Railroads, Rates and Regulations

A classic study, first published in 1912, of early federal government regulation of railroads, by an advocate of public control of transportation. The author's thesis is that railroads, as the primary component of commercial transportation, by the setting of their prices and rates affected the costs of many other goods and, in fact, the general cost of living to ordinary citizens. He reviews the history of transportation in the United States, examines a host of systemic pricing abuses, and analyzes several proposed remedies. Book jacket.

William Z. Ripley, Ph.D. (1867-1941) was Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Economics at Harvard University.