Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/700

 684 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

an American has the opportunity of reading such a spirited song of praise regarding his own railways, and such a hard, depreciative judgment with respect to the work of the Interstate Commerce Commission, which is charged with the supervision of rates affecting interstate traffic by the Interstate Commerce Act of Feb- ruary 4, 1887.

It is a different question whether the author has succeeded in proving his case. This question is of greater interest to American than to German readers. During the winter of 1905 President Roosevelt himself launched a movement against the existing tariff policy of the American railways. The President has expressed the opinion that the tariff policy affects the common interests unfa- vorably ; he regards it necessary that the federal government exercise a more effective supervision of these tariffs, and that the Interstate Commerce Commission receive enlarged powers over the railways. A bill embodying these views passed the House of Representatives, but not the Senate. In May and June, 1905, the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce had extended hearings on the subject, and the testimony is published in five large volumes. The message to Congress of December, 1904, again called the attention of that body, in still more emphatic words, to the necessity of controlling railway tariffs through public authority. Whether the President will succeed remains to be seen. At all events, he has succeeded in greatly arousing public opinion, and has created anxiety on the part of the powerful railway managements. A rescuer has arisen for these railways in the person of Mr. Meyer, who, equipped with what has the appearance of a mighty scientific armament, attempts to show how objectionable the efforts of the government of his fatherland have been.

However, the first part of his book was written and published before President Roosevelt had advanced his views. Meyer's studies concerning state railway tariffs in European states and in Australia appeared between July 10 and October 9, 1903, in that excellent American publication, the Railway Age; also the chapter on Prussian tariff policy, concerning which the author deems it prudent to remain silent in his preface (p. ix). The short chapter on France (pp. 123-36) is new. If the author did not resolve until later to oppose the railway policy of his government, he naturally could make good use of these articles. In his testimony before the Senate committee, on May 4 and 5, 1905 (Vol. II, pp.