The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-08-03

| 'h'h N'hN''HNi'hni ph'
judicial Interpretation have in effect
made the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion the raff1c mana cement Of the rail
J roads Of the land, and now bill
Is pending In Congress which, " II
becomes law, will make the Commits
sloners the managers Of railroad
Frances. We refer to the Rayburn rail-
road securities bill
! Possibly reason for tho commits
sion's delay in reaching its conclusion
{ in the Eastern rate case Is suggested by
tho evidence lately furnished OF the
| vast scope of its responsibility for
the future welfare Of the railroads: Of
| the part which II must play In assur-
| ing Inducements for the investment Of
capital that will guarantee the steady
expansion Of transportation facilities
required by the country's growing traf-
fic and population.
The Eastern rate case was submitted
| In May. and II was aftcrward that tho
Shreveport and intermountain cases
were passed upon by the Supreme Court
and the bill 70 make the commission
the regulator of railroad financing he
gan to take shape. Nothing Is more
probable than that the commissions
consideration Of the Eastern rate case
was Influenced by the new vista of It's
functions and duties. Indeed there
, are tokens In the opinion which five Of
the seven Commissioners finally agreed
upon that the Federal regulators no
longer ragnrd themselves as filing e1-
cluslvcly the role Of protectors Of the
public against railroad aggression; a
championship favored by demagogic
politics but not calculated to preserve
railroad solvency.
Appreciation of the railroad situation
produced by political oppression IL more
than limited at In the commissions
advice to the railroads 10 prepare
their reports in such way as to show
the need Of higher passenger fares which
the States have regulated 10 min
imum. Whether the railroads can &C
complish anything IN this direction Is
not NJ So much present Importance as
the fact that the Interstate Commerce
Commission deems passenger revenues
! inadequate. and ~ signifies the chang
| ing attitude of public regulation iowa I'd
| the railroads. There is even more
convincing inr1marion of the commits
sion's new conception Of its relations
10 the railroads In these ADM ssions
and declarations:
The operating income Of tho railroads
| IN Official classification territory 1.-THE
entire territory covered by the petitoning
llnesI taken as a whole is smaller than
| Is demanded IN the interest Of both the
general public and the railroads
III development is TO be accomplished
with private capital. IN conformity with
our traditions. nothing can be more Ger
tain than that tho facilities will not he
provided except under such system OF
regulation as will reasonably permit a
fair return on the money invested.
1T is our duty and purpose TO aid. az
/ far as We legally may. In the effort TO
meet the situation denoted by the
present financial difficulties OF the rail-
rosds1."
Altogether the decision holds out
hope 10 tho railroads of RELIEF from
too cxacting restriction upon rate ex-
pansion-hope not discernlblp hitherto.
The decision really goes further than
the grant Of advances allowed in Cen.
trail Freight Association territory. for
an invitation IL extended to the rail
roads in that district 10 readiust all
their rates aud file general tariffs, which
may contain certain allowable increa SOS
of more than = per cent.
For the rest. II was not to be sup.
posed that the commission would make
e departure along the lines of liber.
atty without exhibiting its lcgal
minded prepossesslons, which only pro.
woke imparience In business minds,
That II would admonish the railroads
to practice still greater economy was Il
certainty. hut it is not unlikely that the
carriers can enlarge their net earning.
by following some at least Of the com
missions recommendations. The Of
fetal criticisms of the conduct Of rail
roads, which the decision contains II
less quantity than will suit the rail
road haters and baiters. are Of much
less consequence than the leaning of tn,
whole decision toward regulation relie
from inadequate income. Let II bs
noted. further. that the two Commits
, sioners who dissented did no on the
ground that increases in rates should
) have been generally allowed.
We do not imagine that the public Il
interested much In the technicalities o.
the Eastern rate case. These and thell
: application can be left 10 the experts
! What most people care about is It,
broader aspects AS n decla ration of pub
lie policy. This, in the la at analysis. I
what the commission was called upol
10 make and what in effect It has done
: How far it has gone can best he demon
strated by comparing the present con
, illusions Of the commission with tn
, outcome of the former case. decided OF
$ September %, 1911. For all practica
purposes the two cases were identical.
$ In the new case. the one now de