174 THE FARMER AS A BUSINESS MAN. 



properly formulated that I know of. The formula given is 

 the proper one to adopt. As the first step in the education of 

 the public it should be adopted, and published, without 

 rhetoric, and without passion, by every body of farmers in the 

 land. By law, the Interstate Commerce Commission has 

 power to prescribe methods of accounting to be followed by 

 railroads In their interstate commerce traffic, and the roads 

 seem generally to comply with it. But there are subjects 

 upon which the public demands details, which it must insist 

 upon getting. Details of certain expenditures, with a require- 

 ment of vouchers, would be more effective in the prevention 

 of improper practices than any other method which could be 

 adopted. The public is entitled to them and should insist 

 upon getting them. Should occasion be found to require it, 

 railroad auditors should be public officials. At any rate, 

 whatever degree of severity and coercion may be found neces- 

 sary to put the public in possession of the information required 

 for intelligent dealing with railroads, should be relentlessly 

 applied. 



No intelligent public opinion can be created to guide 

 farmers or anybody else in formulating specific demands for 

 reform without some knowledge of the facts and principles 

 involved. Of these farmers are now practically ignorant. 

 What, from their reading of inflammatory literature, they 

 believe to be true, is mostly not true, and what they demand 

 is as apt to be unjust as otherwise. They can usually see only 

 their own interests, and will not understand that others, and 

 very likely other farmers, must be considered. I know of l)ut 

 one place where the American farmer can get the information 

 which he needs on this subject, and that is i'rom the Reports of 

 the Interstate and State Railroad Commissions. The Reports 

 of the Interstate Commission from 1887 to date, give com- 

 plete and impartial discussions of all problems of interstate 

 traffic, and the syllabi of the great number of cases decided 

 give more facts than can be had anywhere else. A set of 

 these may be found in any good public library, and can be 

 collected by granges or individuals. A sufficient inquiry 

 would doubtless result in a republication of these documents, 



