Report
281 O Cff > Q (0 o o (A s ss s s i ■ « ■ • • S -^ R S SS s o o w J § c > r o o ill < « b OH X CO V s h c o i o o o ei M 00 09 8. §§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§ S § o o s S3 s 86  COMPANY, BUT LOCATED ON PROPERTY OF ROAD MAKING THIS REPORT. Miles of line, 1.S90; miles of wire, 1,500; name of owner, Western Union Telegraph company; name of operating company. Western Union Telegraph company, also by Chicago & Northwestern Railway for company's business only. COMMISSIONERS OF BAILROADS. 28a CAB MILEAGE. Individuals, co-operative list freight lines, and stock companies to which the company-making this report pays mileage for the use of cars. American Tank Line, Arms Palace Horse Car company, Ang-IOiAmerican Packing company, American Refrigerator Washing company, Ames Cool Washing company. Armour Refrigerator Car company. American Cotton Oil company, Atlanta S. C. A L. L. Abemathy Furniture company. BrittOD, D. V. Barrett & Barrett, Brill, J. G. Burton Stock Car company. Blue Line Transit company, J. I. Case Threshing Machine company, Cupples, S. W. W. company, Crecker Chair company, Cleveland Refining company, Cana Cattle Car company, Chicago Car & C. company. Crystal Oil Works, California Fruit Transportation company, Chicago Stock Car company, Columbus A Hocking Coal & Iron company, Canada Southern Line, Cudahy Refrigerator Car Line, Cudahy Milwaukee Refrigerator line, Chicago Refrigerator Car company, Canadian Pacific Despatch, J. Dold & Son, dressed beef line. Deer Lake Furniture company, J. W. Ellsworth & Co., Eagle Consolidated Refining company, Empire Oil Works, Empire Line, Excelsior Oil company, Erie Despatch, Frazer Lubricating company, Grossman, P. H. C. company, Goodell Refrigerator company, Green Line Tank company, G. B. Hodgman Manufacturing company, C. B. Havens & Co., Hammond Refrigerator company. International Oil Works, Independent Refrigerator company. Inter-State Transit company. Iron Car Express Line, International Packing company, Live Poultry Trans, company, M. & H. Zinc company, Mattoon Manufacturing company, Monasha Wocdenware company, Mather Stock Car Line, Morris, N. & Co., Mer. & Morgan P. company, A. D. Miller & Sons, Mann Brothers, Midland Line, Merchants' Despatch Transportation company, Manhattan Oil company, N. K. Fairbank & Co., National Linseed Oil company. National Oil company. National Fur. company. National Fuel company. National Fuel company. Pitts, & Lake Sup. I. company, Paine Lumber company, Pitts, & Lake Sup. I. company, Pabst Brewing company. Rend, W. P. W. P. Rend & Co., Racine Wagon & Carriage company, Richardson Brothers, Rumely, M. & Co. Ramage, S. Y. Street, Western Stable Car Line, Sheboygan Chair company. Sw Refrigerator Car company, St. Louis Refrigerator Car company, St. Charles Car company, Silberhorn Company, Southern Despatch Lumber Line, Standard Oil company, of Illinois, Standard Oil company, of Minnesota, Standard Oil company, of Cleveland, Southern Iron Car Line, Spring Valley Coal company, Sun Oil Line company, Paragon Refining company, A. T. Thatcher, Tropical Transportation company. Union Tank Line, Union Refrigerator Transit company, Wisconsin Furniture company. 284 REPORT OF THE CAB TIS LAND— Continued. Keystone P. H. C. company, Kansas City Dressed Beef Line, Kansas City V. R. S. company, Xiima Oil company. Liquid Freight line. Weaver, Getz & Co., Waverly Oil Works, Washington Refining company, Weils, T. K. & Co., White Line. STATE OF ILLINOIS, County of Cook. We, the undersigned, M. Hughitt, president, and J. B. Redfield, auditor, of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway company, on our oath do severally say that the foregoing return has been prepared, under our direction, from the original books, papers and records of said company; that we have carefully examined the same, and declare the same to be a complete and correct statement of the business and affairs of said company in respect to each and every matter and thing therein set forth, to the best of our knowledge, information and belief; and we further say that no deductions were made before stating the gross earnings or receipts herein set forth, except those shown in the foregoing return. M. Hughitt, President. J. B. REDFIELD, Auditor. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of September, 1891. J. F. CLEVELAND. [SSAL.] Notary Public. REPORTS OF THE DIFFERENT COMMISSIONERS, WAREHOUSE REGISTRAR AND Chief Inspector of Grain. COMMISSIONERS OF RAILROADS. 289 KEPORT OF COMMISSIONERS WALSH AND SLOTTEN ON THEIR VISIT TO THE ANNUAL CONVENTION OF RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS OF THE UNITED STATES. To the Board of Commissioners of Railroads of the State of North Dakota : Gentlemen : — The undersigned commissioners of railroads of the State of North Dakota, having, in obedience to the order of this board, and by direction of the Governor, attended the third annual convention of the railroad commissioners of the United States, held at Washington, D. C, on the 3d and 4th days of March, 1891, respectfully report, that we have attended the said convention, as ordered by the board, and as directed by the Governor ; that we have carefully observed, noted the proceedings of the said convention, and the views of the various members thereof, as presented and discussed therein ; and by reason of such observations and notes, and the matters and things discussed before us, do desire that the Governor, in his biennial