590 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



policy leads to the establishment of such rates as will add to its perma- 

 nent value. A temporary rate at but the cost of carriage, if necessary 

 to establish or develop an infant industry which would in future fur- 

 nish a proiitable traffic, is thus justified by self-interest. To a steamer 

 or vessel on the lakes, on the other hand, the development of the sur- 

 rounding territories means but additional competition ; an increase of 

 traffic is mot by an increase of boats. Their policy is to take from the 

 traffic at the time all that can be secured, for to-morrow it will be car- 

 ried by some one else. 



The new supply brought to the market from a distance reduces the 

 selling price of the article in the market, a result unfortunate to those 

 producers nearer the market, who theretofore monopolized the trade, 

 but fortunate for those at a greater distance who would otherwise have 

 no market, or a more restricted one, for their products. The more im- 

 portant result, howevei", is to the general public, who are benefited 

 through the discrimination by a reduction in the cost of the necessa- 

 ries and common comforts of life ; for the articles carried to the mar- 

 ket in the greatest quantities are those which are consumed in the 

 greatest quantities — they are the necessaries and common comforts ; 

 and, as has been already shown, it is in favor of these things particu- 

 larly that discriminations are made. 



III. A third cause of discrimination between places is found in 

 the volume of the traffic. The effort of the railroad to increase its 

 profits, by increasing its traffic through the incentive of lower rates, 

 has already been dwelt upon in considering discriminations between 

 things. It affects places as well. It is the principle of development, 

 and so works upon all the traffic of a railroad and between all places. 

 But it affects most those things or places in which there is the possi- 

 bility of the greatest development. A familiar illustration of the 

 operation of this rule is the suburban passenger traffic which has been 

 already mentioned. The possibility of developing the travel between 

 a great city and its suburbs is practically unlimited ; accordingly every 

 incentive is offered as to frequent and rapid trains and low rates. But 

 between two small towns the same service and rates would be a mani- 

 fest absurdity. No possible inducement, short of a payment to the 

 passenger instead of a charge, could make any material increase in the 

 travel, except that which slowly results from the natural increase of 

 wealth and population. Similar causes affect the rates on freight. As 

 things consumed in the largest quantities, in which the traffic is most 

 capable of development, are the most favored as to rates, so also are 

 places which consume or are markets for the greatest quantities of 

 things. In all cases when discriminations of this nature are made in 

 freight rates, it is where the lower rates will afford a larger net profit 

 than the higher rates, by an increase of traffic in a greater ratio than 

 the increase of expense. Such low rates, then, can not be at the ex- 

 pense of higher rates to other places. Though they may be below the 



