The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-12-20
ing Of thru. will ever chase himself
around the phabetich barn Of
through" again It he country has grown
too fast for 1t, IS .s.s; rs fss
Interstate Commerce Inquiry.

tT
Interstate Commerce Inquiry.
On the second of u ecember,s when 1t
was announced that the interstate com
I7merce commission would inquire into
| the failure Of the railroads to- handle
the business Of the northwest, h 9
Journal stated that it would be
developed in that hearing that one of
the chief reasons for existing condi-
lions would be found to be the failure
Of the railroads to keep up with the
procession; that while the railroad has
been the pioneer in the development of
the west and is entitled to great credit
as the principal instrument in the set
tlcment of the country and subjuga-
tion Of the wilderness, it seems to have
lost something Of its confidence in the
growth of industry and population
which it displayed in earlier stages of
settlement and development. To quote
from that issue:
Now at the very hour Of the coun-
try's greatest prosperity, when the evil
dences of commercial stability and
strength are strongest and when the
development of our resources. and the
volume of business rises to- unprece-
dentsd heights, the railroad interest
alone of all the great industries Of the
country has seemed to falter and lose
its confidence. 4 Apparently doubling
the permanency of the prosperity which
have failed to provide for the greatly
increased demand upon their facilities
and, with their inadequate equipment,
stagger like overloaded beasts of bur
| den under a volume Of traffic which
they are unable to bear.
In his testimony before the commits
sion yesterday Mr.. Hill, in response to
the question Of Commissioner Lane:
"The point of your statement is that
the. railroads have not kept up with
the growth Of the country9' said:
"Why, sir, they haven't kept in sight
Of it. They haven't gone far enough
to get a horizontal view Of the ques-
tion.' +, -
One member Of the commission said
at the conclusion of the hearing: "To
my mind, the one thing that has APP
pealed most to me and stands as pre-
dominant thought is the wonderful
power and Importance of this country
north and west of Minneapolis con-
sidered commercially with reference to
the United States as whole.'
So it seems to US that nothing could
have demonstrated more clearly than
the evidence before this commission
the unexampled and unprecedented
prosperity Of the northwest. Evidence
produced shows increase in equipment
and increase in total traffic, but in
spite of it all the production Of the
country has been so enormous that the
channels of commerce, the arteries of
trade, have been clogged and con-
gested by the very volume of wealth
produced. This is the great fact de-
veloped at this hearing and one which
is sure to impress itself upon the coun-
try at large. .s-.s.. A.. r.:
Another is complaint of methods of
operation which have not produced the
| results expected of them and claimed
for them. While the theories of econ
omy of operation expressed in heavy
trains and heavily loaded cars max
ing slow progress rather than in more
frequent trains making more rapid pro,
gress was strenuously defended by rail
road experts, it is apparent; that: the
commission is by no means satisfied
that this theory Of operation is JUST,
| fed by the results. The results may
be satisfactory to the, stakeholder, but
conditions do not prove that the theory
is a demonstrated success, so. far as
| service to the public goes. On the con.
1trary, there is good reason to hold that
the principal Of economy in operation
has been carried to an extreme. The
reports show greater economy of opera:
ton on the three great northwest
roads than on any others in the country
and conditions Of congestion are worse
today in the country served BY these
roads than in any other part of the
|5country-two facts which must be
taken care Of somehow if the theory
that traffic may be expedited by per
uniting motive power to be overworked
and broken down by excessive drafts
upon it's capacity is to b" maintained
The hearing has also been of large
value in bringing shipper and the rail.
road into such positions with respect
to each other that an impartial and
independent advisor in the capacity Of
the Interstate commerce commission
may learn and consider the conditions
existing and aid in promoting the rem.
edy which must be found. The inter.
state commerce commission in it's ca.
pacity of investigator may not be able
to compel the adoption of means and
methods which would constitute com.
plete remedy for the existing evils, but
it can make the existence of the insult.
fciency Of the means provided by the
railroads so clear and deficiencies il
their methods Of serving the public SO
apparent as to compel the correction of
these faults by the railroads them
selves. so.
And this. is perhaps the largest re-
suit to be anticipated from this inquiry,
Mr.. Bryan has not risen to allege that
the president stole the Japanese question.
fDisestablishment in England and