580 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the experience of Great Britain upon this subject, which may fairly 

 be taken as an illustration of the general law : "The evidence," they 

 tell us, " published at great length in the ' blue-books,' seems to be 

 almost conclusive that positive benefit rather than injury has there 

 resulted from amalgamation, so far as it has gone. Not only have 

 the evils anticipated not resulted, but it would seem that the public 

 has invariably been better and more economically served by the con- 

 solidated than by the independent companies. The larger companies 

 employ abler officers, and seem to be managed more on the system of 

 great departments of commerce, and less on that of lines of stage- 

 coaches ; the time and attention of the officers are not mainly absorbed 

 in questions of corporate hostility, and the money of the companies is 

 wasted in a somewhat less degree in warfare with each other ; there 

 is, in fact, far less of friction in the work of transportation, and far 

 more of system. Finally, as regards the community at large, it is 

 found that large companies can be held to a closer responsibility than 

 small ones. Their prominence enables public opinion to concentrate 

 upon them they are more closely watched and held to a stricter 

 account." 



In 1872 a committee was appointed by the Parliament of Great 

 Britain to investigate and report upon the supposed evil of railroad 

 amalgamation. From their report Mr. Charles Francis Adams, Jr., in 

 his valuable and interesting work upon " The Railroad Problem," makes 

 the following quotation : " The Northeastern Railway was composed 

 of thirty-seven once independent lines, several of which had formerly 

 competed with each other. Prior to their consolidation these lines 

 had, generally speaking, charged high rates, and they had been able to 

 pay but small dividends. Now, the Northeastern is the most com- 

 plete monopoly in the United Kingdom ; from the Tyne to the Hum- 

 ber it holds the whole country to itself, and it charges the lowest rates 

 and pays the highest dividends of all the great English companies. 

 It was not vexed by litigation ; and while numerous complaints were 

 heard from Lancashire and Yorkshire, where railroad competition 

 exists, no one has appeared before the committee to prefer any com- 

 plaint against the Northeastern." 



Mr. Adams, in his comments upon the views and statements of this 

 and other parliamentary committees appointed for similar purposes, 

 concludes as follows : " The clearer political observers have come to 

 realize at last that concentration brings with it an increased sense of 

 responsibility. The larger the railroad corporation, the more cautious 

 is its policy. As a result, therefore, of forty years of experiment and 

 agitation, Great Britain has on this head come back very nearly to 

 its point of commencement. It has settled down on the doctrine of 

 laissezfaire" (page 94). 



If the facts were noticed, the American public could not long re- 

 sist the same conclusion upon this subject that has been reached in 



