can be. II is doubtful if any
such law could be made absolutely ef
fectiye.
But that is an issue which is distinct
from the proposal to place rate making
powers in the hands OF an administrative
body, There appears to be confusion
upon this poilt. There is a wide differ
enee between the prohibition Of any
form Of unfair discrimination between
shipper and shipper, or between point
and point, and the determination Of rate
charges by federal commission. 1t is
to the latter and not to the former that
objection is made. Mr.. Roosevelt said
that actual experience has shown that
it is not possible to leave the railroads
uncontrolled" | do not know the exact
period of this actual experience. am
under an impression that railways are,
and always have been, subject to a long
list OF restraining laws, statutory as
we'll as economic
Our transportation system has made
this country what 1t Is today. Our de-.
Velopment has not come in spite Of our
system, but because Of IL. That abuses
have erept in is undeniable. Abuses
have crept into Our government control
led postal system and into our govern
ment supervised and regulated banking
system. But freedom Of action in rate
making has enabled railways TO open
enormous areas of otherwise valueless
land, and TO distribute the products Of
our farms and our workshops in man
ner impossible under restrained action.
The history Of all state rate making
shows the inevitable tendency of that
method toward the fiat distance tariff.
Such system in this country OF enor-
nous areas and distances would turn
farms into waste places and valuable
machinery into junk.
Nowhere in the entire range Of the
railway discussion has it been shown
that the country has suffered or that
it Is suffering from excessive railway
rates. Outside Of individual instances,
whose rarity makes them almost unique,
there has been neither complaint OF ex-
cessiye charges nor cIamor for reduc-
tion by federal commission. The call
for rate regulation by commission or
by a court does not come from our
thousands Of shippers. It is the cry
Of few who hope to gain by it, aug
mented By the roaring Of non.shippers
who have little or no advantage Of
transportation questions.
The country, the shippers and even
the railways win support the president
in any effort 10 remedy evils, to correct
abuses, to stamp out inequalities and
unfair determinations. But it Is not
railway managers only who are stag
gcred by proposals that commission
be empowered either to fix rates or to
regulate railway traffic. From the
Washington Correspondent New York
Sun, November o, 1905.