Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 28.djvu/519

Rh in the traffic, the discrimination becomes then unjust. The fallacy of the proposition seems not to have been discovered by many who have boon prominent in discussing the question of the regulation of railroad rates. I mean those who have taken a political rather than an economic view of the subject. Following a similar kind of reasoning, they have deduced the unreasonableness of higher rates from the existence of lower rates. "As," they say, "rates on grain, flour, or other things carried at low rates, being voluntarily fixed by the carrier, are presumably fair, it follows that rates not so low are unfair." Here, again, the traffic is conceived of as a mental abstraction which admits of no division or degree; it is always traffic—that is, always the same; while, as a matter of fact, there is a much greater difference in the things than in the discrimination. For, practically, instead of a refined classification, taking into account all differences of value, bulk, quantity, or destructibility, things which are similar in these respects, though not the same, are grouped together in a single class.

The enforcement of uniform rates on all the traffic of a railroad (making a difference only for bulky and perishable articles) is in practice a thing of the past, though with politicians it is still preached. It has, wherever tried, been found not only wanting, but destructive. In Belgium, as most of the railroads were owned and operated by the State, the uniform rate theory was naturally adopted, as upon the face it seemed to be the fairest plan. The effect was the restriction of traffic and the oppression of commerce. After this system had been some time tried, however, the cause of the restriction was seen to be the lack of discrimination in things, basing the rates upon bulk, weight, and destructibility only, and ignoring the fundamental principle—the value of the service.

The result of this experience is thus stated by the Commissioners of Railroads of Massachusetts:

"In 1856, in spite of a considerable increase in the miles of railroad worked, the freight movement of the Belgian railroads was found to have seriously decreased. Instead of making good the deficiency in receipts by increased rates on existing business, the administration met the emergency by accepting all traffic that offered, at greatly reduced special rates. This policy succeeded so well that, in 1861, the principle was adopted as regards minerals and raw materials of a regular low scale of charges, with a reduction according to distance. This resulted in the following year in an increase of 72 per cent in the tonnage of this class of goods. In 1862 the principle was extended to goods of the next class, with similar results. In 1864 freights were reclassified and the new principle applied to all except the first class, or small parcels which in this country are known as express matter. The result was summed up by the Minister of Public Works as follows: 'In eight years, between 1856-'64, the charges on