The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-12-10
The Railroads Side.

LFrom Railroad Rebates by Ray
Stannard Baker, in the December
McClure's1
II a man is too conscientious to pay
rebates and break the law at the de-
mand Of Armour or of Pabst of Mil
vaukee. he is eliminated and a less
honest man takes his pIace-a man
VINO is willing to make terms with his
conscience, to do as the Romans do
or find some shady device that can be
furnished up by the legal department
to look lawful. The railroad man, in
deed, makes a pretty strong case for
himself, showing that he is the vic
tim of his own defense essness which
the shrewd trust shippers well know.
I quote from an excellent address by
]. w Gleed, an attorney for the
Frisco system.
"A railroad must have tonnage;
herein lies it's weakness and defense
lessness. 1t is an investment that can
never produce but one commodity,
namely, transportation. and that COM
modify must be consumed where the
railroad lies. It cannot be stored m
July to be sold in November. It's in
yestment is permanent and the ex-
penses run on, traffic or no traffic
Bankrupt though It becomes, its
wheels still turn in desperate hope:
and the worse its financial plight the
more reckless and dangerous its COM
petition. Most western roads could
carry twice their present tonnags,
with comparatively slight increase of
total annual expense, In this fact lies
the great wea kness and temptation or
a railroad. A railroad man says: I
can sell this one shipper transporta-
tton at q fraction of a. cent a ton and
yet not be out anything, because I
can so easily produce more transport
tation.'
James J. Hill. undoubtedly the fore
most railroad man in the country to-
day, said recently in an interview.
AS the matter now stands and has
stood for a number of years the prac-
tice of rebates has enabled the big
shippers to hold Il club over the rail-
roads. The more this question is
studied, the more it will be found that.
after all, the railroads need some pro-
lection
It is hardly surprising. then. with
this natural weakness of the railroads
combined with the greedy demands of
great shippers, that traffic morals
have come to be so easy in this colln-
try And yet, when the public says to
the railroad man, as It IS saying now
see here, YOU are the victims Of your
own property and of the greed of
powerful shippers; let US pass laws
that will arm us both against the
predatory trusts the railroad man
takes wild alarm. fearing that his
power and his profits in some way
will be leSsened. Bat until the pres
ent methods of conspiracy breeding
secrecy and wholly irresponsible prfs
vate control of the railroads are ut
terly revolutionized we cannot hope to
have a fair system of rate taxation
we cannot hope to grapple with the
trusts. and far more important than
that. we cannot secure q condition in
which decent business morals are even
possible.
One OF the very worst results of the
payment OF rebates to favored shin
pers has been the corroding growth of
suspicion and distruss throughout the
railroad business. It is a hard thing.
to say. but one cannot look Into the
question at all closely without reach
ing the conclusion that the honor Of a
promise. the word Of a man" has
disappeared in the railroad freight
business. A promise-even- a signed
coutrac civil not stand for one mo-
ment, il by breaking It q railroad
aEsnt can secure one car mers Of