The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-04-02

i ii,s ns raesonabIe time. goes into full
effect subject to review Dy the couI - -
: A system of examination or rail-
road accounts should be provided SINH
To- "a tbat now conducted into the ma
tiopaI banks by the bank eXaminersi n
few first-class railroad accountants,
they had proper direction ana proper au-
tboTitv to inspect books and papers, cOul1
,ry,1isb ranch I'm preventing wilful
IioIo tf2ns 0f the law. Let me
most earnestly say that these reductions
are not made in any spirit OF hoStlnty 10
tbc -aiIroads I believe that on the whole
our railroads have done well and not Ill
hut the railroad men who wish TO do
well shoIid not be exposed to competition
with those who have no such deSlre ara
the only way to secure thls ehd is 10
gI,-e 10 some government tribunal the
0oxrer 70 see that Justice is done by the
unwilling exactly as it is gladly done by
the willing 1t is IN the interest OF
the best type Of railroad men and the best
tyne Of shipper no less than of the pub
Iic than there should be governmental
supervision and regulation Of these great
business opera lions, for the same rea-
son that Il is in the interest OF the corpo-
ration which wishes to treat Its employees
arisht that there should be an effective
EMPLOYERS liability act, or an effective
system of factory laws to prevent the
abuse Of women and children. We wish
to ensure as fair treatment Tor the small
town as for the big city. for the small
shipper as for the big shipper.
Disaster Would Follow.
1T is because in my judgment. public
ownership OF railroads IS mighty undeslr-
able and would probably in this country
entail far-reaching disaster that wish to
see such supervision and regulation OF
them in the interest OF the puollc as lt
will make evident that there Is no need
for public ownership. The opponents of
government regulation dwell upon the
difficulties 20 be encountered and the
Intricate and involving nature OF tn"
problem. Their contention IS true. 1t IS
= complicated and delicate problem and
all kinds of difficulties are sure to arise
i'm connection with any plan of solution
which plan will bring all benefits hope'l
for by its me re optimistic adheTents- But
while I fully admit the difficulties in the
vav | do not for a moment admit that
these difficulties warrant US in stopping
i'm our effort to secure a wise and just
s,-sten. At present we face such utter
Lack of supervision. such freedom from
Tho restraints of laws. that excellent men
have often been literally forced into do
ing what they deplored. because other
wise they were left at the mercy of I'M
sCrupuluus competitors To assall the
men who have done as they best could
under suCn circumstances. accomphshes
little. What we need to do is to develop
an orderly system; and such a system
can only come through the gradually IN
creased exercise of the right of efficient
government control Will
Law Worked Well.
In his message tc congress at tho be
ginning Of tho second session of the fifty
ninth congress, Dec >, 1886, the president
said:
THE Interstate commerce law has
rather amusingly falsified the predictions.
both of those who asserted that il would
ruin the railroads and Of those
who asserted that it did not
go far enough and would accomplish
nothing During the last five months the
railroads have shown increased earn
iugs and some of them unusual dividends
while during the same period the mere
taking effect of the law produced an
unprecedented and hitherto unheard OF
number of voluntary reductions in freight
rates and fares on the railroads II
m1ist not be supposed. however. that
what passage of these laws il will be
Dossible to stop progress along lines of
Increasing the power of the national gov
eminent over the use of capital and IN
ter-state commerce. . For example. there
will ultimately be need of charging the
powers of he interstate commerce COM
mission differently so as to give larger
control over the railroads. 1t cannot be to
often repeated that experience has con-
clusively shown the impossibility of Sc
curing BY the actions of nearly half a
hundred different state legislatures any
thing but ineffective chaos in the way of
dealing with the great corporations
which do not operate exclusively within
the limits of one state If some method,
whether by national license law or in
other fashion, we must exercise and at an
early date, far more complete control.
that at present over these great cor
norations-a control that will among 9TH
er things prevent the disclosure by each
big CORPORATION of its stockholders and
of its properties and business, whether
owned directly or through subsidiary or
AFFILIATED corporations. This will tend to
nut a stop to securing OF inordinate pro-
fits by favored individuals at the expense,
whether Of the general public or the
Stockholders. or the wage eaTners- Our
effort should be not so much to prevent
consolidation as such, but so to super
wise and control il as to see that il re
suits in no harm to the people.
Extremes Should Be Avoided.
IN enacting and enforcing such leg
is1ation as this congress already has to