fish and their officers
less servile. The temptations have increased, while human frailty
remains the same.

Of course, if we consult the railroad managers as to the best policy to
be adopted for the future control of railroad companies, we shall be
informed that we have already gone too far in railroad legislation, that
nearly all the present evils of transportation of which the public and
the railroad companies complain may be traced to legislative
restrictions, and especially to certain features of the Interstate
Commerce Act. They reluctantly admit that this act has been instrumental
for good inasmuch as it has corrected some of the abuses that formerly
existed, but they insist that several of its provisions are too radical
and do infinitely more harm than good, both to the railroad companies
and the people; that these obnoxious provisions ought to be repealed,
and that under such restrictions as would still remain railroad
companies ought to be permitted to manage their own business. If we
inquire what modification of the Interstate Commerce Act the railroads
desire, we find that if the act were amended in conformity with their
wishes there would be little of it left that is of value. But the
features which are specially obnoxious to them are the long and short
haul and the anti-pooling clauses. They even go so far as to demand that
the Government should not only permit pooling, but should use its strong
arm to enforce all pooling contracts which railroad companies might see
fit to enter into. This means, in other words, that the Government
should enforce an agreement to restrict competition, which is made in
direct violation of the common law, and aid the companies in maintaining
such rates as they see fit to establish. If the railroad manager is
cross-examined and forced to confess the truth, he will have to admit
that what he really desires is freedom from all restraint, or, if public
opinion will not tolerate this, then only law enough in letter to
satisfy a public clamor and permit him to violate its spirit, and to
then trust to him and the future to bring it into disrepute and cause
its repeal.

Some shrewd managers have recently expressed a willingness to submit
their pooling arrangements to a public commission for approval, before
they should go into effect. This is objectionable on the ground that
they would then, more even than before, endeavor to control the making
of the commission. It is far safer to