The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-10-12

some specific Of increased rates al
legged to be unjust have been cited in the
testimony now before Congress, they have
| not beenFnumerous.S The chief support
Of tile claim has been the slight increase
! of less than four-tentas of mill per
ton per mile on the average tonnage of
I the entire country from 1899 to 1903 as
shown in a response by the Interstate
| Commerce Commission to resolution Of
| the Senate, now on record as Senate
Document 257. 1t is well known that
the prices of labor between those years
increased from ten to fifteen per cent,
and the prices Of many of the chief ma
terials consumed by the railways in the
maintenance and operation Of their prop
critics increased twenty-five or thirty per
cent. or more.
Against these radical advances in the
expenses of the railroads there was an
increase of but five per cent. in their ton
mile revenue.
1T is a notorious fact that, during the
entire history of the American railways,
the general tendency Of rates has been
downward, and that their rates are now
far lower than those Of any country in
/ the world
"One of the most serious objections to
the legislation proposed is that under it
rate once fixed by the Commission
would continue in force indefinitely, un-
less changed by the Commission or by
I Court The carrier would thereafter
| have no power to make either reductions
or increases to meet new conditions.
| Under such a law all rates would in
time become Commissions rates. and the
| functions of railway managers in MAX
ing adjustments to meet the exigencies
of commerce and in extending the sphere
| of usefulness of the transportation sys-
| TEN of the country would, step by step.
come to and end Slow but steady paral-
ysis would creep into the industrial ar
teries through which the blood of COM
merce flows, and the transportation sys-
| tenn would gradually become numb and
rigid; the present activity of railway
managers would be largely eliminated as
an agency in the intelligent development
of the resources Of the country.
But even if the reasons assigned We're
true. the plan of comforting upon the
/ Commission to make or revise rates End
4 make them effective prior to review by
Courts would still be open TO the decisive
/ objection that it is necessarily unjust to
| the railroads. and opposed tosthe funda
| mentol principles of Anglo-Saxon juris-
prudence that rights of property and per-
! sens shall be enforced and protected ac-
cording to due process of law.
Virtually there is not single respect
in which the Interstate Commerce Com
| mission resembles a court 1t has ex-
tensive administrative duties TO perform
| 1t is required also to investigate to heax
/ ana 10 institute complaints, and to pros.
ecute offenders against the Act to Regu-
/ late Commerce In other words. besides
/ its numerous other functions. it is a sort
of railroad grand jury.
"The argument. while involving an ad-
mission that the railroads are entitled to
/ judicial trial, makes the remarka bic
/ demand that they shall be convicted be-
fore their trial can begin, and sand
| convicted. and suffer the penalties Of the
conviction during the trial. Surely, if
the railroads are entitled to a trial in
Court, they are entitled to that trial be-
fore penalties are enforced. A judicial
trial. to be effective, must take place be-
fore. and not after. condemnation and
] punishment
''To place in the hands of one tr;bu-
nal which is or may be prosecutor. jury
and Judge, and at the same time execu-
4 toner, is equiva'ea to providing BY
statute for the enforcement of CONNER
cial lynch law"