sons on the means of improving highways and showing the folly of poor roads even in thinly settled territory. Some of the States have expended large sums of money building good thorough roads, and some are following the lead of New Jersey, which grants to the localities from the state treasury a sum equal to the amount expended by each for good roads. Fairlie, Mun. Adminis City streets are used so much more than rural roads that Surfacing of the need of surfacing is much greater. Streets are improved city streets. usually in such a way and at such a time as the majority of the owners of the abutting property may desire. For Baker, Mun. central streets the major part of the expense incurred in Engineering, 14-23. these changes is ordinarily borne by the city, the remainder being paid by special assessments upon the property on either side of the new street. Owners on most residence streets pay the entire cost of their improvements except for corners. The pavements in residence districts are much tration, less costly than on business streets, as the wear and tear is 227-238. much less. Macadam pavements of crushed rock are used frequently, wood blocks are often satisfactory, and a scientifically oiled pavement is found cheap and excellent if the travel is light. Business streets require asphalt pavements with deep concrete bases, or heavy stone blocks. Cobblestones are still used in some localities. Pavements are supposed to be kept in repair by the street department, and sprinkled by the sprinkling department, while the lighting department provides gas or electric lamps. enforce contracts. Street improvements are usually made by private con- The nontract, after the character of the improvements has been ment of publicly advertised, and sealed bids have been presented to municipal the council at an appointed time. The work of the successful contractors is inspected by the city's engineer and street superintendent, but frequently the claim is made that the contracts are not fulfilled, the work being poorly done, although the price paid by the city is higher than any individual would have paid for a similar service. Supervision on private canals and on rivers. Johnson, tion, State canals. Johnson, tion, Wilner, M. M., in Rev. of Revs., 28 (1903), 59-67. Need of state control of commerce. 139. Rivers and Canals. All rivers and canals within a single State are controlled by the State in which they are located. Canal construction has been either supervised or undertaken by the state authorities, as local canals are seldom built unless they are of such importance in state or interstate trade that local officials cannot be permitted to interfere. Navigation on streams or private canals is supervised by the States, although a minimum amount of state control has been exercised, the regulations dealing ordinarily with such matters as the licensing of boats, boiler inspection, provisions for the safety of passengers and wharf regulations. Occasionally rates are controlled as well, but as these are likely to be lower than on stages or railways that may be brought into competition, very little supervision seems necessary. Comparatively small sums have been expended by state authorities in improving natural waterways. During the quarter century following the War of 1812, when interest in state enterprises was very great and there were at first no railways, many state canals were built, especially in the region south of the Great Lakes. The most famous and most important of these is the Erie Canal from Buffalo to the Hudson River, a canal which has been widened and deepened many times. Some of these canals never paid a fair interest on the money invested. Others, like the Erie Canal, repaid the original cost and improvements until they were made free. As freight can be carried by water from the head of Lake Superior to New York for one fourth the cost of transportation by rail, this canal at least has had and has now a great influence in reducing freight rates. The project of making ship canals of the Erie Canal and others is really a national question (§ 259), too expensive an undertaking for the State, to which only part of the benefit would accrue. 140. Control of Railways. The control of commerce on railways or highways exclusively within one State, is a task to be performed solely by that State. According to the Con stitution of the United States, Congress may regulate commerce between the States, but it cannot in any way interfere with a State's supervision of state commerce. On account of the multiplication of railways after the Civil War, there arose the need of state railway commissions to settle disputes between shippers and railways. As railways are quasi-public corporations and have received not only privileges but help in the form of land grants and concessions, it is just that the state governments should demand in return that the railways charge reasonable rates for all distances, and that they do not charge one shipper more than another for similar services. Two classes of railway commis Dixon, State Control, way Trans State railway commissions, which seek to protect the shippers and the public, are to be found in more than two thirds of the States. Not all use the same methods for the sions. control of the railways, and it is customary to distinguish two classes of commissions. (1) Those of the first class aim to control the railways by fixing the maximum rates which may be charged for carrying freight or passengers different 201-211. distances. In addition, they usually have power to prevent the combinations of railways, which wish to unite for the Johnson, purpose of preventing competition. (2) Railway commis- Am. Railsions of the second class do not have power to fix rates, but portation, devote their energies to investigating the cost and the profits 349-366. of transportation. When these railway statistics are published, if the charges are exorbitant and the profits unusual, public sentiment is relied upon to reduce both to a reasonable amount. Some regulation is certainly essential to prevent the unnecessary and unwise multiplication of railways, to avoid the worst forms of mismanagement, and to keep the great transportation companies from sacrificing the public to their own ends. Yet neither of these classes of commissions seems to have solved satisfactorily the question of properly controlling state commerce. The whole subject of railway control will be considered much more fully later (§§ 259–262). Ireton, R. E. in Rev. of Revs., 36 (1907), 217-220. |