Morris tribune., 1894-10-10
Would Be the Outcome Of Govern
ment Ownership of Railways.
Party Politics and the Civil
Service Must Be Permanently
divorced Before the United
States Tries the World Wide
Failure of Running Railroads.

the people enjoy the greatest freedom
are those in which railroads are wholly
under private control;
And that the Populist scheme of govern
Inent ownership is borrowed from Euro
pean despotisms.
1t has been shown. by figures gath
cred from the statistics of all countries
in the world that the cost OF operation
and the charges for freight and passen'
ger service are greatest in the countries
where the railroads are operated by the
state. 1t should be added to this that
an examination of the comparative
efficiency of the railroad service proves
that it is no where so generally unsatis-
factory as where the government is
master.
There is no country on the globe
where railroads are so quick to provide
themselves with the latest and best I'M
provements and where the comfort OF
the public is so carefully studied and
its complaints treated with as much
Difference as in the United States.
Where state ownership prevails, a
certain standard is set up, asi in the case
OF our own postofice facilities, and to
that the public must conform. Protest
and petition are alike unavailing when
addressed to a great governmental ma
chine.
Where, on the contrary, the railroads
are operated by private companies,
competing eagerly Tor the public favor,
each leaves nothing untried to COM
mend itself, and the service is rapidly
elevated to the highest degree of efic,
tenoy.
No one whohas travelled on the rail
ways of the continent of Europe, or
even on those Of Great Britain, can
compare their service with that given
in the United States without acknowl'
edging the great superiority OF the lat
ter. The cheapest is also the best.
Rates BECOME Lower, Service Becomes
Better.
Moreover, this cheapening process is
q continuous one. Through good times
and though hard times it goes on,
forced along by the sire luous competi-
ton of rival companies and the multi
plication Of new processes of economy.
The cost of carrying a passenger one
mile has declined nearly .01 of cent in
the last five years and that Of carrying
a ton Of freight one mile has fallen
nearly .05 of cent in the same period
Apply even these small reductions to
the billions of the people and the tens
of billions of tons of freight moved one
mile each year, and we have saving
of money to the people amounting to a
, rood share of the national debt every
year
There are ol,iy ~ 10 countries in the
world where state railroads e0-1
reasonably successful, and the condI-
tions prevailing in themgive an ex-
PLANTATION of the fact.
These countries are Prussia and Bel
gium.
The former has an area of 134, 900
square miles, or something less than
Montana, and a population of over a.
600, 900.
The latter has an area Of 1873
square miles, or about equal to Mary
land and Rhode Island. Its population
is little less than $500, 900, or about
equal to Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin
ard the two Dakotas.
If is well known by those who have
had any experience in the railway bust
ness that these are the conditions under
which railroads become profitable, with
out reference to their management
| A very heavy population, condensed
within q very small area. assures the
very largest possible patronage and
revenue in proportion to mileage and
cost of operation.
1t is the familiar rule that governs
ell operations of trade. The larger the
business that is to be done with given
amount Of machinery, the smaller the
cost of each item of it, and the greater
the net profit.
The conditions in the United States
are not only different from these, but
they are exactly opposite. We have
here comparatively sparse population,
to be served by roads that extend for
thopsands of miles through country
that contributes little or nothing to
their business.
| 1Lct1 We 4iCLFC DCS1I GRD1Cg unUCI liICSG
conditions, to even reduce our railway
charges to the level of those imposed in
older countries is a remarkable tribute
10 the excellence of our system,
eerious Question of Progiding For operat-
ing and Fixed Charges.
There is one consideration that has
been omitted in every discussion on
the question of government control Of
railroads, but which alone is sufficient
TO negative the proposition emphati-
cally,
| 1t will be observed that it leaves
out of the question all construction Of
new lines in the future.
Il assumes that the railroad system of
the United States, as it stands at pres
ent, is a com 9lete thing and that no ex-
tent on of it will ever be required
Now we know the fact to be, by COM
pariseu with other countries, that there
must he more railroad construction in
the United States in the future than iii
ang ogher country in the world. In
order TO have SIS many miles OF road for
each square mile Of area in che United
States, exclusive of Alaska, as there are
la Great Britain, we should have to add
200, 52S miles 10 orr present mileage,
which is f78, 49,.
It viii be necessary to build in the
United States several thousand miles
of new road each year for many years
to come.
How. When. and Where Would New Lines
BE BuiIt9
The advocates of government opera
tion and control are called upon to say.
who shall determine how much new
railroad shall be built each year, who
shall say how it is to be assigned among
the several states, and how the money
to pay for its construction is to DO OBJ
famed.
These questions present a problem
almost as serious as. any other connected
with the scheme, and one which has
been entirely overlooked. Ii the amount
OF new road to be built and the distIi-