What reason is there to believe that the railroads will accept a new statute in good faith and obey it any more than any former law? On the contrary, the probability is that if the Hepburn Bill becomes a law the main effect will be to compel railway managers and counsel to sit up nights for a time planning methods to evade and overcome the new provisions. Even if Congress gave the full power at first demanded by the President, to fix the precise rate to be charged, the general effect would probably be that railways would exert themselves to control the Commission. They have always at hand the weapon of practically interminable litigation, and it is very doubtful whether the railroad representatives in the United States Senate will permit any law to pass until it is amended so that the review in the courts shall go to the merits of the Commission’s order in each case. Powerful interests are opposed to any provision that will permit the fixing of a rate, even a maximum, to go into effect before it is connected already with the Federal courts. Footnote 387: See statement earlier in this discussion. Footnote 388: Sen. Com. 1905, p. 3485. Footnote 389: Dept. of Commerce, Monthly Summary, April, 1900, p. 3991. Footnote 390: See Ind. Com. vols. iv and ix, and Hudson, Hadley, etc. Footnote 391: They tend to stability, economy, and efficiency, diminishing the fluctuation of rates, railroad wars, and the wastes of competition, and improving the service by better co-ordination, distribution of traffic, etc. Footnote 392: See the powerful statements of President Ingalls, President Fish, Paul Morton, Professor Seligman, Commissioner Prouty, etc., Ind. Com. vol. iv; and statements of Professor Ripley, Morawetz, Fordyce, etc., Sen. Com. 1905. It is absurd to forbid co-operation for the maintenance of reasonable rates and prevention of superfluous transportation, or any other honest purpose. Traffic agreements may secure a co-ordination of service approaching that which would be attained by unity of management. The fetish-worship of competition is one of the prime curses of our economic ignorance. We might as well worship destruction, injustice, and inefficiency. Moreover, competition of the kind that protects the public from oppressive rates cannot be maintained in the railway world. Let the railways unite, and then control them, insisting on the dominance of the public interest so far as necessary to accomplish justice. Footnote 393: