The unrestricted building of railroads under the provisions of the general railroad acts passed in most of the States, following that adopted in New York in 1850, has given rise to destructive competition and brought about some of the knottiest points in the railroad problem. It was held for many years, and is even now contended by a great many people, that the building of railroads, like any other business, should be left free to the unrestricted enterprise of individuals and associations of individuals. “If a lot of fellows see fit to put their money into building a railroad where there is not enough traffic to sustain it, and the road goes into bankruptcy, that is their affair, not ours; it is their money that is lost.” That is about how the average citizen talks on this subject. There could be no greater mistake. In the first place the railroads are public highways, and as such must be supervised by the community. When in ordinary conversation in this country we speak of a “road,” from Chicago to St. Paul for instance, it is always understood that a railroad is meant. In the older countries the mention of “roads” is understood to refer to a turnpike. The reason for the difference of usage is obvious. In old and settled countries the highways were in existence for centuries before rails were laid, and the word “road” therefore continues to hold its primary meaning. With us it is the railroad line which first enters into new territory, and it may be years before the contiguous region is sufficiently settled to render an ordinary wagon-road necessary. The vital fallacy in the popular argument that “competition will settle this question of too many roads” lies in assuming that a railroad is, like an individual, private enterprise. If a man starts a hat shop in a neighborhood already well supplied with hatters, and he is bankrupted in the struggle for business, that is the end of him. He has lost his money and the shop is closed and the equilibrium of supply and demand in hats is restored. But when a railroad becomes bankrupted it does not go out of existence in that way. Where is there an instance in this country of a road, once built, having been abandoned or obliterated? No; the bankrupted road is placed under the protection of a court and in the hands of a receiver. It conducts a fiercer warfare than ever against its solvent rivals; for the bankrupted road is relieved from the necessity of paying interest on its mortgage or paying its debts, and continues to do business at lower rates than ever, for the receiver must keep it a-going pending its reorganization or whatever disposition is to be made of it.