Show ROOSEVELT'S POLICY AS TO RAILROADS A I R RAILROAD M MAii MANON O ON tt RAILROAD PROBLEMS I i-I i Federal Control Federal Regulation and Federal Protection Are Right an and d Necessary 1 An AD Address of Robert blather r nt of or tin Rock flock I Fiand Company Compan nail nOlI G General n Counsel Cound for lor Rock Line Delivered 1 the be I Chicago Association of ot Commerce The railroad problem ha has become to tod today to- to d day the national problem Not because tho the railroad business I Is for tho the moment moment moment mo mo- ment tho the subject of C public criticism and the object of or popular n assault assault- sault sault-I though that Is sadly true But nut In th the tho higher sense en e that thal tho nations nation's depends de tle- de- de ponds upon tipon Its ILs railroads and that Its It I future futuro hangs upon Ulon tho the right solution I of ot the tho questions they thoy pr pro present nl nt We e cannot count our wealth and In terms term that do not point for lor their significance to our lines linos of trans trans- We Vc say that wo wn take tako annual annually annually an an- nual out of the thc soil six billions of or dollars dollas But nut these the e fabulous values re- re suIt not so much from tho the fact that millions of bushels bushel II of ot corn and oats and wheat of or tons of ha hay and bales hales of oC cotton are arc grown and harvested as ns from the tho circumstance that a system of ot transportation unequalled on tho the globe for efficiency and cheapness of or char charge e Is 19 ready to carry those these products to profitable markets Our marvellous crops would count for Cor nothing If forced to lie Ho In the holds fields where they grow or driven iriven to soak seek such marl markets et on only as the farmers farmer's team could reach The Thi cotton crop which brings to our shores shore annually nearl nearly half a billion dollars of or foreign gold would be but hut a t. t fruitless fruitless fruitless fruit fruit- less burden hurden on southern M there were no railways s 's to carr carry It to the tho seaboard sea sen- hoard board We Wo take toke from our mines and forests and factories twenty billions of or dollars each ench year cor but without means menns of or transportation these costly products would be worthless junk junk- lion lion- Count Cound This Thill critical generation would do dovell dowell dowell well vell to recall how our railroads have been created Upon the Invention of ot tho the steam engine the Industrial world raced faced a n. difficult situation It had hall from Crom time immemorial been the practice anti and the accepted dut duty of at the state to provide pro- pro vide ido and to maintain the highways upon which the citizen might either haul laul his own freight or as n a common carrier transport the persons and property property prop prop- erty of or others But the new style of Iron ron highways that the steam engine lad hall Introduced was expensive to con con- States StateR were poor their revenues revenues revenues rev rev- Insignificant and their credit correspondingly correspondingly cor cor- bad Many fany shrank en- en Irely from the risk that tho the new task offered others undertook the work worle and anti early became Involved In debt In loss oss and In shame In this predicament private ate vate enterprise was vas given chen tho the opportunity to undertake the duty which tho states tates themselves were unable to per- per form orm That Is the states employed ato ate capital on certain terms to build the he highways s 's which tho the states should have c tave built for the peoples people's use One of ot the he terms of ot this employment was that the he corporation that built the highway should hould alone have ha the tho right to operate trains rains over It and that tho the public could use the highway for Cor the movement movement move move- ment meat of or their goods or persons over o It only under rules and regulations and rates ates prescribed b by the tho corporation This a restriction n upon that free tree use Ule of pC the tho common hl 8 to which the citizens of or the tho state had theretofore heretofore been accustomed For while nn any one could carr carry on the of or a n common carrier over o the ordinary highways of the state only onh one common common cornmon com corn mon carrier namely nameh th tho corporation that hat had built It It was permitted to conduct con con- duct luct the th-e business of or a a. common carrier on this new kind 1 of or highway B t the railroads could not rebuild and enlarge their facilities as fast as ashe the he the traffic grew In the decade from Crom 1896 to 1906 1906 the railroad mileage of all tracks including second third fourth and yard ard and siding tracks had grown from miles to miles an Increase of or per cent In the process the tho capitalization of the railroads s had Increased froth to 1478 or per cr cent But tho the tonnage of ot the railroads rail rall- roads oads within the same ten years had climbed from ton miles to ton miles an Increase of or over per cent Then the railroads confronted a cri cri- sis Unable to handle the tho traffic that multiplied three and four times as fast as as their facilities grew they turned turnell to further plans for tor enlarging th their lr capacity only to find that In the height of or their prosperity and In the stress of ot the greatest demands upon them their securities could no lon longer cr he be sold and ami money for their Improvements was not available Then Instead of or moving with greater speed to provide pro the track and terminals and cars and engines for lack of or which less than a a. year ago grain lay ay rotting in the fields and communities communities com corn suffered for want of or coal they thc slackened perforce their Already too slow pace And toda today condemned b by public opinion by reports of commissions commis commis- dons and b by their own consciousness ac as inadequate to their tas task causing dally daily loss to commerce b by the Insufficiency I conc of r t their facilities and nd equipment the tho railroads ll are arc Impotent to relieve relle the situation