The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-04-24
REGULATION OF RAILWAY
RATES AND WAGES.


swiftly the regulation of rates by
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion has been turned into a regula-
tion of wages. The law requires
rates to be "just and reasonable"
and everybody applauds. But, ad
dressing the Traffic Club at Pitts
burgh, the Chairman of the Commits
sion said with reference to the en-
gineers demand:
If this increase in wages is unjus-
tifiable, and If on that account an in
crease in rate is allowed, 1t results
that the general public, including all
other forms of labor. is required to
pay what is unjust and unreasonable.
Must the Government not, there
fore, be satisfied not only that the
added wages are paid by the rail-
roads, but that they are necessarily
and properly paid?
1t had already appeared that the
Government regulation of rates had
abolished the open market for rates.
Rates which are regulated cannot be
varied, and price competition disap
peared. Now it seems that the regu-
lation of rates includes the regula-
tion of wages, and 1t is in the way
of appearing that thte open market
for wages has been abolished. This
dOGS uOl ltSI uDOh ilC CASUAL GA
preston of the Chairman, but is the
deliberately formed policy of the
Commission. and was officially de-
clared alphabetically at the time that
the railways were forbidden to ad-
vance their rates.
This is a little bewldering. II
the Commission assumes to decide
regarding the reasonableness and
business of the price of labor as
well as of rates, why should it not
also decide regarding the prices of
all supplies? And, since railway
rates are part of all prices, where
is final extension of this theory to
stop? This takes the matter too far
afield for general discussion, but it
may be considered in its application
merely to the engineers and the
railways. The theory OF collective
bargaining of course has substituted
duress for law in the fixing of
wages. One Government after an
other in several nations, and on
both sides the ocean, has shriked in
various degrees the protection of
labor in earning its livelihood. But
the unions now come face to face
with a body not elective, and
powerful enough to curb even the
railways. The unions and the Com
mission are worthy foemen, and the
situation is such as has not before
arisen. 1t will take some time for
the various parties to decide how
they relish the unforeseen situation.
AS regards the railways, it may
be thought that plea of pity is
justified, but that is not the view
now to be pressed. 1t is true that
the railways are suffering. In 1911
they operated 1000 more miles of
road with $1,000 fewer employees
than in 1910. Evidently they were
doing their best to make up by eff
cheney their limitations in the oper-
alton OF their own property. But
the fewer employees received S42,-
100000 more wages, and the net
returns showed almost an equal de-
crease, as compared with the usual
increase of fifty millions, or there
about. The sum of the loss and the
increase is about four-score millions
of dollars, considerable enough to be
appreciable, even in this billion-dol-
lar industry. Where is this to end?
As yet the effect has been merely
to check new construction and ad-
dition to equipment. Trade, al
though in full volume, is not boom
ing, and yet equipment is almost all
busy. Always there are pessimists,
but always also there are those who
remember that the recurrence of
booms is the one sure thing in
American economical conditions.
Sooner or later there will come
again the times when there will be
an overwhelming demand on the
railways for transportation not at
lower rates, but at any rates. And
then the railways once more will be
OT6nrinU fhot al
ed regardless of cost, and freights
will have precedence over ordinary
passenger traffic. Now is the time
when preparation for such condi-
uons should be made. The indus
trial boom should precede the rail-
way boom, and the accommodations
Tor the railway boom cannot be ex-
temporized. II takes time to get
and lay rails, and longer yet to get
cars to carrying after they are or
dered. But the railways have been
deprived of the fat which they were
accustomed to lay on in good times
in preparation for bad times.
The railways now are in lean con-
dition, and their credit is what is in
dicated by the inability to float
bonds on accustomed rates of inter-
est. The Commission has said that
the railways should not charge rates
enabling them both to earn a living
and to enlarge their facilities. Any
thing earned above a living should
be devoted to reducing rates, and
facilities should be enlarged by rails
ing fresh capital The figures
above will show the diversion to the
wage fund of resources which might
have been devoted to serving the
public at large. 1t would seem that
the time is arriving when the gen
eral public will be more appreciative
of the fact that the troubles of the
railways are also its troubles.
Consider a little more at large
what the troubles of the railways
are. The ownership is private, but
the management is public, and with
out financial responsibility for re-
suits. The number of employees and
the length of the working day are
liked by law. The number of men
TO a crew is not left to the discre-