The interests of a thousand towns might suffer for want of adequate transportation facilities, individuals and communities might be anxious to build their own lines for the development of local resources, but all railroad enterprise is doomed to a standstill until a conservative governmental commission has been entirely satisfied that a [Pg 241] prospected road will pay and not deprive existing roads of any part of their revenue.
— from The Railroad Question A historical and practical treatise on railroads, and remedies for their abuses by William Larrabee