message to the legislature of the state of North Dakota, recommend that we deem it expedient that the laws of this State governing railroads should be in exact harmony with the provisions of the interstate commerce act on the following toi)ics, so far as the same may be applicable to our limited local jurisdiction: The definition and prohibition of unjust discrimination ; the prohibition of undue and unreasonable preferences and advantages ; the requirement of equal facilities for the interchange of ^ traffic ; the regulation of the relations between rates of compensation to be allowed for long and short hauls ; the regulations as to the printing and posting of rates, fares and charges ; the regulations as to notice to be given of advances and reductions in rates ; the penalties for false billing, false classification, false weighing, etc. And that, as all the railroad lines operated in the State of North Dakota begin and terminate outside the limits of the State, all legislation looking to the establishing of uniformity in the matter of driving-wheel brakes and apparatus for train brakes on locomotives, and train brakes upon cars, and couplers and drawbars, should be by congress, either directly by law or indirectly through the instrumentality of the interstate commerce commission, and that the legislature be requested to memorialize congress for that purpose. We think that railroads are useful and necessary institutions; they are agencies of the State, it is true, but the State would not be benefited by striking them down or crippling them so as to prevent their accomplishing the ends for which they are constructed. When we take into consideration the fact that under the laws of the United States 165,000 miles of railroad have been constructed in the United States — 2,084.74 of which are in the state of North Dakota — with a capital Invested of $5,000,000,000, and an indebtedness of $10,000,000,000 more, and that the capitalization and mileage of railroads are doubling almost every ten years, and every year the tendency to the consolidation of this enormous capital increases, and if it were free from the restraint of legislative control, the few who represent these vast amounts of aggregated capital might, by an increase of rates, levy tribute upon the commerce, agriculture and travel of the country — additional to that now exacted; larger than the total income of the government of the United States, raised for all purposes. Such power in the hands of ambitious and unscrupulous men might be dangerous. Therefore, the right to control is based, not only on the principle of sound public policy, but upon the deeper foundation of public necessity. But, the power to regulate should not be construed into the power to destroy, and as railroads are necessary factors in the building up of great states, we would recommend that a moderate course be pursued toward them, and that more railroads be invited to invade our broad domain — for competition will do more to reduce freight and passenger rates than legislative enactment. There were present at said convention seventy persons — representing the interstate commerce commission and the states of Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin; also, the Switchmen's Mutual Aid association of North America, the Consolidated Car Heating company, and the Association of American Railway Accounting Officers and the press. The admirable opening address of the chairman of said convention, the Hon. Thomas M. Cooley, so fully sets forth the objects and purposes of these meetings; the work accomplished, and that hoped for — that we have thought it of enough importance to all who may have interest in this report to warrant its publication in connection herewith, and we are of the opinion that the interests of our State demand that it should be represented at these national annual conventions. George H. Walsh, Andrew Slotten. Dated this 24th day of May, 1891. COMMISSIONERS OF BAILBOADS. Gentlemen of the Convention: Our purpose in coming together on this occasion is for consultation upon subjects of mutual interest, and for the discussion of questions which either pertain directly to the official duties we have severally taken upon ourselves, or which at least have some bearing upon the proper performance of those duties. We are not all clothed with the same powers; there has not been prescribed for all of us the like obligations; but in our official action we all have the same general purpose in contemplation, and it may justly be assumed that the views we may severally hold will be of common interest, and that in so far as there has been experience in dealing with practical questions, this experience will be not interesting merely, but of high value. It has been assumed by the people in creating the offices which are represented in this meeting, that there are mischiefs, of some considerable magnitude, in the railroad service of the country; and the existence of these mischiefs is the justification for creating such offices. No class Of persons in the country, will admit more freely the existence of serious evils than those who are managers of the railroads or who are interested as stockholders or bondholders in the results of the management; but as this class looks upon the existing evils from the standpoint of corporate interest, they are likely to see them as they exist mostly in the relations between the roads themselves, while the public, regarding them