THE CITIZEN'S LIBRARY OF ECONOMICS, POLITICS, AND SOCIOLOGY EDITED BY RICHARD T. ELY, PH.D., LL.D. DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN RAILWAY LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED STATES THE CITIZEN'S LIBRARY OF ECONOMICS, POLITICS, AND SOCIOLOGY. 12mo. Half leather. $1.25 net each. MONOPOLIES AND TRUSTS. By RICHARD T. ELY, PH.D., LL.D. THE ECONOMICS OF DISTRIBUTION. By JOHN A. HOBSON. WORLD POLITICS. By PAUL S. REINSCH, PH.D., LL.B. ECONOMIC CRISES. By EDWARD D. Jones, Ph.D. OUTLINE OF ECONOMICS. BY RICHARD T. ELY. GOVERNMENT IN SWITZERLAND. By JOHN MARTIN VINCENT, PH.D. ESSAYS IN THE MONETARY HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. BY CHARLES J. BULLOCK, PH.D. SOCIAL CONTROL. By EDWARD A. Ross, PH.D. HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING AND SANITATION. By M. N. DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL ETHICS. By JANE ADDAMS. By B. IN PREPARATION. LABOR PROBLEMS. By THOMAS S. Adams, PH.D. NEWER IDEALS of PEACE. BY JANE ADDAMS. CUSTOM AND COMPETITION. By RICHARD T. ELY, PH.D., LL.D. THE EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY. By RICHARD T. ELY. SOME ETHICAL GAINS THROUGH LEGISLATION. By MRS. FLORENCE Kelley. MONEY. BY DAVID KINLEY, PH.D. BRITISH CITIES AND THEIR PROBLEMS. By MILO ROY MALTBIE, PH.D. COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION. By PAUL S. REINSCH, PH.D., LL.B. THE AMERICAN CITY, a problem of DEMOCRACY. By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 66 FIFTH AVENUE. V Railway Legislation in BY BALTHASAR HENRY MEYER, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF INSTITUTES OF COMMERCE New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 1903 All rights reserved PREFACE THE aim of this volume is to present a condensed analysis of the private and public laws which govern railways in the United States, and of the important decisions relating to interstate commerce. Statements and comments are based upon actual analysis and in large part upon analytical tables of charters and laws enacted in the various states. These tables present so many typographical difficulties that it was not thought expedient to publish them. Chapter IV of the Introduction originally appeared in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, for January, 1902; and chapters II, III, and IV of Part III appeared in the Political Science Quarterly for September, 1902. The author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to the editors of these publications for their courtesy and kindness in permitting the use of this material in the present volume. Part II was included in a more general form in a report published in Volume IX of the Report of the |