The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-17

federal control of railroads should be as extensive, as over national banks. He forgets to state that in all particu- lars federal supervisors of interstate railroads is as far reaching and exten- sive, as that over national banks, and, in the federal power to fix railroad rates, by the interstate commerce com mission, has gone far beyond the scope of it's control over banks; for as yet congress has not fixed the rate of in- terest or discount for national banks
 But looking at the matter In a broad way, the natural effect of all this fed eral legislation concerning railroads, initiated and followed by State legisla- ton has been to deter capital from go- ing into the railroad business.
 Ex-Railroad Commissioner Brown of Georgia, recently pointed out in an able report, the effect of the Georgia sta ute fixing six per cent. as the limit of remuneration of railroad capital. He showed that other industrial capital in Georgia, was expected to earn from 10 to 100 per cent. per year and demon strated, that Georgia industrial capital would not go into railroading.
 On the recent coming in of Gov. Hoke Smith, who is to Georgia, de railroads, what MT. Roosevelt is to the United States, on that subject, MT. Brown was promptly relieved from his office as commissioner of railroads.
 Not enongh capital has gone into railroads to enable them to keep up with the railroad business and to-day railroad capacity Is not equal to the transportation demand.
 The condition is exactly the reverse of that forty years ago.
 Not only so, but to-day, the power of railroads to obtain further capital for extensions or improvements is sub- stantially gone, simply because their credit is so much impaired, All they are hoping to do, is to finish what they have gone on so far with, that it would be wicked to abandon it.
 To-day railroads as whole have no business reason, to make concessions, rebates or discrminations and they are immensely pleased that public opinion is also against it.
 1 To-day railroads have all and more than they can do, and are praying for let up in general prosperity, so they can catch up with it, and the let-up is coming sure enough.
 To-day and so long as present con- ditions continue-and they will con- ttnue indefinitely, so long as capital Is not only not invited, but scared from going Into the railroad bisiness-there | is no danger, if ever there was dan ger, from rebating or discrimination and it is not part of a good statesman, l for President Roosevelt, to continue to brandish his big stick against this abandoned practice. But if ever the old railroad conditions should return if general industry should collapse-if railroad capacity should be far ahead of railroad business, if there should be keen cut-throat competition in general industry, as there surely would be Following an industrial collapse; if railroads should realize that it had be- come question of life or a bankrupt's death, to get business, then rebates and determinations would as surely re- turn, as sure 1t Is that human nature 1 has not suddenly changed in the last forty years, all this federal legislation wold become dead letter law, for you could not indict the whole community. l To-day what Is imperatively needed for the railroad industry is more cap itai so that the railroads can continue and extend their improvements, espe- cially at their terminals where most of the difficulty now exists.
 But that capital can not be had un- less there is a reasonable prospect, that it will be remunerated as other industrial capital expects to be remun- erated.
 l With the present popular and legis- lation hostility against railroads ex- asperated and aggravated as 1t is, by the immense popularity of President Roosevelt, who whatever he may say is the embodiment of this hostility there Is no prospect that the railroads J can obtain fresh capital sufficient for the needs of the times,
 But bless your dear heart, the rail- road manager, who to-day would grant concession or discrimination, or re. bate to a shipper would be more prop erly sent to @ lunatic asylum, thar to a 1ail. However, the red bloody shirt of rebate is immensely useful to MT. Roosevelt, on his etuinpins tours or while hunting for bear, ir Louisiana. He would do better, to try his skill on the more dangerous bears in Wall street.
 His complaint that the railroads are too big comes up against the admitted fact that they are not big enough fot tho business to be done,
 His complaint that in the past tht railroads, as a whole, or in a genera way, have not discharged their public duty, is utterly unreasonable.
 The public duty of railroads has beel and is to carry passengers and freigh at reasonable rates, and the universa
 admission is that the rates as a wholt
 have always been reasonable.
 So also the great mass of investor Ein railroads have received only a mod
 crate return on their investments. Only a few men of great genius and oppor. tunity, have made large fortunes ii { railroads. Many of these few deserve the highest credit, for their creative
 work. Some of tue few made theii
 fortunes by market manipulationls bu
 in many cases, only to lose them b! unfortunate speculations. But it i!
 thaca pnu who hoya sh avcitad fhi
 populace and made the railroad Indus try a target for political demogogue of all sorts, from Theodore Roosevelt