The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-07
The Railway Law Of Nature Must
Resume Operations. 3.

Former Justice HUGHES says that
under the Constitution the Govern
ment cannot take from one railroad
any Of its earnings, whatever the
traffic rate or whoever makes 1t, and
use such appropriated earnings for
the benefit of other railroads. Mr..
ELIHU RooT and several associates
Of high legal standing say that the
Government can.
These opinions of course relate to
the provision in the Cummins bill
aiming at group railroads and group
traffic rates to yield sufficient revenue
In the group aggregate to enable every
road to earn living.
Obviously If one road is now earning
large profits while another road right
alongside of 1t is unable to Darn any
profits at all general rate made by
the Government to put the non-earn-
ing carrier on profitable basis would
throw big additional treasure, all
net, into the lap Of the already rich
Garner. Obviously too If the increased
rate did not apply to all carriers In the
group the whole. business would go
to the rich road with the lower rate
These being the horns Of the trans
portation dilemma the Cummins meas
ure proposes to let both the poor road
and the rich road have the increased
rate with the CORRESPONDENCE In
creased earnings. Then it proposes
to take away from the rich road all
1t thus gains beyond stair return
on the value of the property"
AS both Mr.. HUGHES and Mr.. RooT,
With their conflicting opinions. must
cave the ultimate determination of
this constitutional question to the Su-
preme Court of the United States
the rest of us may pass 1t over for the
moment in our consideration of the
economic, financial and technical prob
lem to be solved.
There Is no question that by one
means or another the large number Of
small, weak and more or less useless
carriers must lose their identity. II
nature had been allowed to take It's
course a generation ago the great ma
jority of these small fry roads would
have been swallowed by the few
transportation giants, as the Wander
bllt roads, the Hartman roads, the
Pennsylvania and similar systems did
swallow so many Of them. 1t Is n
pity that the swallowing process was
interrupted. If the natural ABSORB
ton had gone on the transportation
puzzle to-day would be much simpler
than It Is.
Under the proposed group system,
however. these small carriers would be
operated as parts OF few great sys-
TENS. These great systems might be
restricted to not more than half a
dozen. The fewer the better. But
whatever the minimum number of
systems permitted by practical eff
cheney the scores Of little roads thus
virtually absorbed would no longer be
a burden to themselves, a pain to
their stockholders and an exaspera-
tion to their patrons.
We assume that all this is coming
to pass. The little roads are virtu-
ally going to disappear as entities.
The big group systems nre going to
do the national Job Of transportation
in a national way. They must give
a first class service here, there and
everywhere because American indus
try, American business and American
welfare cannot do without such SER
vice. But no service Of the kind can
be given without traffic rates or with.
out economic conditions of doing bust
ness that viii enable the roads as A
whole to earn adequate profits and
give a fair returrfapn the value of the
properties
Now take II for granted that an