SHOULD THE NATION OWN THE RAILWAYS? 59 



transportation Accounts of a railway running east frcm Chicago, it was a part of bis duties 

 to certify to the correctness of the vouchers on wliich commission puymcnts were made, 

 and he became aware of the fact that one Cliicago brokerage firm was being paid a com- 

 mission of from tliree to five cents per liiaulred pounds on nearly all the flour, grain, 

 packing house, anddistillery products being shipped out of Chicago over this railway, no 

 matter where such shipmeut might originate, uiariy of them, in fact, originating on and 

 far west of the Mississippi river, and when he objected to certifying to shipments with 

 which it was clear that ihf Chicago parties could have had nothing to do, he was told by 

 the manager that his duties ended when he had ascertained and certified that such ship- 

 ments had been made from Chicago station. From investigatious instituted by the 

 writer, he soon learned that some one connected with the management was deeply inter- 

 ested in the payment of the largest sums possible as commission. 



The corporations have ineirectually wrestled with the commission evil, and any 

 number of agreements have been entered into to do away with it; but it is so thoroughly 

 entrenched, and so many of their otficials have an interest in its perpetuation, that they are 

 utterly powerless in the presence of a system which imposes great and needless burthens 

 upon their patrons, but which will die the day the government takes possession of the 

 railways, as then there will be no corporations ready to pay for the diversion of trafBc. 

 National ownership alone can dispose of an administrative evil that, from such data as is 

 obtainable, appears to cost the public from $20,000,000 to $25,000,000 per annum. 



Mr. Meany, in his Sun article, sumiuarizes six causes for the diminution of rail^'ay 

 dividends and remarks: "It is unnecessary to dwell at any great length upon the first 

 five mentioned reasons, but too much could not be said on the sixth. It is now nearly 

 seven years since James McHeury of London (and New YorS, Pennsylvania and Ohio 

 Rjulway litigation fame) openly charged railway managers, in an interview published 

 in the Sun, with criminal collusion in the matter of securing extraordinany privileges 

 and unapproachable contracts with their several corporations for favored fast freight 

 lines, expn ss routes, bridge conapauies, etc., etc., in all the benefits of which such mana- 

 gers shared to a very great extent. On that occassiou Mr. McHenry was promptly cried 

 down. Would he be cried down to-day ? " 



As a rule American railways pay the highest salaries in the world for those en- 

 gaged in directing business operations, but such salaries are not paid because trans-ceud- 

 ant talents are necessaiy to conduct the ordinary operationsof railway administration, 

 but for the purpose of check-mating the chicanery of corporate competitors. In other 

 words, these exceptionally high salaries are paid for the purpose, and because their recipi- 

 ents are believed to have the ability to hold up their end in unscrupulous corporate war- 

 fare where, as one railwaj' president expressed it, "the greatest liar conies out ahead." 

 With the government operating the railways, there would be no conflictiug interests 

 necessitating the employment of such costly officials whose diplomatic talents might well 

 be dispensed with, while the running of trains, and the conduct of the real work of opera- 

 ting the roads, could be left to the same officials as, at moderate salaries, now perform 

 such duties, and consolidation of all the conflicting interests in the hands of the govern- 

 ment will enable the people to dispense with the services of the high-priced managers 

 now almost exclusively engaged in "keeping even with the other fellow" as well as with 

 the costlj' staffs assisti.ig such managers in keeping even, and the savings resulting may 

 be estimated at from $-1,000,000 to ;f5,000,000 per year. 



Government control will enable railway users to dispense with the services of such 

 high-priced umpires as Mr. Aldace F. Walker, as well as of all other officials of 68 traffic 

 associations, fruitlessly laljoriug to prevent each of 500 corporations from getting the start 

 of its fellows, and trying to prevent each of the 5( from absorbingan undue share of the 

 traffic. Itappears that each of these costly peac(-n akiug attachments has an average of 

 seven corporations to watch. 



Referring to traffic associatif n^, and the r vain endeavors to keep the corporations 

 within sight of cemmercial ethics the Interstate Commerce Comnji^sion says: "But the 

 most important provisions of the law have not so often been directly violated as they 

 have been nullified through devices, carefully framed with legal assistance, — here is one 