This Is a national calamity Its force Is felt Celt not only onh In tho the falling failing prices of the stock exchange but In the CallIng fallIng falling fall fall- Ing till tillor of or commercial It activity In tho lowered price of or the commercial metals and anti in the tho slackened demand for hu human human hu- hu man labor There Is Js not a man from fron President to tn the least of or the laborers In this great industrial organization organisation that wo we call can the nation who Is not dl- dl and p personally r Interested In discovering dix dis covering tho the causes for Cor tho the Inability of tho the railroads to ralso funds for or their needs and In doln doing hl his utmost to remove re- re move 0 thc them m. m This I Is the railroad problem lem this Is lx the national problem theories are arc commonly advanced advanced ad nd- In explanation of or th the tho un Ity of or 1 lIr railroad securities One Ono Is that a world wide money monet stringency enc due to great grent and general commercial activity restricts investment In al all kinds of oC securities I am not a banker and ond should not presume to have o an ln opinion upon this proposition but It docs not strongly I Impress me In the face Caco of or the tue fact that three fourths of or orthe the fabulous five billions of dollars that Mr tr Hill Hili would have the railroads spen spend spendIn In the tho next n Il 6 years In furnishing additional additional ad nd facilities today stands to th the credit of depositors in our savings banks hanks alone I believe th the mone money ex exists ex- ex and could be he had If our railroad securities appealed to tho the confidence of our Investors I count ns as first among the causes HoIes that have o made their s securities able the misdeeds of tho rn railroads themselves ves Who IJo ho I IM I. Without Sn Sin SnI SinI I will go a I. I sten farther Th There rc has u never been any difference I In morals morals I and since the laRsn passage eo of or the Hepburn act there thoro I Is J no difference in law Jaw between between be be- tween tho the giving of or a 0 rebate and the giving of or free Cree or reduced passenger transportation In these days when the mask of or pretense is being universally lifted It should not give offense to call calli Ute tIle roll roB of or those who have hn participated with tho the railroads In this tion Statesmen who rc regulate the railroads railroads rail rall- roads judges who fine them preachers who condemn them and anti tho the press that i spreads amon among the people with no too careful pen the stories of or their misdoings mis ml- doings all decorate the list The railroads railroads railroads rail rail- roads In this respect are in the thc post post- t t on before th people of or the tho woman taken In adultery and brought b by the tho scribes and Pharisees before Christ for condemnation And nd there Is need again for Cor forthe the voice of or a Master to say sar He lie that Is without sin among you ou let him first cast a a. stone Tho misdeeds of ot tho the railroads to which In m my ju Judgment Is chargeable the hesitancy of oC the Investing public to take their securities are a acts tl that more directly II affect the securities themselves There Is a 1 prevailing public public public pub pub- lic belief based on facts publicly shown that railroad corporations have havo I Issued corporate obligations and applied ap- ap plied the proceeds to purposes other than those for which such obligations may lawfully be Issued Directors are arc understood to have purchased the se securities securities securities se- se of or corporations of or which the they are arc trustees and to have havo sold Bold property of their own own to the corporations mak- mak 11 ng n l t tl dealings deal deal- ings lags with tho the trust estate These anti and like Ike operations violate certain world world- accepted principles of or prudence and of honor lonor and for that reason are arc condemned condemned con con- b by the common mind The fact that they are aie understood od to have oc occurred occurred occurred oc- oc In certain of our corporations suggests the natural Inference that the thc they are arc characteristic of all our corPorate cor- cor I I managements and investors are suspicious of or the securities of or corporations corporations corpor corpor- conducted so at nt variance with tho principles of oC business of ot law In Inand and anti andor of or morals I mean to Imply b by this that the power that regulates should also pro pro- And I favor Cavor an on open acceptance of or federal re regulation because It Is only through adequate and effective assertion assertion assertion asser asser- tion of the federal power that governmental governmental governmental govern govern- mental control can he be made uniform or j Just st and tho commerce o of the country country country coun coun- try saved sa from the conflicting regulations regulations regulations regula regula- of or forty six separate sovereignties sovereign sovereign- ties There Is in this no Invasion of state rights no straining of the Constitution Constitution Constitution tion no assertion of principles that have not long been hEen familiar and often ap ap- ap- ap plied Th The list of state laws that havo have been set aside as being in conflict with congressional or nl action on the same subject subject subject sub sub- Is Is a a long one The right of th the state jo io to license nn and regulate navigation navigation navigation tion on the the waters within Its borders to license Importers to mako make sale of their Importations to authorize the damming or bridging of or navigable n streams to regulate pilots In Its ports portIS portsall portsall all all were powers long exercised by bythe bythe bythe the states but hut perpetually denied to them when congress finally assumed to regulate the subjects There need therefore be no riO hysteria about the thc destruction destruction destruction de de- de- de of or the rights right of or sovereign states when tho the growing ne needs s of or our national l commer commerce o force this further step t l forward under t the te le Constitution |