The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-06-28
RAILROADS AND THE PUBLIC.
Chairman Knapp Sees New Era Of
Good Feeling.

Washington, June 25.-An era of good
feeling between the railroads and the
public, with consequent beneticent effect
upon the material welfare of the United
States is predicted by Martin n. Knapp,
chairman of the interstate commerce
commission.
In an interview he expressed the be-
lief that present railway conditions
would improve, that in his opinion an
abundance of capital would be found in
time to make the needed extensions and
improvements to carry on the constant
y growing traffic of the country. He
declared that in the future. if he read
the signs of the times Alright, railroad
men would be found giving their support
instead of opposing, well considered
federal regulation or control of COM
merce between the states.
Chairman Knapp believes there will
be supplemental railroad legislation, but
that it will have the approval of the
railroad men as well as the public. He
expressed the opinion that well con-
sidered law regulating the issue of flu
ture securities would in effect give an
official to the certificates that would
really aid in their sale by the assur-
ance thereby given to the buyer.
Mr.. Knapp said it was his belief that
the general railroad situation would i'm
prove. He pointed out that confidence
in the integrity and value of leading
railroad securities had been restored and
that the danger of further drastic leg
islation by the state seems nearly = to
have disappeared.
ALREADY, | think" he continued,
there is permanent belief that some
legislation has been unwise." In this
connection Mr.. Knapp strongly approved
the veto by Governor Hughes of New
York of the two cent law and the three
brakeman bills.
at is very plain to me-" Mr.. Knapp
continued, chat within recent years
there has been IA vast Improvement in
the methods of railway management as
respects the obligations of the railways
to the public. If the practices which
were Characteristic and almost univer-
sal less than two years ago are compar-
ed with the practices which now gener-
ally obtain. it will be seen that an i'm
mense advance has been made toward
correct and impartial dealing.
at is coming to be understood as a
part of the habitual thought of our peo
pie that the right to use the facilities
of public carriages is political right
rather than a contract right, and, there
fore, any preference or advantage Civ
en- to one person or one class of per-
sons is distinct invasion of the po
litical right of all other persons. The
general result is that today for the
first time in the history of American
railways, secret preferences and advan-
tages have practically disappeared.'
Mr. Knapp Endorsed the proposal to
exempt railways from the operation of
the Sherman anti-pass law to the ex-
tent at least of permitting them to
make pooling arrangements subject to
certain restrictions. The belief that if
pooling were permitted, under govern
ment supervision, a step would thus be
taken in the direction of multiplying the
anti trust act as far as the railroads
are concerned, thereby removing the in
constituencies in the enforcement of the
act to regulate commerce and the act
aimed at combinations i'm restraint of
trade.
Mr. Knapp said that such a concert
of action between roads, through the
legalzed traffic associations, was abso-
lutely necessary to the suitable conduct
of railway operations and altogether III
the public interest. g