The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-29
Interstate Commerce Commiis- sion Receives Good News
 of Conditions
NJ WAGE REDUCTIONS
 WILL NOW BE MADE
With Opening of Steel Mills at Pitts. burg More Men Are Employed and This Helps the Railroads
 of That Section.

Washington June 2s.-"Returns from the railroads generally show that those roads not dependent upon coal, steel and lumber industries have been doing very well recently said Commissioner Lane of the interstate commerce commission today.
 "Of course they have not done well as last year. Generally they have decided not to make any reductions either n wages or in rates on freight affecting the next three months, which is an indication that they believe business will keep up.
 There are some curious things about prevailing eonditions.'' continued Mir. Lane. For instance. the Lehgh Valley the other day gave us d report on net earnings for the first five months of tae present calendar year, together with sim liar reports covering the preceding five years, and the showing this year was larger than that of any other year during the period indicated. With the opening of the steel mills at Pittsburg and of the carshops, more men will be employed and there will be a larger demand for ma terial as well as labor, than has prevailed for some time.
 'The opinion of railroad men is that we have passed through the worst of the railroad difficulties and from now on we will gradually recover from the effects of the panic. The prospect for large crops in the west is extremely good. Railroad men do not expect normal conditions to be recovered suddenly. but look for steady improvement. In my opinion, this i'm
 
 some of the lugubriou prophets have been telling us, because fundamentally there is nothing in the United States either to create or continue to a panic.
 ''The railroads must spend money in maintaining the roadbed and equipment of their lines in order to meet the de- mands of commerce because they are lmost seriously embarrassed when they are not able to handle business offered to them, and there is no doubt that there is an abundance of money in the United States which can be secured for legti mate railroad investment. This was shown by the floating of the Pennsylvania bond issue
 Tn this connection I think people ought to understand that the interstate com merce commission has been of valuable service to the railroads during the past six months because 1t has prevented a rate war between the roads and has lndlIldlleu rdles. 1 pIeulct tHdt lHe tdH- roads themselves will come to bless the railway rate law by means of which lhe roads have been able to protect them selves at time when their nerves were wobbly If We had six or seven years ago such a financial disturbance as took place last October the railroads. upon finding that their earnings were failing off would have gone into the business of rate cutting and possibly a large num- Der of receiverships would have resulted. The railway rate act is admitted by can did railroad men themselves to have been of nestimable value. The enforcement of the law against relating and our tenacious purpose to stop discrimination has held them up to conformity to the law that is without precedent"