The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-07-25
RAILWAYS AND THE GOVERNMENT

The strike was bound to bring up the
old question of government control of
the railways. In support of this theory
is instanced the fact that many of them
are even now being controlled by the
government through receivers. This is
a different control entirely from that
contemplated in the usual plan Of state
ownership. A receiver is appointed by
"a court on the petition of bondholders
to manage the property in their inter-
est. That is all. The close relationship
of the receivers of the Union Pacific
railway to the government comes from
the fact that the roads mortgage bonds
are guaranteed by the government to
which it owes many millions.
On the supposition that certain roads
in the receivers hands are under gov
eminent control, it may be asked if
they were in any way exempt from the
operations of the strike? Some Of the
strikers were declared to be in con-
tempt for obstructing them, and that
lis all. Federal troops were used to pro-
tect United States mails, and this ire
spective of whether the roads carrying
them were under the control of the
United States courts or not.
If the government is to own and man
age the railroads, how is possession to
be obtained? They must be paid for,
and for this purpose the government
has only one means of raising the
imoney-taxation. It would take some
billions to buy them. That the stock
holders and bondholders would be will
ing to sell there is not the slightest
doubt
There can only be one reason for gov
lernment management, and that is bet
ter service to the public. Private inter
est is the best guarantee of this. Some
seem to think that labor would be pro-
vided for the unemployed. This was a
favorite theory of Kelley's army when
at Ogden. The railroads employ all the
men they can with profit, and transfer
ring their control would in no way in
crease the demand for more men. It
could not be expected that the old hands
would be discharged to make places for
new ones. Even this could be done on
the theory that to the victors belong
the spells, if the railroads became in
volved in politics, as they inevitably
would.
This is one of the strongest objections
that can be urged against the ownership
of the railways by the government. The
hundreds of thousands of men employed
on the railways of the country would
be used to keep the party employing
them in power. The present prizes of
Federal patronage are small in COMPARE
son. Nor would the workingmen be
particularly benefited. That there would
be corruption and jobbery and rings is
more than likely. Then what a chance
to build up party in some particular
locality by constructing a railroad and
giving all the inhabitants something to
do. The improvement of rivers and
harbors that has caused so much scan
dial in the past would be too insignific-
ant to compare with the railroad i'm
provements. If all the people were fur
nished tickets at half rates or passes.
the cost of them would have to be borne
by the taxpayers.
The example OF Europe is sometimes
cited. 1t is a common remark of Amer
leans travelling in Europe that the rail-
road service is much inferior to that in
this country 1t is best in England
where the railways are owned by pri-
Yate companies. To make the railways
government property would be to en-
courage paternalism in government. a
thing radically opposed to American
ideas