Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-01-02
Madison, Dec. 5.

Madison, Dec. 5.
In the offices of the Wisconsin rail-
road commission Saturadp was held q
round-table discussion of the subject
of The Basis of Reasonable Railway
Rates. The meeting was directed by
Professor b. II. Meyer, chairman Of
the Wisconsin commission.
Harrison Standish Smalley, assist
ant professor Of economies at the
University of Michigan. read the prin-
cipal paper of the afternoon and Hal
ford Erickson, member of the Wiscon-
sin commission, led the discussion. A
number of other learned men in the
field of public regulation and control
of railroads and the science of public
making of railroad rates took part In
the discussion.
In opening the round-table, PROBES
sor Meyer said that in the apphca-
tion of railroad regulation laws much
depended upon the word reason
abIe:" that it was well established in
common as we'll as in statute law that
rates for transportation service must
be reasonable, but he declaed that
nowhere in common law or statutory
enactments or in the law laid down
in the decisions of the courts was ire
term reasonable" adequately deilneC
as applied to railroad rates
He said that the whole problem was
vet in much confusion notwithstand-
ing the fact that much had been dore
in the way OF pogress on the solution
of the problem What is most needed
he said, was an agreement as to
fundamentals.
Commissions Apt to Be Right.
In discussing the suspension OF
commissions decisions until courts
have ruled upon their validity Pro
lessor Smalley made the declaration
that the time should and would come
when the assumption would be that
the decision of the commission was
right and that it should not be sus~
pended until the matter has run the
gauntlet of the courts. He declared
that the commission is more apt to be
right than the court which oVerthrCWs
the decision of the commission, Tor
the commission has made careluA
study of the matter involved, while
the courts have not. Many times
| when the work of a commission Is I'M
done by a court, said Professor Sinai
lev. it is a case Of the courts holdlhg
the private and corporate interests Oh
greater importance than the interests
and righs of the public.
/ whatever general dicta the courts
may have uttered in reference to the
rights of the public, as matter o.
fact they actually make the corporate
interest the controlling consideration
in every case, asserting, in the IAN
guage of Mr.. Justice Brewer, that the
primary duty of the courts is the pro
lection of the rights of persons ana
property When the courts not ohly
admit, but even boast that this Is
their primary duty, they can hardy DC
REGARDED as qualified to settle the IS
sues that arise between public ano
private interests. Hence a court ue-
cision adverse to a commissions
rates should be presumed to mean
nor that the commission has gone
WRONG but rather that proper rec
ognitiOn Of the public interests is I'M
possibIe under our constitution as at
nresent interpreted by the courts; and
that either the constitution or its IN
terpretatfon must be changed or our
system of private railroad enterprise
must fall
Perform the Impossible.
The discussion which followed the
ipaper produced a number Of interest
( ing and important considerations, par
tjcuIarly important being that OF the
great difficulty Of separating cost oil
/ state traffic from cost Of interstate
( traffic, Of separating cost Of freight
service from cost Of passenger serV-
ice. Commissioner Erickson replied
to this suggestion:
THAT is an impossibility. Never
tbeless we have made such separa-
ton"
After the ripple Of surprise had
died away, the commissioner ex-
pJained that his meaning was that it
was impossible to be mathematically
accurate and absolutely correct in
these matters, but that these prob
lens must be attacked and handled in
a practical way, arriving at the best
and most accurate and just conclusion
possible by the application Of good
Judgment and practical common sense.
The discussion ny Mr.. Erickson was
one of the most interesting features
Of the formidable.