The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-24
FEDERAL INCORPORATION.
Fuller Government Control Of the
Railroads, in Order to Avert Gov.
eminent Ownership Of the Lines?

years agO the ROCKY mountain COun-
try complained to the Interstate Com
merce Commission that the railroad
| rates from the East to the Rocky
Mountain country were greater than
from the East I o tho Pacific coast.
| The commission in Its decision t21 l..
G. G. 342) said:
The intermountsin country. In which
Reno Ia Q typical point. has led In this
agitation. 4 shipper finds II dinicuit to
reconcile himself to paying $500 a car for
the transportation Of . carload Of mer-
chandise to his own city when that same
carload will be carried from the same point
OF origin through his city to . point 500
miles beyond for $500. Such a condition
appeals to all as prima facie unjust.
The excuse given by the railroads
was that the rate from New York to
San Francisco competed with the
water rate around Cape Horn and
rate or else all the traffic would go by
water. As to this. however. the COM
mission said Up. 346):
At that tins the railroad interests evil
IDENTIFY determined upon driving the ships
from the sea. and they very proudly ad-
init that they succeeded In this effort at
49, eff' ~ No'-
trolling the water competition.
The monopoly felt insecure, how
ever, because as the commission said.
without . ship upon It the ocean has
the power TO restrain. In some degree. tho
upward tendency OF rail rates. A railroad
may not safely indulge Its desire to i'm
pose all tho tranic Will bear between two
ocean ports. and 1t may truly be said that
the least poeticsl OF railroad trafic man
ayers never looks upon the ocean without
a sense OF awe. tfage 352D
In that decision in 1911 the commits
sion cut the |intermountain rates heav-
Ily but allowed the rate from New
York to San Francisco TO be twenty
five points less than from New York
TO Reno. An appeal was taken to the
Commerce Court" a court abolished
soon after being born. and that court
declared that the commission was
wrong (l9l Fed. Rep. $500. Then an
appeal was taken to the Supreme
Court OF the United States. and that
court declared hat the commission
was right (234 l.. S. 476).' That was
in June, 1914, and thirty days later
the matter again went before the com
mission, and his time the Panama
Canal had a bearing. The commission
decided January 20, 1915. that the dis
elimination might he continued ,32 I.
&. & GID. Three months later the
commission rendered another decision
relative to rates to interior California
cities such as Sacramento and Stock
ton. The commission allowed the rail-
road TO make higher charges to these
interior California cities h to Cali
forn!a cities on the coast t3i /. G. &.
l3). Then the matter was taken up
by those cities into the United States
Court IN California. and in December.
1915. two out Of three Judges entoined
the railroads from making higher
charges to these interior California
cities. \ r~cirar!ng has now been
granted. Meantime the Interstate
Commerce Commission has taken the
matter up again and hearings are
going Oh.
The Rocky Mountain States still
have a grievance. At the present
time the railroad rates are as follows
on a carload of wire;
New YORK to San Francisco. ......... scc'
Sow York to SaaramoH'o............. 2Gl
NeN York to NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 3ao
/ have before me a letter from an
cN-tongro>Smau of one OF those
states IN which bee says.
! prcir' tha, 'te Transportation q..s
ton re., NJ me MSsl-slpp. - on. Nr...
VII have n te adjusted ON an eiuIrab .
bass or there 81. have ,o Doe a 'e,o..;tJn
This is strong language bu, shows
the intensity of the feeling. The com
MISSION Itself IN its decision said.
How have the carriers JUSTIFIED tni,
blanket 10 the coast but not TO iutcrmc3l-
ate points Long before the h.Inke, mad
been stretched to It's present western eN
tent the community intermediate between
Its eastern border and tn. pacinc made a
protect agaius, the iu5usti that was be
ing done, For nearly a quarter u a cen.
tury this complaint has been heard and
has ceased at times only To- be revived
With greater carncsiuoss \ .H. of ttl..
road policy whan ..tI- so ~..h result may
bee presumed TO have % O. something All
hrial ana unnatural Tbt' VII! n arpcA.,
90 " a. unnatural In 'h's situation Is that
rates witch are said 20 b- es- than ros
soHih.c because compe.. ry ocean .pHt'
petition az. made from points whore "
rau nui M such competition. Page 80
surely a railroad pp.igy adapted 60 th'
conditions, OF ono day ma, probably .Htns'
with The conditions OF another. and ~ the
very ratur" OF things q must Doe apptr"u'
that the transcont.neutsl carriers cannot
continue forever charging higher ities tt
the i~ntsrmountsin county than 10 IN,
coas, from the middle " est. crage $50,
A thousand years the ruhhel
barons Of the feudal system swuolcC
down from their castles on the h.l''
and levied tribute IN the passing cara
vans. To-day the railroad baron!
carve mp the railroad world and levy
tribute on the commerce Of the Coun.
lry, The above shows the rcsult-th,
1. mountain states with a dcep sCatc'
grievance OF thirty years standlnS
Sacramento, stockton and other II
terror California cities with anothc'
: grievance, transContIncntal railroad.
cutting rates TO run out steamship
competition. h'gh railroad dividend.
with high rates on interior traffic. y
wonder there IS wild talk about IcNo
tuition. Many years ago the transcon
tinrntal railroads dciosated to Hunt
: ingtOn the fell NOIk of ellm,ndtin.
steamship competition around thu
Horn and across Panama. The Inter
stat" Commerce Commission in 1t,
decision tells how Huntington, vel
qualified, effectively did the work,
And all over the country there ar,
!, similar episodes of less magnitude"
Determinations between commuuitc
ana cities and towns. discrimination
between shippers, discrimination II
violation of the criminal law. Ever!