The virtual ruler of the United States is public opinion. It is the power that controls the legislative as well as the executive and judicial departments of the Government. Enactments of legislatures and of Congress and decisions of the courts, even of the Supreme Court of the United States, not in harmony with an intelligent and determined public opinion, cannot endure, and executives not in accord with the masses of the people cannot long retain public confidence or official authority. Under these circumstances no reform movement has any prospect of success unless it is supported by public opinion. It should therefore be the principal endeavor of all advocates of railroad reform to create public opinion in favor of the measures proposed by them. With an intelligent public on the alert, the Government may be relied upon to pursue a healthy and progressive railroad policy. Unfortunately, there are times when public opinion upon great questions is dormant, while pecuniary interests, like the force of gravity, never suspend their action. To arouse the masses at such times, we must rely largely upon an honest, independent and courageous press, not influenced by gift or patronage. Many plans have been proposed for a better control of railroads. Some of these are merely theoretical; others have been tried in part, and a few have been tried in their entirety, but under circumstances radically different from those surrounding us. A system which may be well adapted to a monarchy with a centralization of governmental powers would probably prove a failure here, when brought in contact with the principles of dual sovereignty and local rule. Unless a revolution should change our system of government, a dual system of railroad control will always be necessary in the United States; for it is not at all likely that the individual States will ever voluntarily give up their right to regulate commerce carried on within their respective borders. On the other hand, the common welfare requires that the commerce which is carried on between the States should not be hampered by local interference, but should be regulated only by Congress. Our experience as a nation has shown that such a quality of sovereignty is not inconsistent with strength or efficiency, nor need it be productive of rivalry or friction. The fact that a certain mode of railroad management has been successful elsewhere is not sufficient proof that it would be successful here, nor is the fact that it has not been successful elsewhere sufficient proof that it would not be successful here. The more the conditions which exist here resemble those under which it was tested, the greater is the probability that it can be adapted to our circumstances. Independent thought and action is an essential element of progress, yet it is the part of wisdom to profit by the speculation and experience of others.