Show ANTI RAILROAD LAW THE interstate commerce has operated generally in the interest of the companies which handle the traffic of the country the public have derived little if any good from lie its supposed restrictions in some respects respect of course it has been the cause of considerable difficulty but this has been measurably over come and while creating a little more labor and rendering necessary a little more ingenuity the provisions of the law have been met in the letter but evaded eva dedin in the spirit and the capitalists rather than the multitude have been the gainers during the closing hours of congress some amendments to the unpopular statute were made and the bill received the presidents president signature one of its provisions supplements the fl fine no heretofore imposed for violations of the law by imprisonment for discrimination in rates and charges any railroad official or other person connected with a railroad com company lany who connives with a shipper or other person in making rates that are not general is liable to pay for his infraction of the law behind the bars of a penitentiary instead of condoning his offense by a light fine liquidated by the company the process known as under billing is punishable in a similar manner and three days public notice is required before a reduction of rates shall go into effect this has haa spread consternation among the railroad people and great caution has to be exercised in arrangements range ments for freight and passenger rates of a special nature but it is a sure thing that no ultimate disadvantage will accrue from the new provisions to any one but the patrons of the roads railroad men are a little too cute to place themselves within the penal provisions of this law or to remain in any financial difficulty which at first it may occasion As aa no act of parliament can be passed through which in the language of the famous daniel oconnell a coach and four cannot be driven so no law of congress can be enacted through which an american railroad company cannot rush a locomotive and a train of freight or pullman cars cara by the by this excessive desire on the part of our national legislators to 0 do something exhibiting hostility to railroad corporations as though they were unmixed evils instead of great developers of our country and its products and interests is just as absurd and proceeds from a similar cause as the furore that has led to inimical legislation against utah uta it is simply a pandering to an unreasonable popular prejudice that does not weigh both sides of a question but raises a howl which is only the expression of ignorant passion statesmanship declines dealin to yield to such ignoble influences fluen flue noes ces but politics in the tho gross material sense of the term is willingly swayed thereby and hence the legislation which often db figures the statute books of the nation and the omission of needed laws for the correction of real abuses and the promotion of we tb general welfare that there are evils in the railroad systems which need correcting there thee can be no dispute but that these will be removed and the country bene fitted by laws passed in a spirit of hostility and repression to the railroad reil ruil road corporations we do not believe however these companies are to too strong to be materially crippled and the railroads are too much of a public necessity to be greatly injured by acts of congress or by that jealousy of railroad nates which to is always aroused among the multitude by great elnan caal success the now new provisions of the inter state commerce law will for a tim prevent secret special rates in some sow dir directions eMons but in private business transactions railroad as well VA as other negotiations will be conducted as will best beat suit the interests of the partie sand special enactments which stand in the way will be compiled with only in the letter and respected simply in appearance commerce is so mighty that it ww to ft A great extent regulate and govert govern itself |