Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-11-25
RAILRoAD ooMPETIrIoN

merce law on the ground that Il pre-
vents competition between railroads by
undertaking to establish rates and
regulations which are to be apple
able to ALL Il is not astonishing that
these tactics should be resorted to by
those champions OF unrestricted corpo-
ration methods who have so earnestly
from the very beginning undertaken to
prevent the enactment or enforcement
of any remedial legislation. They pay
but slight tribute to public discrimina-
ton, however. in coming to the front
with such hollow pretensions as those
that are now put forward.
Experience with railroad methods has
amply proven that genuine competition
is about the last thing that the COM
panies would patiently tolerate. The
whole course of railroad history for
more than a quarter of a century has
been in the direction of territorial con-
troll and an utter absence of even a
pretense at competition. Freight as
sociations and passenger associations,
made up of representatives of the sew
eral great companies, have prescribed
rates, fixed train schedules and ar
ranged even to the minutest detail the
traffic of the roads. What was the bid
of one was the bid of all. except in
those cases, numerous enough, which
have been brought to light since the
agitation resulted in investigation,
wherein a favored shipper was given
the benefit of midnight tariff" Re
cent history teens with these examples.
This was competition with vengeance,
but in it the public had no share. BY
the time the secret tariff was made
known to the public the shipper who
was to be benefited by it had exhausted
the capacity of the road making the
rate, and when matters became so
shaped that it was impossible for an
other to take advantage of the rate it
was Withdrawn. The public never
reaped any benefit from this "compe-
tition"
Railroad magnates have argued elo-
quently and speciously for many years
! in favor of a law that would permit
the pooling of the business of their
roads for the avowed purpose of check
ing competition, which they said was
ruinous. Yet the Investigations of the
interstate commerce committee begun
and carried on since the enactment of
the law by congress, have developed
/ that there has been at all times the
closest of understanding between the
controlling officers Of the railroads and
that competition, as it is generally
understood, was the last thing these
| gentlemen had in mind.
/ In Nebraska there is a law that for
| bids the consolidation of parallel and
competing lines" Not so very many
years ago the B. & M. was forced to
fight through several courts in order
to obtain legal sanction to its absorp-
ton of the Nebraska Midland, which
was parallel and competing line. The
Burlington finally won it's point and
its competitor between Nebraska City
and Lincoln and between Lincoln and
Atchison went out of existence This
is only one of several similar cases
which adorn the pages of Nebraska s
railroad history. How deeply the ele-
ment of competition enters into the
transaction of the railroad magnates
may be gathered from these facts.
Is 1t not, then, reflection on public
Intelligence that the railroad com
panies through their apologists should
now come forward and condemn the
railroad laws enacted by congress as
being unfair to commerce because they
throttle competition? 1t has been said
that the Nebraska legislature is pre-
pairing at its coming session to further
extend this injustice" by enacting
laws similar in tenor to the national
law which has regulated the affairs
under the jurisdiction of the state.
The people have been solemnly warned
against this impending danger because
1t would prevent competition"
The answer to this argument will be
found plentifully distributed through
out the commercial history of Ne
braska, where genuine competition be-
tween the railroads has never been.
nor likely ever will be, known. II is
fortunate for the people of Nebraska
that they have at last so amended
their constitution that a railroad
commission OF genuine virility and
power can be installed in office
1t is also fortunate that they have
elected a legislature that is determined
to enact the laws intended to remedy
conditions complained Of and to give
TO this railroad commission the means
wherewith to control the giant corpo
rations that have so long had their
own way in the state, and It is fortu
nate that back Of it all a governor ha,
/ been chosen who can be relied upon a.
all times to rigidly enforce these laws
, and who is pledged for the people II
all cases where the interests OF tn,
people and the corporations conflict