New-York tribune., 1910-06-26
ALLAW AY'S REVIEW
THE TRIBUNES FOREIGN NEWS "A"1

country over there IS similar frregularitr
Undoubtedly we have in many cousn,o,.
Gus quarters hesitation. contraction -.
repression. There are some bad coma,
tions out West. Our farmers have ~
prosperous so long. and so unpreceszs,
edly, that they have been indllgins !
financial plunging. Having money -
spend. they have spent IT lavishlv -.
an exceptional Kansas farm that il no,
now supporting its automobile. It's a,
exceptional Western farmer who has,.,
bought additional acreage. Quite in tbs
ordinary procedure have been invess.
ments in long lists Of local developrA,,
securities. more especially in those hay.
ing to do with the promotion Of irrira.
tion. Thus and therefore the West4r,
farmer and the Western bank run N,
against embarrassment which. while 4,
may be and should be only temporary 4.
none the less, at the moment oppressfv,
This isn't at all what Wall Street IA.
been figuring upon, is far different from
what generally, indeed, has been antiei.
pated-for during the past year or two.
Western agricultural prosperity has been
so much the toast that Eastern security
markets have been persuaded 70 belisr.
that they were actually bulwarked By
new gigantic financial element
But. measured by actualities. there ba,
been and seems now likely TO be scant
help from such quarter for the invest.
naent world What stocks and bonds tn.
westerners have been buying are stock.
lateral value in the East whatsoever. In
the case Of continuing buoyancy OF IS
sues of the irrigation sort the turn-oEsr
Of Western funds would be Of COURSE
immensely profitable at home; but with
such signs Of recession as are already
showing there appears in the Western
financial situation not promise Of ex.
panding helpfulness but, instead. unnais-
taxable danger signs Already we have
records of ambitious irrigation enter
prises falling into recefverships-
In so far as any expectation may have
been entertained OF Western investment
in Wall Street is concerned the prospec:
turns into exceeding dreariness. The West
is not yet to be a lender; next Autumns
crops will have to be moved, just as az
ways hitherto. through the borrowing 0s
Eastern money. -
Railway conditions are bad. A dozen
possible measures and means Of relief
are proclaimed. All fall fat and are
futile Gross returns in most cases sti4
go on Increasing. But net showings ars
different Upon the average 50 per cent.
Of the gains in gross are lost In some
conspicuous tnsta noes the exhibit is dis
turbingly Iess-gross increases converted
actually into net decreases. The reason
is not hard to see. Everything the rail-
road buys IS higher than it used to be-
the only item with which it has TO do
that is not higher is what the railroad
itself collects
Under the stress of situation like this
railway managers may be somewhat
excused, perhaps, for the crude and alto
gether childish performances lately iu-
dulged in-arbitrarily proclaiming adj
vances in rates. contemptuous Of gov
ernment regulation altogether. Wha-
they have reaped has been a-plenty-.
public condemnation, absolute failure 10
obtain any one Of the benefits arrogant-
ly demanded.
That railway transportation IS under-
paid is doubtless readily pTovable; ous
what the government at washington
makes clear is that proofs are necessarY
The law provides for regulation-regu-
Iation is not to be lodged, not to be Gavs
alferly shouldered aside. never mind how
influential in times gone by may have
been the corporation shouldeTer. Ths
new situation is an easy situation to
understand. We have some laws. and
the administration at Washington Just
merely insists that the laws must bs
Nothing of injustice Is in what be-
comes the program under the new rails
way law. Equity is it's essence. Ra1fs
way managers are to be able to file rata
schedules whose propriety and binding
force will depend entirely upon theit
reasonabIeness-what is reasonable -as
an expense for the public that ships not
any more than what is reasonable for
the carrier whose occupation, energy and
capital are committed to the pubIcs
service. There is no policy Of strangu-
lation proposed. It Is a fair play laR
that comes into operation
What is most consequential is thar
new element enters the rate making sta
81