The heart of the railroad problem

The heart of the railroad problem - The history of railway discrimination in the United States, the chief efforts at control and the remedies proposed, with hints from other countries

This work is one of the consequences of a conversation years ago with Dr. C. F. Taylor, of Philadelphia, editor and publisher of The Medical World and of Equity Series. The doctor said that Equity Series should have a book on the railroad question. The writer replied that there was room for a book dealing with the political, industrial, and social effects of different systems of railway ownership and control. A plan was adopted for a book, to be called The Railways, the Trusts, and the People, which is now on the press of Equity Series. For the preparation of this work the writer travelled through nine countries of Europe and over three-fourths of the United States, studying railways, meeting railroad presidents and managers, ministers of railways, members of railway commissions, governors, senators, and leading men of every class, in the effort to get a thorough understanding of the railway situation. He also made an extensive study of the railroad literature of leading countries, and examined thoroughly the reports and decisions of commissions and courts in railroad cases in the United States. As these studies progressed, the writer became more and more convinced that the heart of the railroad problem lies in the question of impartial treatment of shippers. The chief complaint against our railroads is not that the rates as a whole are unreasonable, but that favoritism is shown for large shippers or special interests having control of railways or a special pull with the management. This book viconsists, in the main, of the broad study of railway favoritism, which was made as a basis for the generalizations outlined in the brief chapter on that subject in The Railways, the Trusts, and the People,one of the thirty chapters of that book. This study reveals the facts in reference to railway favoritism or unjust discrimination from the beginning of our railway history to the present time, discloses the motives and causes of discrimination, discusses various remedies that have been proposed, and gathers hints from the railway systems of other countries to clarify and develop the conclusions indicated by our own railroad history. Special acknowledgments are due to Dr. Taylor, who paid a part of the cost of the special investigations on which the book is based and has taken a keen interest in the progress of the work from its inception, and also to Mr. Ralph Albertson, who has worked almost constantly with the writer for the past eight months and more or less for two years before that, and has rendered great assistance in research, in consultation and criticism, and in the checking and revision of proof. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 68664
Author: Parsons, Frank
Release Date: Aug 1, 2022
Format: eBook
Language: English
Publisher: Little, Brown, and company
Publication Date: 1906
Publisher Country: United States