from a different standpoint, naturally see most distinctly the mischiefs which spring from the relations of the railroads to their customers or which affect the political society. When the legislation which was intended to bring the transportation business of the country under public control was first entered upon, there were persons interested as managers or otherwise in railroad property, and possibly some others, who denied that any such legislation was fairly warranted by just principles of constitutional law. This denial is not often heard now, but it is very generally conceded that inasmuch as the railway is a public agency, its management is a public trust; and that as such it is as legitimately to be regulated by law as is the management of any other trust in which the public is directly concerned. There are doubtless still some persons, however, who believe that in point of policy, public regulation was uncalled for at the time it was entered upon, and that the results will not justify the expectations upon which the legislation hitherto adopted has been based. This last proposition I do not see that this convention need care to controvert. It is likely to be the case with all attempts at important reforms in public affairs, that the Results will not equal the antecedent expectations; and one of the consequences must be that those who are officially connected with the effort will be compelled to share among them, to some extent, the blame that inevitably follows the impossibility of giving complete satisfaction to extravagant hopes. Whether the views of those who have not favored public regulation of railways are or are not justified by the situation, or by the prospects for the future, it seems to be taken for granted now that statutes for the purpose are likely to have a place among the laws for an indefinite period; though to what extent they shall go in regulation, and how far they may justly and properly subordinate the interests of stockholders and bondholders to the rights and convenience of the general public, are questions upon which the differences of opinion are not likely to be reconciled, and may be expected to be hereafter, as they are now, somewhat radical. There are many who believe that the government should not regulate merely, but should manage the roads; that its hand should be felt continuously and everywhere; while others look upon the existing legislation as having gone quite as far as can be justified by the expectation of useful results. Others, holding views differing from both these classes, might be mentioned, but it is not important; the future alone, after much more practical experience than the country has had as yet, will determine which of them, if indeed any, are right in their anticipations and prophecies. For our present purpose, it is sufficient for us to say, that it is agreed on all hands by those who undertake to deal with the subject of railway regulation, that there are many evils here which ought to be remedied; and whoever speaks of these evils is likely in general terms to talk of a "railroad problem" to be solved: those interested in the roads for the reason already mentioned appearing to look for it mainly in the relations between the roads themselves, while Others regard it as existing somewhere in the defective performance by the roads of their public duties, and therefore, perhaps to be solved through the exercise of such governmental power as shall compel proper performance. It is a noticeable fact that when this railroad problem is spoken of, the mention is likely to be vague and indefinite, whether it is receiving attention at the hands of those representing the roads or from those who speak in the interests of political economy, or as representing the public authorities. If a legal discussion is being had, however narrow may be the point involved, the parties are not unlikely to make use of this phrase "railroad problem," as if a decision upon the matter then in controversy was to solve the problem, or at least was to dispose of some portion or lead up to some final solution. This same phrase may be used in the very next controversy, though equally narrow, but quite different, and the same expectation of the result may seem to be in the minds of those who represent the contestants. When, however, public authorities are making use of a phrase which pertains to their official duties, and which to the mind of the hearer may seem to indicate Their understanding of what their jurisdiction is, in part or in whole, it is important that they employ the phrase with some degree of exactitude; and perhaps no better use can be made of the opening hour of our meeting than to devote it to an endeavor to ascertain precisely what it is that is meant by the "railroad problem," not merely when it is used by ourselves, but also when it is used by those who are connected directly with railroad management. In doing this, however, we shall be under the necessity of going beyond the terms employed in the several acts of legislation under which we are acting, for in none of them is this phrase defined; the laws point out the scope of our duties, and it is easy to see that many of these are of minor importance and stand by themselves, so that they cannot be considered with reason as constituting a part of any great problem; while the evils at which others are aimed may possibly be traced to a common source, and the correction of one through the proper