Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-12-08
A GAME

A cUT-THRoAT GAME
The evidence brought out at the railway rate
bearings i'll Fargo during the past few days affords
a demonstrationso of what has already been well I'M
%derstood by those who are fairly close to the subject,
that the making of railway rates is a game Sgovetn-
ed by<no rules except the. single rule of grab. Rep
|resentatives of the roads admitted with perfect
%frankness that they made relatively low rates in GER
tain cases because they had to do SO, and charged
higher rates in other cases because they could.
Cost of service and value Of service to patrons are
not considered at all.
Under the present transportation act the state
railway commissions have less authority over rates
than they had formerly. Their jurisdiction is con-
fined, as. it has always been, of course, to intrastate
traffic. The rates which they are permitted to make
on that traffic now must be more nearly in accord
with interstate rates than was formerly required.
Nevertheless, the rate-lnaking powers which the;
state commissions still possess are relatively large.
Local rates in Minnesota have been made deib-
erately for the benefit of the Twin Cities. In a very
marked manner they discriminate against the small
er cities and the more distant sections of the state.
The courts have held these rates to be. not cbnfsca-
tory, hence they stand. The railroads assert-and
the courts do not pass on that point, that the Mime
sofa state rates arc unreasonably low, but the courts
have sustained them, and the roads must accept
them. The roads. proceed in. the most matter-of-
fact way to recoup themselves by advancing other
rates wherever they can legally do so, and where
ever competition does not prevent.
Grand Forks, Fargo and North Dakota gener-
ally are made to pay the price. This territory for
most purposes of rate making, is outside the field
of competition. and the rates charged are the high
est that the traffic will bear and the courts will
sustain.
There has been, a great deal of discussion of the
subject of federal and state control over rates, and
there has been strong popular opposition to any Step
which would abridge the powers of the state COM
missions over rates within their respective states.
,~aeo. ,A t-. ,,-,o -.
powers materially, and there is now a very strong
demand for the amendment of that act SO as to
eliminate all the features which restrict the action
of the state commissions. We believe the fact to
be that most of the discrimination in rates which
now exists is due to the exercise of authority, by
the state commissions rather than to the withdrawal
of any part of that authority.
Most of the inequalities Of which we i'll this ter
Irltory have to complain are due to the attitude of
the Minnesota commission in its deliberate discrim-
Ilnation iii favor Of the Twin Cities. The commission
has apparently kept within the law, but within the
law it has gone the limit, and it's acts are therefore
not subject to reversal by any other body. If the
rates on all traffic entering this territory were sub
ject to the authority of a single body, such as, the
Interstate Commerce commission, there would be
some possibility of obtaining redress of existing
grievances.
There. is no such thing in actual practice as a
separation of interstate from interstate traffic. All
railroads., substantially, are instruments of inter
state transportation, and interest in transportation
rates is general and not local: The logic of the
situation demands the supervision over all rates
by one government commission, and not by forty
nine. The state commissions have, and should con-
tinue to have important functions in looking after
the interest of their respective communities, and in
presenting facts to the interstate body in such a
manner that discrimination will be prevented.
There is small prospect that such a change can
Ibe brought about i'll the near future. Failing that,
we must revert to the, first law of nature, self pre-
servation. If the exercise of local authority in
Minnesota operates to cripple the activities of the
North Dakota, and the federal commits
sion is powerless to give redress, North Dakota must
play the game as it is being played, and must meet
discrimination with discrimination in so far as thai
is possible. !