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PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



There are, however, certain measures which may 

 be adopted with great advantage to the public inter- 

 est, among which the following may be mentioned : 



1. Publication of rates. This mode of regulation 

 proceeds upon the not unreasonable theory that the 

 moral restraints of public opinion will have a salutary 

 effect upon the companies, and that such publicity 

 will tend to insure stability and certainty to the busi- 

 ness of transportation, and to remove the discontent 

 and suspicion of the public. And further, it is be- 

 lieved that a company dealing honestly and fairly 

 should court publicity, and challenge criticism, by 

 giving to the public every possible facility for obtaining 

 information regarding its charges and its reasons for 

 making them. 



It is proposed as a remedy for the evils of unjust 

 discrimination against one locality in favor of another, 

 or in favor of one description of trade at the expense 

 of another ; for the prevention of higher rates for a 

 short distance than for a longer one, and of uncertain- 

 ty and favoritism by means of special contracts, re- 

 bates, drawbacks, and the thousand and one other 

 means by which a rich and powerful company may 

 by the secret adjustment of rates impose upon the 

 public, and render fluctuating and precarious the 

 business transactions of those who are compelled to 

 use its line. 



On this subject a singular unanimity prevails in 

 nearly all the countries of Europe ; France, Prussia, 

 Austria. Sweden, and Belgium, all regard it as impor- 

 tant and insist upon its enforcement. In nearly all 

 of those countries hand-books are published giving 

 all the particulars regarding distance, classification, 

 rates, special tariffs, etc. There is no doubt that a 

 valuable reform in railway management may be at- 

 tained by requiring such publication in this country, 

 especially if it be accompanied, as in several European 

 countries, with a provision prohibiting an increase of 

 rates without reasonable public notice. 



As many of the causes of complaint arise from fluc- 

 tuations, discriminations, and favoritism at and be- 

 tween points entirely within a State, the remedy for 

 such abuses must be applied by the State Legislature, 

 if at all. 



But there is a large class of cases in which interstate 

 traffic is alone concerned, for which the remedy is 

 in the hands of Congress. 



2. Railway companies should be compelled to receipt 

 for quantity and to account for the same at its point of 

 'destination. The enforcement of a regulation of this 

 kind upon all railway companies and freight-line or- 

 ganizations, employed in transporting cereals from 

 one State into another, would remedy an evil of no 

 small magnitude, and one which falls peculiarly with- 

 in the scope of national power. The evidence taken 

 by the committee shows that the " shortage " on a 

 car-load of grain transported from Chicago to New 

 York varies from i to 10 per cent.; 1 to 3 per cent 

 being not uncommon. Assuming the average short- 

 age to be 2 per cent., it amounts to a loss of 3 cents 

 per bushel on wheat, when the market price in New 

 York is $1.50 ; a loss that falls wholly on the shipper 

 from the Western point. And as the Western buyer 

 knows by experience that the usual loss is from 1 

 to 3 per cent., and sometimes as high as 10 per cent., 

 he will buy on a margin large enough to cover the 



freatest probable deficit. Hence the producer has to 

 ear a loss even larger than tho actual shortage. It 

 may be said that a law compelling the carrier to re- 

 ceipt and account for quantity would render necessa- 

 ry an increased charge for transportation. This is 

 doubted for two reasons: First, because the water 

 lines now account for quantity ; and as the railways 

 fix their prices in competition with the water-routes, 

 they cannot, during the season of navigation, increase 

 their prices. Second, the evidence taken by the com- 

 mittee shows that the rule of railway charges is, " How 

 much will the article bear? " and, as they usually put 

 on all it will bear, when not in competition with wa- 

 ter, it is likely that the effect of such a law would be 



to compel them to exercise greater care, instead of 

 increasing the rate. But, even if it should cause an 

 increase of charges, the producer would then lose 

 only the actual increased rate, instead of the unde- 

 fined margin between 1 and 10 per cent. A con- 

 gressional regulation of this kind would be peculiar- 

 ly applicable to freight-lines which are organized for 

 the express purpose of carrying on interstate traffic. 



3. Railway companies, freight-lines, and other com- 

 mon carriers engaged in interstate commerce should be 

 prohibited from discriminating between persons or 

 places; and especially those engaged in carrying 

 freights from one State into another, whose lines 

 touch at any river or lake port, should be prohibited 

 from discriminating against such port. One of the 

 serious evils now Complained of is that by an unfair 

 adjustment of charges the public is denied the advan- 

 tages of the cheaper transportation afforded by water- 

 routesj and in many cases the business of such river- 

 ports is seriously impaired by reason of such dis- 

 criminations. The remedy for this evil is largely 

 within the power of the States. For instance, freights 

 starting from the interior of Iowa for the East are ex- 

 clusively under the jurisdiction of that State until 

 they cross the Mississippi Eiver, and any unjust dis- 

 criminations against river towns within her borders 

 must be corrected, if at all, by the authorities of that 

 State. But freights from Nebraska, destined for the 

 East, which pass through the State of Iowa, must be 

 regulated in this regard, if at all, by the General 

 Government. It is, m my judgmentj clearly within 

 the power of Congress to remedy unjust discrimina- 

 tions in the case last mentioned, and in all others in- 

 volving a passage through two or more States. 



Other matters in which congressional regulation 

 would probably effect beneficial results are discussed 

 in the report I have submitted, and will be referred 

 to in the " summary of conclusions and recommenda- 

 tions " to which I will presently refer. 



While I am thoroughly convinced that the relief 

 required in the matter of cheap and ample commercial 

 facilities is not to be obtained by any form of direct 

 congressional regulation of rates and fares, I am equal- 

 ly well assured that many of the evils and abuses in- 

 cident to our present systems of transportation may 

 be remedied by this means. Hence it is, in my 

 judgment, of the utmost importance that some means 

 should be adopted for procuring accurate information 

 on which intelligent action may be based. The 

 Constitution having confided to the General Govern- 

 ment the regulation of interstate commerce, it be- 

 comes a matter of great public concern that Congress 

 be fully advised upon the subject. 



I am therefore in favor of the establishment of a 

 Bureau of Commerce in one of the Executive Depart- 

 ments of the Government, which shall be charged 

 with the duty of collecting full and detailed informa- 

 tion on the subject of internal commerce to be annu- 

 ally laid before 'Congress, and to this end such Bureau 

 should have authority, under regulations to be pre- 

 scribed by the head of the Department, to require 

 sworn returns to be made by all railways and other ' 

 common carriers engaged in transporting persons or 

 commodities from one State into or through another. 



I will say, in passing from this branch of the sub- 

 ject, that in my judgment the public service would 

 be greatly benefited by the organization of a new De- 

 partment, to be_ called the " Department of Industry," 

 the head of which should have equal rank and emolu- 

 ments with other cabinet officers, and be charged 

 with the supervision and care of the agricultural, com- 

 mercial, manufacturing, and mining interests ' of the 

 country., in so far as the same have been confided to 

 the national Government by the Constitution. In 

 every other commercial nation these great interests 

 are intrusted to the care of one or more ministers of 

 cabinet rank, who study their necessities, their rela- 

 tions to each other, and the best means for their pro- 

 motion and encouragement. France has ten depart- 

 ments, one of which has charge of the interests of 



