540 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



that no more shall be charged for a shorter than for a longer haul, 

 under substantially the same conditions, seems, at first sight, to be 

 perfectly fair and just. But the business of transportation is peculiar, 

 and unlike any other in which the absolute cost of the article can be 

 estimated. The actual cost of transporting any given quantity of 

 freight is not a fixed, but a variable quantity, depending on a great 

 variety of circumstances and conditions. 



If we examine the nature of the expenses of the average railway, 

 we shall find that about one half of the total amount consists of what 

 are known as " fixed charges," which are usually made up mainly of 

 interest on the bonded indebtedness. Of the remaining expenses, which 

 include the cost of operating, about one half may also be regarded as 

 fixed in its character, so that, on an average, about three quarters of 

 the entire expenses remain the same, whether much or little business 

 is done. This explains why certain kinds of business which are created 

 by remarkably cheap long hauls can be profitably taken at very low 

 rates, for it is almost so much clear gain to the road. All the necessary 

 help, track, appliances, and machinery must be maintained, \chether it 

 is done or not. Shorter-distance rates, though higher in proportion, 

 are yet a little cheaper than they could be in case this special cheap, 

 long-haul business is destroyed by legislative regulation. IMany of 

 these special kinds of business have already been paralyzed or tempo- 

 rarily destroyed by the operation of the " long-and-short-haul clause," 

 and can only exist under former free conditions. If they are de- 

 stroyed, the quota they have heretofore paid toward railway revenue 

 must be made up by other classes of business, and shorter rates must, 

 therefore, necessarily be higher than before. As an instance, the long- 

 haul business between New Orleans and New York or Boston, now 

 being done by water, will deprive certain roads of some revenue they 

 have formerly received, and, as a result, they will have to make its 

 place good by higher local rates. Such an effect will be inevitable in 

 the long run. It will be seen that the free, elastic, and ever-present 

 operation of natural law in this, as in other kinds of business, will pro- 

 duce better results for all concerned than is possible from any amount 

 of uncertain, spasmodic legislation, which at best will be artificial in 

 its character. Such enactments in the department of rate- or price- 

 making will only tend to hamper and embarrass traffic, obstruct com- 

 merce, and aggravate the abuses which it is vainly hoped may thereby 

 be cured. Supply, demand, and competition arc like great ocean-cur- 

 rents, silent, but powerful, and any attempts to set up artificial barriers 

 will always produce friction, confusion, and loss. In any contest be- 

 tween the natural and the artificial, the latter must yield, and, if resist- 

 ance is made, harmful results will surely follow. 



This has been illustrated by "Granger" legislation, usury laws, 

 and, in a variety of other attempts to override natural law, by a harm- 

 fid excess of legislative enactment. The question of the present time 