treatment of that. Common source, may be a correction of the others also. In an attempt to ascertain what the railroad problem (treating the designation in the sense indicated) must be held to be, it may be well at first to point out what it is not; and this I shall now proceed to do. It is certainly not to be found in the legislation authorizing the building of railroads, or in that which prescribes the terms and conditions under which the building shall be carried on and completed. It is unfortunate, no doubt, that the laws for this purpose are so wanting in homogeneity, and in provisions for the protection against the mischiefs with which the exercise of such important powers, when they may be assumed by any one at discretion, are likely to be attended. The authority comes in the main from the legislation of the states and territories; and if we examine these we shall find that apparently the most important object in the minds of the law-makers in granting charters of incorporation for railroads, or in passing general laws which shall stand in the place of such charters, has been to invite and secure the construction; to invite capitalists, or others who can secure capital by whatever means for the purpose, to expend it to that end; and that with this object in view they have been far more anxious to Make their legislation satisfactory to the promoters of roads than they have been to take care to satisfy themselves that the building of a particular road is important on public grounds, or that the road when constructed will, in the service it will perform, meet a public demand. In every section of the country, instances may be pointed out of roads which have been built without any legitimate demand for them whatever, so that the money invested in them has for the most part been as completely wasted as if it had been sunk in the sea. Either there has been no sufficient traffic that at fair rates would support them when built and keep them in suitable condition, or the traffic of the region which must support them was already so far provided for that a new road could only come in as a disturbing factor, to render those already in existence unprofitable, or to force itself upon them as a marketable commodity under circumstances which could be considered as little less than the levying of blackmail. There is an evil here which is of no small magnitude; it may be measured in part by the millions which credulous people, often people of very small means, have invested in worthless roads, but in part also by other millions which have been paid for roads which even those who built them knew were not called for. Nevertheless, the great mass of the people of the country are only indirectly injured by the construction of such roads. The roads do not go out of existence, even though it be fully demonstrated they ought never to have been built; every one of them has local communities more or less numerous for which it performs convenient service; they come into business relations with the other roads of the country; their operations are likely to be conducted in the same methods as those of other roads; and the great railway questions which concern and disturb the public, as well as those which trouble the railroad world, are likely to remain the same and to require the same discussion and demand the same final settlement as would have been essential if these needless roads had never been constructed. The "railroad problem" is also not to be found in the condition in which the roads may be put by their projectors or managers, or the manner in which they are equipped for the purposes of operation. A road in bad condition is likely, for that reason, to cause great annoyance to the general public and to its customers. It may result in great delays and possibly in the loss of life as well as of property; a road badly equipped may also, for that cause, be of little or no service to the community; it may possibly be even detrimental, as standing in the way of something better. But commonly the difficulties which are found to arise from these deficiencies in construction or equipment are of a minor character and do not to any great extent affect the general public. They certainly do not rise to the dignity of being considered the "railroad problem" of the age. Neither are they likely to any very great extent to affect the relations of the roads with each other; and we must therefore assume that the problem which we are endeavoring to indicate and define would exist in nearly the same force as now were these deficiencies entirely cured; if, in other words, every road was in perfect condition and was fully equipped for any business likely to be offered to it. In point of fact, if we examine the roads of the country, we are not unlikely to be led to the conclusion that the equipment of roads may also go beyond any just demand that business makes upon it, as well as fall short of the proper business necessity. This is especially the case with the preparation made for passenger service. Service, since the earnest and somewhat bitter competition that has existed between the leading lines of the country has begotten an extravagance in equipment which presents us the spectacle of palaces moving on wheels across the continent and inviting the traveling public, when upon journeys which, but a few years ago, could only be made under circumstances of great hardship and privation, to a participation now in comforts and even luxuries