Page:The truth about the railroads (IA truthaboutrailro00elli).pdf/22

Rh To-day on all important questions but one the railroad-owner is directed by acts of Congress and of state legislatures and by the orders of commissions and bureaus. He has little control over the rates, over the hours of labor, over the rules for the conduct of the business in which his money is invested, over the taxes he shall pay. There is reserved to him the one duty and responsibility of finding money to pay the bills. In order to make clear what this interference with the details of management really means, a commonplace illustration may be used.

Suppose, for example, that some men are engaged in the business of hauling freight of all kinds from the water-front to the various parts of a city. The owners and chief managers are doing the best they can to deliver coal, merchandise, and other freight promptly and cheaply, though every pound must be hauled with difficulty over slippery streets and up heavy grades. Suddenly, however, a large number of men appear and begin to tell the owners and managers how to run their Rh