The Pulaskian., 1917-01-05
PLAN TO RESUME ILWAY INQUIRY
 AFTER MARCH 4TH
POstpOnement Forced by Press of Congressional Business.
COUNTRY DEMANDS ACTION

Shippers, Investors and Represents.
 tives of All Branches of Business De-
 mand Unification of System of Rail-
 way Regulation-Roads Ask Fewer
 Masters.
 Washington, Dec. 18.-The Congress sional Joint Committee on Interstate Commerce, which has been conducting the inquiry into government regulation and control of transportation, last week decided to suspend it's hearings on the subject and adjourned, subject to the call of the chairman, because of the pressure of other work before Con- gress. According to the resolution ere ating the committee, it Is required to submit a report by January 8th next. 1 It is understood that before that time 1 the committee will ask for an exten- sion of time and that the hearings will l be resumed at later date, when some of those who already have appeared before the committee will be question ed further and a great many others will be heard. It Is probable, howev- CT, that the hearings will not be resum- ed until after adjournment of Congress on March 4th. In addition to regular routine business the commerce com mittees of the two houses are charged with the important duty of preparing and presenting the legislation asked l for by President Wilson to make i'm possible railroad strike without pre- vious investigation. This will leave 1 little or no time for the consideration of the general questions of railway regulation.
 Country Wants Something Done.
 Members of Congress and others who are interested in the inquiry un- dertaken by the Newlands Committee | insist that there Is no intention of abandoning it.
 It seems doubtful, indeed, if the country would permit the matter to be dropped If there were evidence of desire on the part of Congress to do so. The nationwide evidences of in- terest evoked by the initiation of the Newlands inquiry show that the peo- pie of the country-shippers, consum- CTS and investors, as well as railway men themselyes-are alive to the fact- that the railway situation Is highly un- satisfactory and that steps must be taken without unnecessary delay to make it possible for the railroads to meet the growing needs of the nation.
 From reports received here it seems as though almost every commercial or ganization and business interest in the country were engaged in studying the railroad question. The Chamber of Commerce of the United States has been conducting an elaborate inquiry into various phases of the subject for many months past. Many local and state commercial bodies in every part of the country have committees en- gagged in study of the problem and | have indicated a desire to come here and present their views. National Or- ganizations of manufacturers, lumber men, coal operators, wholesale and re- tail dealers, have expressed through resolutions their desire for the unifiea- tion of the system of railway regula- ton. The National Industrial Traffic League, speaking from the viewpoint of shippers using the railways, has indorsed exclusive federal regulation providing 1t is accomplished in such a way as to give full protection and prompt adjustment in matters relating to transportation within the states.
 Many Interests Studying Problem.
 All these organizations represent pri- marily the shippers of the country, but they are not the only ones who are taking a hand in the discussion. The investors of the nation, through their own associations and through commit tees representing the savings banks and other financial organizations, are pre- pairing to show the necessity of improv- l ing railroad credit and protecting the rights of those whose money Is invest ed in railway securities. Finally the railroads themselves being vitally con- cerned in the improvement of existing conditions, are planning to submit their views through their executives, oper- ating officials and traffic experts and to assert their willingness to accept far reaching federal regulation along lines
 
 that will enable them to attract capital and to provide the facilities needed for the prompt and efficient handling of the countrys transportation business.
 Main Trouble Is Too Many Masters.
 Not all of these interests are in ac- cord as to the remedies that should be adopted. There seems to be a general agreement, however, that many of the difficulties which confront the railroads and which make 1t impossible for them to meet the requirements of the na tion's commerce promptly and satisfao torily arise from the haphazard and often conflicting measures of regulation that have been adopted from time to time by the federal government and the forty-eight states and that what is needed is well ordered systana tic