The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-14

legislation except in New York, where
Hughes vetoed the railroad rate law,
because he thought 1T unfair
Since the laws have brought the log
ical train of evil consequences. and the
railroads have been unable to float Sc
curities or get money needed for actual
betterments, something of reaction
has set in. The shipping and travelling
public sees that what embarrasses rail-
road credit hurts the general public.
that the sudden abandonment of pro-
jected expenditures on a large scale
hurts everybody, and that the hue and
cry for punitive legislation has
wrought great harm to vast interests
without any corresponding benefit to
the country at large.
To insure equality of all shippers in
freight and passenger rates, to stop
rebates and discrimination of every
kind, was an end greatly to be desired.
The railroads themselves accepted the
national rate laws provisions on these
points with satisfaction. because it re-
lieved them from what had come to
be intolerable subservience to the great
shippers of freight. But when the state
legislatures, without investigation or
show of reason arbitrarily fixed rates
below the income point and aroused
the distrust of the investing and lend
ing public so that money could not be
had by railroads on any terms-then
the transportation corporations had a
right to complain that tha were the
victims of demagogic passion. They
had right, too, to appeal to the courts
for relief and judgment as to whether
the rates fixed were confiscatory. and
they very properly appealed to the
sober second thought of the country for
a return to the first principles of sound
government under which the corpora
ton is entitled to justice equally with
the poorest individual.
Presidents Ripley of the Santa Fe,
Stevens of the Chesapeake & Ohio and
Delano of the Wabash merely sum-
Marie the legislation complained of
and the disastrous effects it has en-
tailed, when they record the abandon
ment of improvements and curtailment
of capital expenditures because they
cannot get the money on terms which
justify the outlay. Such reports as
theirs account in large measure for the
shock to the iron trade, which has been
one of the surprises of the year in
financial circles.
They show the circle in which ILL
advised legislation works; laws de-
signed to please the people stop rail-
road improvements by injuring the
credit of the corporations in the finan-
cial world; without new capital the
railroads abandon their contemplated
betterments; the stoppage of railroad
expenditures Injuries the iron and steel
trade; from there the injury extends
to every business related to the pros
perity of the iron and steel market;
and from there on down the line every
industry, every Individual, either d.
rectly or indirectly, feels the pressure
of tight money, declining trade and
need for retrenchment.
The vicious circle started by the
president has widened until it has
reached the individuals of every COM
munity in the country, and its ultimate
extent is not yet known. That saner
sentiment will prevail and a CHECK be
established on the rampant desire for
injury to the railroads is already ap-
parent. Satisfied that the great evils
of rebating and discriminating have
been stopped. the people are in the
mood to ask for and give justice to the
transportation companies if only to Sc
cure for themselves the benefits of i'm
proved service and larger expenditures
for betterments.