Abstract
An adequate system for the cheap and efficient transportation of men and materials is a prerequisite for a modern industrial society. Yet in the United States, the principal constituent of this system, the railroad industry, has seen a serious reduction in its ability to fulfill its proper role. This failure to a large degree has been due to the fact that the railroads in the past have been unwilling or unable to adapt to the new developments in the transportation sector. | Federal regulation by the Interstate Commerce Commission is often given as the cause for the railroads inability to adapt to new developments. Whether or not the Interstate Commerce Commission actually deserves all of the criticism which has been directed its way in recent years, it does appear that a less restrictive regulatory structure would serve to speed up the evolution of a rail system which could meet the requirements of today’s society more efficiently and with greater satisfaction than is presently the case.