Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-03-22
RAILWAY REGULATION.


The whirlgig of time has come
around IN remarkable fashion. Less
than year ago the railroads were
hootlng at the possibility of federal
rate legislation. They said and thought
that they were too big to be control
led in that way. AS for the state
legislatures there were almost too in
significant and scattered to be thought
of seriously. Today on the other hand
the railroads are not only accepting
rate legislation, but they are c amor
ing for government control TO protect
them from the state legislatures. The
federal probe applied to the Harri-
man lines showed surprising state of
rottenness. The chances are that
there viii be more revelations IN the
same line. And the big railroads
officials of the country, the opponents
OF high finance, are turning yearningly
to the White House to be protected
from what? The result of their own
doings for generation past.
President StIckney of the Great
Western, who Was in Washing ton last
week has come out in an interview
IN which he says that the control of
the federal government over interstate
commerce carries with it the emf
nent right over any state legislation
affecting the railroads, and he looks
to the general government for control
and support, possibly as an evil but
to his mind the lesser evil than con-
tinual hammering from the legisIa-
lures of the several states.
The coming conference of railroads
presidents with President Roosevelt
looks to some word from the White
House that will pu. the railroads in
better odor with the public The roads
are all in prosperous condition now
They all have more business than they
can hnadle, and they want more mon
ey to extend their equipment and
make improvements. 1t is said that
there are $1,000, 900 worth of high
class railroad bonds and securities now
in New York that the underwriters
cannot get off their hands simply b.
cause the public will not buy them in
the present state of the railroad and
legislative situation. 1t is believed
if the President would make some
announcement in favor of the roads
and would assure them of federal
protection against adverse state legiS-
lation that there would be a renewal
of confidence on tn part of the public
Doubtless there would be. But when
the President was approached this
week by number of correspondents
and asked for an expression of views,
he said that there was nothing to asy
that he had not said many times be-
fore, namely that any railroad or 9th
er industrial corporation that con-
Quoted its business honestly would
have nothing to fear from the admin
istration so long as he was the head of
it. But so far as attempting to pro-
tect any corporation that has been Jug
CLING and watering stock and making
misleading returns of its earnings and
expenses for the sake of rigging the
market, he had nothing to say except
that he hoped the law would take
its course and that the course would
be short and direct.
So the matter awaits the confer
ShGS bGI"tSh tLS ISSldS1tL Giio lllS
railroad officials. 1t is probably af-
ter that is over that the roads will be
given distinct assurance that the gen
eral government will undertake the
control of interstate commerce and in
doing so will preempt the rights of the
states to deal with interstate lines
running through their borders on the
ground that the two systems of control
would be incompatible If this posi-
ton is taken, it will put the Coaos III
much safer position and assure them