The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-31
WHAT THE CONDITION IS

WHAT THE CONDITION IS
 Investigation showed that new con struction of railroads has practically ceased. It also showed that shippers and carriers have in a gratifying man ner co-operated cordially and effectively so that there should be larger use of equipment and track. Nevertheless, in spite of this cooperation, the tremen- dous increase in tonnage partly due to the European war has taxed rolling stock and terminals beyond their capacity. Ex- penses have risen faster than earnings. No branch of the government performs a function of providing large revenues whereby the higher cost can be met.
 This association, the advisory commit tee of the railway executives and many of the trade and commercial associations of the United States are now in cordial agreement upon this general proposition namely, the re-establishment of railway credit and railway purchasing power will be the most effective insurance policy in which the American people can invest so as to enable them to resist the industrial shock which many believe will follow peace in Europe and the cessation of munitions making in the United States.
 EVILS IN PRESENT SYSTEM One of the evils in the present system of state and federal regulation is discov- cred by all of the organizations which have studied the subject to lie in the fact that the people of each state have suffered injury at the hands of the rail- way representative authorities in the other states. Sometimes the commerce of one state has been deliberately at tackled by other states through discrim- ination.
 National defense is weakened because of lack of transportation efficiency caused by divided and conflicting regu- lation of railroads. Another evil Is the retarding of national growth in time of peace because the railroads are weak ened by overlapping and conflicting jur- isdiction. grievous evil is found in the fact that litigants in interstate com merce are exposed to injustice because the interstate commerce commission has under the law the incompatible func- tions of detective, prosecutor, jury, judge and mechanical expert It was also dis covered that subordnates have been ad- indicating cases which under the law the interstate commerce commission alone is competent to decide. These subordinates are of greatly inferior official dignity and are not presidential employees.
 Again, there is agreement upon the fol- lowing statement, namely, national in dustry and agriculture are under the dead weight of transportation system which cannot grow with the country s needs because the government protects the individual shipper, but does not pro- tect the individual railroad Out of this group of evils has been drawn this con- crete statement: Correction of these de- fleets in the regulatory system would go far to restore to the railroads their abil- ity to aid national prosperity.
 The federal Senate has been so inn pressed with the sincerity and earnest ness of those who hold these opinions that it has approved a joint resolution which, when the lower house approves it, as it probably will next winter, will create subcommittee which have power to make investigation so that it may be authoritatively learned whether these de- fects do exist and if they do there will naturally follow recommendations for legislation which will eliminate these evils.