which in the case of most of them are quite beyond their ordinary life at home. But this causes no complaint; the railroad company voluntarily supplies the luxuries and the traveling public voluntarily pay for and enjoy them. If the freight traffic is not provided for bountifully and extravagantly, it is but just to say for the roads that deficiencies are not often serious, and when they are met with are usually found to exist in the case of roads which have come into existence under circumstances of doubtful expediency, and which since their construction have been unable to command the business that would secure and keep up their adequate equipment. But any amount of imperfection in these particulars will at most only touch upon outlying questions affecting slightly the railroad problem and not the main problem itself. The relations between the railroad corporations and their employees do not present the "railroad problem" that is troubling the country. We may say this with great confidence, because neither the corporations themselves nor their employees seem to take a different view, and because also most of the laws which undertake to provide for the regulation of railways do not confer upon the authorities which they create for the purpose any jurisdiction over these relations. It is no doubt true that the public authorities might with entire propriety take them somewhat under consideration, since it not infrequently happens that the just performance of their own duties is impeded, or to some extent, at least, disturbed by the disputes which arise in railroad service, and by the controversies which sometimes injuriously affect public transportation in considerable sections of the country. It might not only be admissible, but important, and even a matter of duty, that in some cases railroad commissions should recommend legislation bearing upon these relations; legislation, for example, in regard to the use of Machinery better calculated to protect employees against injury or loss of life; and legislation that would tend to lessen the injurious consequences of disturbances that arise over the question of wages, or of the unjust discharge of faithful servants. Possibly, also, it might be, if not strictly within their province, certainly not foreign to their duties, to recommend to the railroads of the country and to the employees the adoption of some system of insurance, under which either the railroad companies or the employees themselves, by some general rule of voluntary adoption, should provide a fund for the protection of families against the evils of poverty and destitution, especially in cases of accident resulting in death or in inability to perform labor. But whatever may be done on this subject, the fact would remain that after all that was possible had been considered and provided for by the parties to this service in regard thereto, the great railroad problem would still remain unsolved, and still demanding the best attention of railroad managers and of the public authorities. The "railroad problem" is not to be found, exclusively at least, in the diversities which exist between the legislation of the several states when compared with each other, or between the same legislation when compared with that of the federal government. These diversities necessarily aggravate the existing difficulties and constitute obstacles in the way of the speedy and effectual removal of some of the worst in which the general public is concerned; but the difficulties existing in the relations between the roads themselves are affected but slightly by differences in legislation. Remove these, and the clashing of interests between the roads will be the same as now; the temptation to unfriendly action for the very purpose of inflicting injury upon rivals, or of embarrassing their operations with a view to forcing what cannot be accomplished by negotiation, will be as strong as ever. I need not enlarge upon this, for it is obvious; and so long as the fact is as stated, the railroad problem must remain, whatever may be the laws. That state or territory or nation may have passed and enforced in mitigation of the evils. The "railroad problem" is not to be found altogether in this fact that railroad rates are supposed by the public to be, in a great many cases, much too high; or that there is unlawful discrimination in the transportation of freights and of passengers, and that many persons are carried free who are not entitled to it by law; or that in the cases in which exceptions are made by law to the general rules which are prescribed, the railroad corporations contrive to increase these exceptions in inadmissible or unwise ways to the detriment of their own revenues, or to the increase of the charges that are made against the community in general. The problem, without question, is present here, but not in its entirety. There is no reasonable doubt that railroad charges are often made higher than they should be. This is sometimes made clear on an investigation into the facts, where those who make them are given the amplest opportunity to justify their rates if they can do so. And it may not unjustly be said that they themselves in many cases furnish evidence of more or less conclusive nature that the public complaints are not without foundation; they do so when they cut rates in the warfare with each other to an extent that greatly reduces their annual income and still leaves them in a condition to make