The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1894-10-11
PARTY DESPOYISN

1lAKll DED[UlNNl
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.
It has been shown that the acquisition
of the railroads of the United States by
the government cannot be accomplished
by any means now within our knowl.
edge. It has been shown that the pol
icy of government ownership has becn
very generally tried; sthat u has sssn
! in operation In the older countries q
the world through long ssEies a
years; that the most progressive coun-
tries and especially those In which -
form of government 10 most liberal a.
the people enjoy the greatest freedom.
are those in which railroads arc wholly
under private control;
And that the Populist scheme o. govern
ment ownership h borrowed fFeA Esss.
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 pasDen.
ger service are greatest In the countries
where the railroads are operated ~ The
state. 1t should be added to this that
an examination Of the comp. attve
efficiency Of the railroad service proves
that it is no where so generally unsatis-
factory as where the government -
| master.
There Is no country ON the globe
where railroads are 80 quick to provide
themselves with the latest and best Inn.
provements and where the comfort OF
the public is so carefully studied and
its complaints treated with a. much
Difference as in the United States.
Where state ownership prevails. .
certain standard is set up, as In the case
of our own postofics facilities, and to
! that the public must conform. Protest
and petition are alike unavailing whom
addressed to great governmental ma.
chine.
Where, on the contrary, the railroads
are operated by private companies,
competing eagerly for the public favor.
each leaves nothing untried to com.
mend itself, and the service Is rapidly
elevated to the highest degree Of efac.
iency.
No one whohas travelled on the rail.
ways Of the continent Of Europe Of
even ON those of Great Britains 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 stre 1uous competi-
ton Of rival companies and the multi.
plication of new processes of economy.
The cost of carrying passenger one
mile has declined nearly OF Of q cent in
the last five years and that Of carrying
q ton of freight one mile has fallen
nearly ,05 Of q 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 a saving
of money to the people amounting to q
good share of the national debt every
year.
There are only TWO countries in the
world where state railroads have been
reasonably successful, aud the coudi.
tions prevailing in themgive en- or.
PLANTATION of the fact.
These countries are Prussia and Bel.
GUM.
The former has an area Of ia 900
square miles, or something les thaa
Montana, and population Of over a..
| 600, 900.
The latter has an area Of li,s71
square miles. or about equal 70 Mary.
land and Rhode Island. Its populasioa
| is little less than $500. 900, o. aboue
equal to Minnesota, Iowa, .Wisoonsin
and the two Dakotas.
1t is well known BY those who have
had any experience in the railway husi.
ness that these are the conditions undes
which railroads become profitable, with.
out reference to their management.
A very heavy population, Condensed
within very small area, asgurss ths
very largest possible patronage and
revenue in proportion to mileage and
cost of operation.
It is the familiar rule that governs
all operations of trade, The larger tho
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
pre- not only different from these, but
they are exactly opposite. We have
here comparatively sparse population,
to be served by roads that extend for
thousands of miles through country
that contributes little or nothing 70
their business.
That we have been able, under these
| conditions, to even reduce our railway
charges to the level Of those imposed in
older countries is q remarkable tribute
to the excellence of our system.
Serious Question Of Providing For Opsrae-
ing and Fixed Charxss. $.-s
There is one consideration that has
been omitted in every discussion on
the question Of government control uf
railroads, but which alone IL Sufiicient
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,
1t assumes that the railroad system of
the United States, as it stands at pres.
ont, is complete thing and that no ex,
tenton of it will ever be required,
Now we know the fact to be, by com.
narison with other countries. that there
must be more railroad construction In
the United States in the future than In
any other country in the world. In
order to have as many miles Of road for
each square mile of area in the United
States, exclusive Of Alaska, as there are
| in (1rpat Rr.ifoi,, cl,o,,N1 ho~xA -, ia