The  manner  in  which,  and  the  extent  to  which  exceptions  to  the  rule
of  equal  charges  to  shippers  under  like  circumstances  shall  be  admitted
will,  of  course,  be  the  subject  of  widely  different  opinions,  in  consequence
of  the  diversity  of  views  which  prevails  as  to  how  far  infant  industrial
enterprises  may  be  fostered  by  governmental  aids  and  privileges  which
are  in  their  nature  protective  and  enabling.  Perhaps  in  no  other  branch
of  railroad  operations  is  there  greater  need  than  in  this  for  the  exercise
of  the  functions  of  a  technical  tribunal,  such  as  is  supplied  in  Great
Britain  by  a  board  of  railway  commissioners.
INTERNAL    COMMERCE    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  187

Third.  Discrimination  with  respect  to  through  or  competitive  traffic  and
local  or  non-competitive  traffic.  The  differences  which  prevail  in  all
parts  of  the  country  between  the  rates  charged  for  the  transportation
of  through  or  competitive  freights  and  for  the  transportation  of  local  or
non -competitive  freights,  in  proportion  to  the  distance  carried,  constitute
the  largest,  the  most  complex,  and  the  most  difficult  question  connected
with  the  subject  of  discriminations  in  rates.
To  a  very  large  extent  competitive  traffic  is  inter-State  traffic,  and  to
a  very  large  extent  the  so-called  "local"  or  non -competitive  traffic  is
carried  on  within  the  boundaries  of  particular  States,  but  the  exceptions
to  this  are  so  many,  and  they  cover  and  influence  so  much,  that  it  appears
to  be  impossible  to  formulate  any  equitable  rules  which  shall  be  appli-
cable alike  to  these  two  general  classes  of  traffic.
The  principal  part  of  the  inter- State  railroad  traffic  of  the  country  is
highly  competitive,  mainly  as  the  result  of  combinations  entered  into
between  railroads  to  facilitate  direct  shipment  over  connecting  lines.
