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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 1898)
is TOO LINO KS- It now looks as SUNTIALLY UNif the present war LAWFUL ? wm SQ ellgrossho ( nttciition of congress that seine other matters , in themselves of much import ance , will not receive the attention which' would otherwise be given to them. Among these matters is that of the pending amendment to the act to regu late commerce. If it could be supposed that the absence of interest in this amendment was the result of non-acti vity of the part of the railroads , there would bo little cause for concern , but such apparently is not the case. The railroads luivo for so long been in the habit of appearing prominently in legis lation in everything affecting their in terests , that it would seem like an abandonment of their principles to leave such matters to the ordinary course of legislation , relying upon the justice of their case for success , and it is there fore not to be supposed that the present quiescent state of the bill is due to the lack of such influences. It is rather chargeable , as already indicated , to the overwhelming interest in the Cuban war and wliich is likely to sidetrack it for some time to come. In view of this condition , it may be wise to raise the question if any im provement in the present situation can be accomplished by the railroads pending the enactment of the much desired and very necessary amendment to the act to regulate commerce. Ten years have now elapsed since that law went into effect , and while some much needed re forms in the operations of railroads have been accomplished under it , it is doubt ful if commerce as a whole has been greatly benefited. Stability of condi tions is the prime requisite for success ful commercial operations , and it is an open question if the law has not been more operative to unsettle these condi tions than was the practice of the rail roads just prior to its enactment. At that time railroads had learned that the mutual interests of themselves and the people were best served by a concert of action and through the medium of as sociations this result was being worked out. But just then the law stepped in , and by prohibiting pools in specific terms , as well as by the later construc tion of the courts declaring illegal any agreement for controlling rates , the or dinary state of strife and uncertainty was re-established. In fact , it is doubt ful if at any time during the history of our railroads commercial conditions were more xmstablo than at present. The Railway and Engineering Re view is not an advocate of lawlessness ; it rather goes to the other extreme and upholds law as it exists , believing that in the end the defective laws will bo corrected. For that reason , it has for years argued in support of the InterState - State Commerce Law and it still be- lievcs that in the main that legislation was wisely conceived and has been ju diciously administered. That the law is defective in some A articulars in freely admitted by all wlo know anything in the matter , and that it will in the coin-so o * time be reorganized is probably certain. But it is a question if any one , particularly the railroads , would not now be justified in seeking to restore commercial stability by doing that which the law ( unconstitutionally , as it is believed ) prohibits , to-wit : The practice of pooling not for the purpose of maintaining rates and certainly not for the purpose of advancing rates , but with the idea of promoting equality of service and charges , putting the com mercial interests upon common footing. It is believed that an arrangement which should provide for pooling of earnings on the basis of the lawfully established rates for the purpose above mentioned , would be sustained by the United States Supreme Court. There is no doubt but that , with the exception of pooling , the matters treated of in the act to regulate commerce are properly the subject of governmental regulation , but it is difficult to understand upon what hypothesis an elective disposition of earnings can be prohibited. Railroad pooling in its most simple form , would dispose of money that has been earned iu the lawful performance of a given service after such money has been con verted into the treasury of the party performing the service. The law of this country provides that in certain cases a man cannot work but eight hours a day , but it does not attempt to say that having worked in a lawful manner during the prescribed time what the man shall do with the money he luus lawfully earned. No more is it believed that , when a railroad , in compliance with law , has performed a given service and has re ceived therefor stipulated lawful com pensation , the law can say what dispos ition it may make of the money it has lawfully earned. If it should elect to use money from its treasury to pay foi the road of a competitor no one would think of objecting , but when it takes any portion or the same money , am pays it to the same competitors for the purpose of making up to it an amoun to which it is admittedly entitled , but for any reason did not get out of the traffic , the cry of fraud is at once raised Just what method of procedure wouh be best under the circumstances whicl are herein sot forth is not so easy of do lineation. It is possible that , as ii many other cases , the direct course would be productive of the best result and that it would bo well for some roads to form a pool on certain traffic , setting forth the purposes as heroin outlined and send a copy of the agreement to the Inter-State Commerce Commission fo such action as it thought proper. If i H 1 hould eventuate that the Supreme Court uphold a contract of this kind as lot unlawful , it would relieve much of ? ; ho pressure that is likely to bo urged against the proposed amendment to the act to regulate commerce. Hitherto we have , as a matter of pol- cy , advocated compliance with the law s it stands , with the expectation that 1 congress would have ore this taken the 1 ? uiti-pooling feature from it. It may bo ihatsuch would still bo the wiser course , but it is at least worth considering if the nore radical measure above suggested would not inure to the benefit of. all concerned. . The London Economist , without pro- 'essing particular concern for our future , or assuming to advise us , points out what wo involve ourselves in if wo un dertake to acquire remote territories. Commenting 011 the annexation of Ha waii , it remarks that it is , for good or for evil , a revolution in American his tory. The annexation of alien peoples over-sea and unfit for self government is not in harmony with the spirit or letter of our institutions. That is a plain mat ter of fact. "Either unfit and semi- savatro neonle must bo endowed with the same rights as those held by American citizens , or they must be helots ; they must bo a nula indirjestarjne moles , gov erned against their will by officials whom they will probably hate , and so forming a new class outside the true life of the republic. " Add to this that if the United States interferes in European and Asiatic affairs , "Europe must and will interfere in American affairs , North and South. " Biit no nation can sit down at table with the great powers of Europe without being heavily armed. After the civil war was over , our immense armies were disbanded at once ; but if wo seize possessions over-sea wo cannot disarm. "At any moment a dangerous revolt might arise in regions far away , or an indiscreet official might involve the American government with the powers of Europe. " Hence wo must in crease taxation to maintain these forces , and the powers of the control govern ment must be enlarged. Against all this is to bo offset a possible increase of trade with China. It is for the American people ple to decide if the possible gain is worth a revolution in their system of govern ment. The Nation , July 28 , 1898. Wo are in receipt of No. 1 , Vol. 1 , of THE CONSERVATIVE of Nebraska City. This paper is edited and owned by the Hon. J. Sterling Morton. This , the initial number , is full of good things and shows that Mr. Morton has an earnest desire to bettor the condition of his fel low men , to improve local laws and re form political abuses. In this Mr. Mor ton will receive no assistance from the average politician for with the carrying out of his ideas their occupation would bo goue. Syracuse Journal.
