, 1921-06-05
THE UNFAIR COMPETITION.

For several years we heard little else on railroad
matters than the brotherhood's side of the case. II
came to be the general belief in many quarters that
the men in transportation were receiving outrageous
treatment A Democratic congress and n frightened
executive seeking reelection stepped in to fix mat
tiers They did fix them. Only too well Not only at
that particular time, but at subsequent times and by
subsequent legislation the railroads were fixed out of
business Gar
done to the transportation lines by the agitation Of
the past, and in this Mr.. Kruttschnitt of the Southern
Pacific has been largely instrumental in pointing out.
The government has adopted two methods of linn
iting railroad rates; one, that of requiring that rates
be approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
and the other that of providing cheap transportation
competition on publicly improved and maintained wa
terways and highways. Hedged around by all these
~handicaps and limitations and also required to pay
wages fixed by a government board, the railroads be-
licve themselves to be, figurativeiy speaking. between
the devil and the deep blue sea.
The people win not ask that the railroads be sub
jeeted to limitations or regulations that they would
deem unfair If imposed upon themselves or their bust
ness. In practically every city, for example, munic-
ipal ordinances require that a street peddler pay a
license in order TO make up for the fact that he
transaets his business on the public streets. maintained
at public expense, whereas the merchant must pay
rent. The government bears the expense Of improv-
ing rivers and harbors. 1t bore the expense of build
ing the Panama canal. Now il is proposed that the
railroads, which must pay interest and dividends on
the capital they have invested, shall be required to
compete with ocean and river traffic which pays none
of the cost Of improving the rivers and harbors.. The
public pays the expense of improving the highways
ahA htNRAnB III PAE1tDlt OuQlhlon lnQf II > II re-
suit, commercial automobile trucks are now handling
a large amount of short-haul traffic at prices which
the railroads cannot meet.
1t is quite likely that the merchant who believes
the ~peddler should be required to pay a license for
the privilege of selling his goods on the public thor
oughfares. will see some reason for the argument
that commercial trucks, and steamships should pay
some special toll for the use Of politically maintained
highways and waterways. r.
To say that the railroads should be able to meet
the completion, is not an answer. Undoubtedly they
could meet it, if left to their. own resources in the
fixing of rates and the payment of wages. This they
are not permitted to do. The Interstate Commerce
Commission determines how much they may charge
for either a local or a transcontinental haul. The
railroad labor board determines how much they shall
pay to their employees, who take the greater part of
railroad income.
Still another illustration on the point If a por-
ton of the land of a community were owned by the
government, the fences maintained, the bitches kept
cleared, the buildings kept in repair and the taxes
paid by the government, and these lands let out rent
free to a number of ngriculturists, the rest of the
farmers of that community would insist that this was
unfair competition. If they were subjected to such
competition they would undoubtedly be inclined to
the view that the untaxed water and highway COM
petition of the railroads is unfair to them. ~