respectable dividends to stockholders. They also furnish evidence tending in the same direction when they carry great numbers of persons free of charge; a number which we hope is diminishing from year to year, but which, nevertheless, when the whole country is considered, is still enormous; embracing as it does among the private citizens who are thus favored, not the men of small means to whom the charge of transportation would be a serious burden and must therefore very much restrict their means of indulgence, but the men of large means who, because they are such, have no claim whatever to the favor; embracing also officials of all grades, and especially such as are empowered to make state and municipal laws or regulations bearing upon the subject of railway management. The discredit into which the use of the ordinary evidence of a right to free transportation has fallen is so great, that both the corporations and the persons who receive it deem it politic to resort to other devices, the most frequent, perhaps, being the giving of mileage books; so that a state legislator or city mayor or other officer, when he uses it, may appear to be paying his passage though in fact he is receiving it. I need hardly say that the giving the transaction this form does not in any degree relieve it of the discredit which fairly attaches to it, or lessen in the least its moral turpitude; on the contrary, it adds to the main offense of obtaining transportation at the cost of the public, the cowardice of going through the forms of payment, that by this false pretence the offender may cheat his. fellow-passengers into the belief that he is doing what a proper regard for the rights of others would require him to do. In some sections of the country, the practice here referred to has continued for such a length of time that it seems to be expected by the general public that, as a matter of course, it will be continued indefinitely, and it is therefore believed to be practiced by every successive incumbent of certain offices. Whoever would investigate the sources of political corruption in such sections would do well to inquire to what extent they had their origin in public opinion being debauched by these corrupt practices until at length the grosser forms of political misconduct came to be looked upon as matters of course, and tolerated or excused for that reason. The manner in which advantage is taken of the exceptions of the statute, in order to avoid charging the regular rates, also has a tendency in the direction of showing that the regular rates are higher than they should be. Thus the statute in forbidding discriminations in passenger carriages makes Exceptions for the case of excursions; and how diligent some roads are in finding excuses for excursions in which they are to carry the passengers, for a mere fraction of the customary rates is well known to us all. The excuse advanced may be that thereby they create business which would not otherwise come to them; that they gain favor by giving special accommodation to communities or societies at particular times and on special occasions, and so on; but we have a right to assume that they nevertheless expect to make and do, as. A general fact, make some profit on every such occasion, except when calamities befall them through the accidents which are much more likely to attend special trains, running on unusual time, than the regular trains. A person investigating the subject, with a view to reaching the underlying reasons for their action, would be very likely to inquire why, instead of manifesting great anxiety to increase the number of occasions for exceptional trains carrying passengers below the regular rates, the company does not make the regular rates as low as can reasonably be afforded, and thereby invite the public to make excursions, not on special occasions merely, but continuously; thus increasing the aggregate passenger traffic, though taking it by the ordinary and safe trains, as the railroads of some foreign countries have done without loss by a similar reduction of rates. The reason for making this inquiry would seem to be specially forcible when it is borne in mind that the exceptional trains that are run at reduced rates furnish to a very considerable extent the opportunities which the Class of people known as scalpers embrace to make great profit out of the railroad companies, and, through them, out of the general public who, in their regular travels, must pay rates which are maintained above what would otherwise be necessary, that those who charge them may not be the losers through the operations of this class of persons. But if the railroad companies were chargeable with no breach of law or of sound morality, or with want of good policy in the carriage of passengers free, or of either passengers or freight at unjustly discriminating rates, and if they made use of their privileges under the exceptional provisions of the statutes wisely and justly, there would still be the same railroad problem that exists now — not, it is true, accompanied by as many evils as now, but nevertheless demanding solution as it now demands it, only somewhat less importunately. Many other things in railroad service are causes of annoyance to the public, or tend to break up friendly and useful relations as between the roads themselves, but they may be passed over lightly at this time because they touch but lightly upon the great problem that confronts the public and makes