THE INTERSTATE ''LONG AND SHORT HAUL:' 537 

 THE II^TERSTATE "LONG AXD SHORT HAUL." 



By HENKY ^OOD. 



THE passage of the Interstate Commerce bill marked a new era in 

 national economic legislation. The immense magnitude of the 

 interests involved, makes such a radical enlargement of legislative ju- 

 risdiction a very important event to the business interests of the coun- 

 try. In view of the bad effects of the long-and-short-haul clause which 

 already have become apparent, it is assumed by many friends of the 

 measure that there is a persistent effort being made on the part of the 

 railway corporations to render the law odious, by the application of 

 its provisions in an extreme and offensive manner. It is true that in 

 many cases long-haul rates have been raised so as to correspond with 

 the old short-haul tariff, instead of the shorter rates being reduced, 

 and in the place of any such general and perfectly proportioned revis- 

 ion of tariffs as would be likely to exhibit the practical operation of 

 the new law in its most favorable light. Such an effort on the part 

 of railway managers could hardly be expected. It can not be denied 

 that corporations are selfish, nor that their operations are conducted 

 with a view to the largest possible ultimate profit. In this respect 

 they are not unlike individuals who engage in business enterprises. 

 In either case the motive is not philanthropy, but profit. While the 

 object of the State in granting charters and creating corporations is 

 the public good and convenience, the purpose of the individual cor- 

 porators is gain. In any study of the relations existing between the 

 public and the railways, these cardinal principles must not be over- 

 looked. 



Before examining specifically the long-and-short-haul clause, let 

 us briefly consider the law as a whole, or rather the principles of gen- 

 eral restrictive railway legislation. The recent rapid advance and 

 expansion of legislative jurisdiction into new fields, and especially in 

 the regulation of railway tariffs, where heretofore natural and elastic 

 principles have been supreme, is a new departure of very doubtful 

 utility. 



An attempt to regulate prices, or rates, of any kind by arti- 

 ficial legislation, rather than by natural law, or supply and demand, 

 is open to serious objections. The question which now forces itself 

 upon the owners of the $4,000,000,000 (more or less) worth of railway 

 property in the United States is. Where and when will the limit of 

 legislative usurpation be reached ? Where will the path lead which 

 is being so rapidly traversed, and upon which such progress has been 

 made in the recent past ? It is evident to any candid and thoughtful 

 observer that, if present tendencies continue unchecked, not only tar- 

 iffs and incomes will be involved, but that the entire principal invested 



