The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-01-05
Retreat of the southern Governors.

Some time In October last three South
ern governors held a meeting in Atlanta,
out of which much mystery was made by
the participants. The mystery is now APP
preaching solution and We see that the
meeting was for the purpose of agreeing
upon an increase in passenger fares,
which had been reduced below the mar
gin Of safety by the legislatures and rail
road commissions of North Carolina
Georgia. Alabama, ard probably of Viz
ginia also, though that State was not a
party TO the Atlanta conference. Soon
after the conference the Alabama rail
road commission increased the passenger
rate from 2l-2 to 81 cents a mile Now
comes an announcement that the Georgia
commission will issue an order establish
ing a fiat rate of 21-2 cents a mile in
place of various rates ranging from 2 tc
3 cents a mile. which the commission has
been attempting to enforce. In North
Carolina a special session Of the legis-
lature will be required to alter the rate
fixed last year and we understand that
Gov. Glenn is ready to convene that body
for the purpose of increasing the legal
rate of fare from 21-4 to PIP cents a
mile
In connection with these movements
the Southern Railway has voluntarily
reduced its rate of fare in South Caro-
lima to . IL cents a mile, with the obvious
purpose Of making that the uniform in
trastate rate over its entire system. The
Southern viii also sell in South Carolina
and in other States traversed by its sys-
TEN, 1000 and 1900 mile books. subject tc
certain conditions, for cents a mile, and
500-mile books for family use at 21-4 cents
mile. President Finley proposes t.
keep these rates in force for year in
order that they may be given a fair tria
Ito ascertain whether they are con.
fiscatory or unreasonably low for tbs
service rendered" AS a consequence OF
these compromises, in which the State
authorities have sensibly met the presi
dent of the Southern half way, the peo-
pie of the territory traversed by that
great railway system will enjoy whole
sale passenger rates as low as those OF
any system in the country, and loca
rates that are in all probability as low a.
can be made, considering the volume and
density of traffic. The rates accepted by
the Southern have been accepted as vel
by several other roads, so that the whole
question of railway rates in the South
which has been the subject OF acrimo-
Nous contention for nearly year. bids
fair to reach a status fairly satisfactory
10 everybody. The compromise rates
will not be as low as the politicians
thought they should be, nor as high as
the railways have insisted they ought tC
be. but they are not obviously con.
fscatory, and may turn out to yield ap-
proximately the same revenue as the OLD
rates.
The rate compromises reached in the
South will undoubtedly have an i'm.
portant bearing on the litigation initiated
by the railroads involving the constitu.
tionality Of State-fixed rates. It has been
widely assumed that the courts would
overturn a great deal of rate legislation
on the ground of its confiscatory nature
We are by no means convinced that this
result viii follow. Some Of the new rates
have been fairly tested on various rail.
way systems West and South. and the
showing has Ti5t - a rule afforded sub
stantial basis for the charge of con-
hscation. Gov. Cummins, OF Iowa, speak.
Ing not long ago of the operation of the
2-cent fare law in his State. said that 1;