such serious demand upon the best thought of the country. Thus the refusal of one road to unite with another in making convenient arrangements for the transfer of freight or passengers from one line to the other without unnecessary delay; or the making Of arrangements with one company which are unjustly discriminating as against another, are seen in some cases to be evils of no slight magnitude; but such cases are not numerous; they are believed to be diminishing in number from year to year; and for the most part they can be dealt with by the public authorities on a consideration of all the facts with no great difficulty. The troubles that are always present, always annoying, and always difficult of adjustment, are those which relate to the making of rate sheets, and to the manner in which these are observed or treated after they are made. It is here that we discover a problem that is not narrow or temporary, and that does not touch lightly upon the relations between the railroads themselves, but is seen in nearly all their controversies and misunderstandings, and that is the prolific parent of nearly all the difficulties between the railroads and those who have occasion for their services. It is the unjust nature of the rate sheets when the rights of the public or of the roads are considered; it is the refusal to join with other roads in making them, or the demand of an unreasonable share of a joint rate when one is made; it is the sudden reduction in rates when injury can be done to a rival by resorting to that measure, or when it is hoped that the rival can be compelled thereby to give assent to some measure to which assent cannot be obtained by negotiation; it is the refusal to unite in through bills of lading at agreed rates, or to receive for the transportation of persons the tickets that have been given by other roads; it is the failure to abide by understandings concerning rates when a disregard of them seems to promise a temporary advantage; in short, it is the manner in which this whole subject of making rates is dealt with and treated by the railroad companies, and the effect thereby upon their own interests respectively, the interests of stock and bondholders, and the interests of those who, willingly or unwillingly, are their customers, that present the fundamental and still unsolved problem which must necessarily address itself, first of all to the railroad managers of the country, and after that to the public authorities. The evils in railroad service nearly all find their origin here; and especially is this true of those that are most difficult and inveterate. When the number of railroads which are now merely subsidiary to other and stronger lines, either through being brought into the same interest or from being leased or otherwise effectively controlled, are left out of account, there are something like five hundred in this country still remaining, whose boards have the power to make rates for the carriage of passengers and property. These boards are by the law left to exercise in the first instance what is practically a free and unlimited authority in the making of rate sheets. They may make them low or high, just or unreasonably discriminating as between persons and property, or different classes of property, or between different centers of trade, at pleasure; the few instances in which the laws have undertaken to prescribe a precise limit being in the main confined to passenger transportation. The several boards are not obliged to agree with each other as to what the rates shall be; it may be their policy to come to agreement, and it may be assumed that they will recognize this fact and endeavor to come to some understanding in advance; but this is not compulsory; and it not unfrequently happens that a single road will proceed to make rates wholly irrespective of what has been done or proposed by other roads with which it must come into competition or relations of some sort in respect to business. It was at first thought by those who made the laws for The building and management of roads, that to leave the authority thus unrestricted was the best possible condition of things; that it would lead to active competition in rates, of which the general public would have the benefit; that the competition would as a matter of course force the rates down to a reasonable point; in short, that the competition would act precisely as it does in other lines of business. Experience has shown that this idea of railroad competition is a mistaken one; that it cannot be compared. Indeed, it is now very well known that in many cases where roads are carrying freights at what seem to be no more than reasonable rates, on lines leading directly from one great business center to another, other roads whose lines are of twice the distance in length, may be carrying the like freights at the same or at even less rates, though the expense to them is presumably twice as great. This they do because they are forced to do so by a situation which they find absolutely controlling. The general fact is, that in severe competition between business centers, the very long route carries, not at the same rate merely, but at a lower rate because otherwise it would not get the business to carry. How distinctly is it seen here that it is utterly impossible to judge of railroad competition and its effects, its usefulness and its mischiefs, by comparing it with competition as we encounter it in other lines of business. 