The news & observer., 1905-12-06


this way can violations or evasions of
the law be surely detected. A system
of examination of railroad accounts
should be provided similar to that now
conducted into the national banks by
the bank examiners; a few first-class
railroad accountants. if they had prop
er direction and proper authority to
inspect books and papers could ac-
compliSh much in preventing Willful
violations of the law. 1t would not
be necessary for them to examine into
the accounts of any railroad unless for
good reasons they We're directed to
do so by the Interstate Commerce
Commission 1t is greatly to be desired
that some way might be found by
which an agreement as to transporta-
tion within q State intended to operate
as q fraud upon the Federal inter-
State commerce laws could be brought
under the jurisdiction of the Federal
authorities. At present it occurs that
large shipments of Interstate traffic
are controlled by concessions on pure
" State business, which of course
amounts to an evasion of the law. The
commission should have power to en-
force fair treatment by the great
trunk lines of lateral and branch
lines
| urge upon the Congress the need
of providing for expeditions action by
the Interstate Commerce Commission
In all these matters. whether in regu-
lating rates for transportation or for
storing or for handling property or
commodities in transit. Fhe history
OF the gases litigated under the pres
ent commerce act shows that its effl-
cacy has been to great degree de-
stroyed by the weapon of delay, al
most the most formidable weapon in
the hands of those whose purpose it is
TO violate the law
Let me most earnestly say that these
recommendations are not made in any
spirit Of hostility to the railroads. On
ethical grounds, on grounds of right.
such hostility would be intolerable;
and on grounds of mere national self
interest we must remember that such
hostility would tell against the welfare
not merely of some few rich men, but
of a multitude of small investors a
multitude of railway employees wage
workers.: and most severely against
the interest of the public as a whole.
/ believe that on the whole our rail-
roads have done well and not i'll; but
the railroad men who wish to do welt
should not pe exposed to competition
with those who have no such desire,
and the only way to secure this end is
to give to some government tri5unai
the power to see that justice is done
by the unwilling exactly as it is gladly
done by the willing. Moreover, il some
government body is given increased
power the effect will be to furnish au-
thoritative answer on behalf OF the
railroad whenever irrational clamor
against it is raised, or whenever
charses made against it are disproved.
/ ask this legislation not only in the
interest of the public but in the inter-
est of the honest railroad man and
the honest shipper alike for it is they
who are chiefly jeoparded by the prac-
tices of their dishonest competitors.
This legislation should be enacted in
a spirit as remote as possible from
hysteria and rancor. If we of the
American body polite are true to the
traditions we have inherited we shall
always scOrn any effort to make US
hate any man because he is rich, just
as much as we should scorn any et-
fort to make us look down upon or
treat contemptuously any man because
he is poor We judge man by his
conduct-that is. by his character
and not by his wealth or intellect. 1t
he makes his fortune honestly, there
is no just cause of quarrel with him.
Indeed, we have nothing but the
kindliest feelings of admiration for the
successful business man who behaves
decently whether he has made his
success by building managing rail
road or by Shipping goods over that
railroad The big railroad men and
big shippers are simply Americans OF
the ordinary type who have developed
to an extraordinary degree certain
great business qualities. They are
neither better nor worse than their fel-
low-citizens of smaller means. Ihey
are merely more able in certain lines
and therefore exposed to certain pc
culiarly strong temptations. Ihese
temptations have not sprung newly
into being; the exceptionally success
f,,l nIyipd have ALWAYS been
exposed to them: but they have grown
amazingly in power as result OF the
extraordinary development OF INDUS
trialism along new lines, and under
these new conditions, which the law
makers of old could not foresee ana
therefore could not provide against
they have become so serious and men
acing as to demand entirely new rem
edies. 1t is in the interest of the best
type of railroad man and the best type
of shipper no less than of the public
that there should be governmental su-
pervision and regulation of these great
business operations, for the same rea-
son that it is in the interest of the cor
poration which wishes to treat its en-
plOyees Alright that there should be
an effective employers liability act
or an effective system of factory laws
to prevent the abuse or women ana
children All such legislation frees
from being driven into doing i'll, III
order to compete with its rival, which
prefers to do i'll. We desire to set up
a moral standard. There can be no
delusion more fatal to the nation
than the delusion that the standard
of profits. of business prosperity, is
sufficient in Judging any business or
political question-from rate legisla-
ton to municipal government. Busl-
ness success whether for the individ-
ual or for the Nation, Is good thlng
only so far as it is accompanied by
and develops a high standard of CON
duct-honor. integrity. civic courage.
The kind of business prosperity that
blunts the standard of honor that puts
an inordinate value on mere wealth,
that makes q man ruthless and con-
scienceless in trade and weak and COW
ardly in citizenship, is not a good
thing at ALL but a very bad thing for
the nation This government stands
for manhood first and for business
only as an adjunct of manhood.
Tho uuestioO of TRANSFORMATION lies