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 BY PROF. FRANK PARSONS, PH.D. AUTHOR OF “THE STORY OF NEW ZEALAND,” “THE WORLD’S BEST BOOKS,” “THE CITY FOR THE PEOPLE,” “THE RAILWAYS, THE TRUSTS, AND THE PEOPLE” BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1906 _Copyright, 1906_, BY FRANK PARSONS. _All rights reserved_ Published April, 1906 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. PREFACE 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.