Show New York Journal of Finance The indications indi-cations are that railroad rates will not be advanced at present There is no good reason for such action and should it betaken be-taken it would only be detrimental to the business interests of the country without giving the railroads an increase of revenue What is needed at the present time is a maintenance of existing rates and a cessation cessa-tion of tho senseless wars that have made annual statements exhibit a balance on the wrong side for some time past For several years this country has been treated to the idiotic spectacle of ratecut ting among roads that could not secure cars enough to move the legitimate business offered to them This system has caused the values of railroad securities to tumble until they have practically gone out of the solid investment field and only retain a mere speculative value The agreement agree-ment reached by the presidents of the Western roads this week promises to correct cor-rect this evil What this country and its business community needs is railroad management man-agement that is conducted upon sound business busi-ness principles It costs a certain amount to move certain class of freight over a certain class of railrpad and a fair profit on this sum should bo made nothing moro or less The prosperity of the railroads is of vital importance for on them in a great measure depends the prosperity of thena tion They are the largest consumers of both raw and manufactured material and they arc by far the largest employers of skilled and unskilled labor They are the promoters of tho growth of th country and on them our commercial standing depends Inview of this it is to bo hoped that the era of careful and judicious railroad management man-agement which seems about to dawn will not clouded by any material disturbance of existing rates |