Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-05-27
The Railroads O6bortum;ty
In Freight Rate Reduction

the interest of their own and the coun-
l try's common welfare it is to be hoped
the railroads will accept voluntarily the
general freight rate reduction authorized by
the Interstate Commerce Commission. mat
they are entitled to a fair return upon in
vestment and, moreover, to earnings that
will enable them to keep their facilities for
service fully abreast of the nations adVanc-
ing needs, no thoughtful observer will gain
say The days of railroad batting" are, hap
PLY, gone-and nothing contributed more to
their going than the reconstructed and lib
eralized policies of the carriers themselves.
The public be damn'd'' attitude has become
as obsolete as the "divine right of kings,
and in its stead has sprung up hearty and
fruitful purpose to serve, to promote, to up
build the gener i veal. If it was once the
dream of some railroads to wax rich regard
less of how the people Jared, it is certainly
the will of every enlightened company today
to seek it's own prosperity in that of the rank
and file. Thus there has developed be-
tween carrier and community feeling of
mutual interest that is vastly better for them
both than were the old antagonisms.
OF this relationship and regard the Inter
state Commerce Commission was assuredly
mindful when it came to act upon the press
ing demand for lower freight rates. In rails
ing rates in 1920 it trusted to the public's
sense of fairness and of good business to
concur; in proposing now to reduce them
it trusts likewise to those same virtues in
the railroads. Touching the trend Of bust
ness affairs as factor in it's decision, the
Commission says: "The period of deflatlon
has been in progress for more than fifteen
months; demand is reviving; prices are
showing tendency to stabilize upon a level
much below that of 1920, but above that Of
pre-war years. and conditions of the agricul
tural and manufacturing industries have
greatly improved in the last few months"
Hence the opinion that general reduction in
&I,a eofo 1nIrO1 hcfa NH
of the carriers will permit, will tend not only
to lessen the transportation burden, but al
so to equaliZe and stabilize the conditions un-
der which commerce and Industry are car
ried on, with consequent fuller assurance to
the carriers of realizing the fair return con-
templated by the law"
This conclusion, which the shippers nat
urally approve, was arrived. at by the COM
mission through processes far removed from
the mere within or wish that is sometimes the
animus of a passing popular demand. The
question of what constitutes just public
service rate is largely question OF fact,
once it has been agreed that both the sellers
and the buyers of such service have them
rights For most of us the entire content OF
these issues is Sphinx riddle. We know
what we want; but as to what the broad JUS
tice of the situation requires, must look
to competent and trustworthy officials whose
especial province it is to inquire into these
problems and to see that the public's inter-
ests, along with those Of the serving compa-
MES are protected. 1t is in this capacity
that the Interstate Commerce Commission.
after bordering the facts and probabilities of
the case, submits its findings, which are in
effect that there should be a general and
substantial freight rate reduction. On the
strength Of such authority, the public looks
to the railroads to accept the prescribed re-
visions in good spirit and to go vigorously
forward, supported by public sentiment, in
the great work Of building more productive
and more prosperous America.