Show n I CO Dy By L. L A. A Hollenbeck The theorists like the poor 1001 are always with us The They are constantly constant constant- 1 ly jabbIng their theories Into the statute books half boiled and anel usually usually usual usual- ly an Indigestible botch hotch pot that gh- gh gives s the economic public a men mental l indigestion They have told ut us that the time of competition has passed and they Immediately make nil ati Interstate commerce commerce com com- merce commission and a a. lot ot of public pub pub- lie lic utilities commissIons to proceed to fix prices and rates on a big bunch of water stock where there Is a competition of boosting prices instead in- in stead ste d of a competition to fix actual values This is partly based upon th of What Is the use of O h ving two railroads Into a nit nid with all its extra expense when one orie railroad can give the service at expense to the public That well But Dut who Jg is to judge ot of ote tyre e necessity ot of two railroads O Of course the theorists and an I the one railroad rail rail- road will object to the two railroads t the e theorist for the reason stated a and the other railroad because it itil il S' S to gather In all tile the aWl acid also an Income on a lot ot of w watered water water- teril ter- ter I ed il stock and hence it Is ill in favor r or of Jh utilities es commission fixing the I I rates rates on the watered stock and tIle the result is that we pay pa a bigger price e for everythIng than we ought to pay because be ause the one railroad theory ha hati has boasted ti rates and wages and prIces of material so that it costs us mOre by bi bya bia a a. one railroad theory than it would to support the two two railroads The rhe two railroad theory is an effort to repeal a natural law and thus thus' get into more trouble than tc hat we got Ol out t of from of-from the frying fring p III h Into the fire laws ot of tr trade Cle and competition have followed follow follow- cod ed the race from rom the the jungle to the theD D lace Nature has no public utilities ties law that does docs away ay with tire tue natural law o of competition There I is a prodigality In nature as well as asan asan an economy The great forests are great because of the internal competition com com- petition of trees The competitIon Is prodIgal and Is is not arrested except by the natural law of capacity Competitive plants are made by keen leen business men that see a chance They are are willing to risk their money They are the tho judges of the Ule investment nt Sometimes they can see further in a a. a minute than a court or ora ora a lawyer cOl could ld see in a life time Elections to or to o congresses congresses con con- doesn't make brains Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times the tho foresight and ambition ofa ot of a man or of great brains has to be b curbed to prevent him from gO gobbling I the whole e earth th but there should be no inclination lon to 1 dwarf war a t man because ho is big lg Usually a big bigman bigman man can curb cUlb himself hImself too lIt He knows that to prosper satisfactorily he must play a a. fair game with be public But a utility commission I cant can't look Into that mans man's brain Tilt The i depth and size or of that brain may be beas as far away front from the com com- missIon as the Magellan nebulae and the commission would he be looking at atthe atthe the mans malts face and see nothing that was Inside ot of that comprehensive e in- in The pygmy commIssion would swell up In its e intellect and proceed to jUdge a mental co col- col 1 so so large that the commission would see nothing but a gesture and the color ot of hIs hair t |