The Newtown bee., 1905-10-27
EDITORIAL. INK DROPS. A PRACTICAL STUDY GE ThE
 RATE QUESTION:.
600 44OO

control of railway rates in foreign Countries and the decisions of the h. terstate Commerce Commission under the existing act to regulate commerce in the United States. He supports this conclusion in very interesting book of nearly 800 pages, which the Macmillan Company is just bringing out under the title, "Government Regulation of Railway Rates"
 The first quarter of the book is de- voted to study of the workings of government regulation in Germany. Prof Meyer explains that one of the principal reasons leading the Prussian government to take over the owner ship of it's railways was the complaint of discrimination in favor of competi- tive points, which is one of the argu- ments put forward for government regulation of rates in this country. In Germany, however, the remedy has proved to be far worse than the cure, according to Prof Meyer. The conflicts between various producing centers intent on securing or preserving ad- vantages in relation to common mar kets, has thrown the question of rail- way rates into politics. In many in- stances important legislative meas ures-for example, the commercial treaty with Russia-have been passed only by paying the price of concessions in rates to politically powerful sec- tions of the country.
 That the fixing of rates on a dis tance basis, which seems to be inev- itable in government regulation, has hampered the industrial development of Germany, Prof Meyer shows in va- rious ways, notably by the fact that all heavy and bulky freight is trans l that it is possible to ship grain economically by rail only 125 miles. The situation that would prevail in the United States if a graip-growing district were unable to market it's crops unless it happened to be within 125 miles of consuming market or upon a navigable waterway certainly would not appeal to the citizens of our great wheat and corn-growing states of the middle west.
 In France, where a system of state regulation of rates is in vogue, Prof Meyer finds that the railways are far behind those of the United States in meeting the demands of trade; rates are maintained at high level through the governments fear of diminution of it's revenue from canal tolls if rail rates were reduced, and competition is regulated ty canal boats of 300 tons capacity.
 A similar story is traced through the government regulation of rates in Austria-Hungary, the Danubian prov inces and Russia. Legislation of this sort everywhere has resulted in main taining an unduly high level of freight rates in preventing the development of technical efficiency to point con- pairing at all favorably with the stand ard prevailing in America, and in shutting off from important markets all but the most advantageously locat- ed producing regions.
 Turning to the other side of the world, the author finds that in Aus tralia the system of government rex- ulation has centralized trade to a re- markable degree in the three large cities of the country, instead of de- veloping the trade of every section, as l udo OCCu Ouc CdSc III UulS country. Although the rates of transportation are high, the operation of the roads shows a yearly deficit, and the systems of the different provinces are admins tered chiefly with regard to trade in- terests of the principal cities of those provinces which exercise political con- trol.
 After reviewing the course of gov ernment regulation abroad Prof Meyer takes up the question in relation to the United States. In an interesting review of the decisions of the Inter- state Commerce Commission he shows that these decisions, if they had been enforced, would have brought about results similar to those found abroad. Only the limitations of the law and it's strict interpretation by the Supreme Court have prevented the serious re- tardation of trade in the past.
 In contrasting the railroad situation as it exists in Europe and on this side of the Atlantic, Prof Meyer says:
 ''In Europe those who are hurt by progress get the rates under govern