St. Paul daily globe., 1895-11-29
HOW THE EXPERIMENT WORKS.

cure-al1. In all lines of state effort
experiment has been made in this
province. Earliest of all was the con-
struction of railways. The state took
over this enterprise. 1t built the rail-
ways parliament ordered. Parlia-
ment ordered those to be built which
would serve the interests of those
who controlled parliament. Railways
became the capital of politicians who
rode into Office on promised railways.
1.-The people" demanded a line, and
they got it.
The state managed the railways.
There was a bureau, or department,
and a minister at it's head. He was
pressed on many sides. The pres
sure he felt the sharpest was that of
men for place or employment. Scarce
ly less than this was the need of MAX
ing the traffic pay interest on bonds
and operating expenses. Then came
the shippers with demands for les
sened rates, plainly antagonizing the
investors holding bonds. Besides,
there was the steady impairment of
the plant, which good management
required to be remedied. But no pri-
vate or public interest pushed the
minister in that direction. Recently
it was found that the affairs of the
railways were in bad shape. Com
plants rose of poor management,
high rates, and the revenues were
falling.
So commission was appointed to
investigate, and it set about it's
work, and, evidently, did not spare
the search light or direct it's rays
away from dark corners. We have
it's report, and the facts to be sum-
married from it furnish reading that
is good for us in this country where
there is talk about the nationaliza-
ton of the railways, in order to get
rid of evils real or imaginary. We
learn from this report that the rail-
way debt of the province is about
$3.50, ,0G0, 900, on which the annual in
terest charge is nearly $7,000,0OO. The.
rates, which are five times those
charged in this country, produce rev.
enues that fall some $2,000,OOO short
of paying the annual interest, and
the deficits on that account now
amount to over $1O,OOO,OOO. The
wages paid are higher than with us,
and the proportion of trainmen to
rolling stock is larger. The 3O2 en-
gines in service give employment to
$40 drivers, 440 firemen and 262 clean
each engine. This is the result of
the application there of the policy ap-
proved by ex-President Harrison
here, and stated by him to rest on
the duty of the state to afford occu-
patton for it's citizens.
AS there was no pressure on the
minister from the repair side, it
naturally suffered. 1t could be made
to wait while more importunate and
influential parties were served. So
we find it stated that the impair
ment of the rolling stock is estimated
at $6,000,000, to say nothing of track
age. Another feature of the report
suggests incidents disclosed in the
investigation into Tammany's meth
DDS of running New York city. The
books showed $1,000, 900 worth of rail-
way material to be on hand, but the
commission could find but $1,000,000
worth in existence. 1t was inevita-
BILE there, as it will be here when
states take on railway operation, that
members of the Legislature demanded
the construction of branch lines into
their districts. We have seen in a
small way how it works with our
pension business. Everybody is
getting one, and I might as we'll have
one, too" The usual log-rolling
methods were used, and the granting
of needed supplies was made contin-
gent on the grant of an appropriation
for a useless branch line. So we find in
the report that thirty-one branch
lines, that cost S17, 500, 0OO do not earn
enough to pay operating expenses,
While fourteen more do not earn
enough to meet the interest on the
bonds issued to build them. The
commission sees no way to remedy
this condition, except to put the rail-
ways on a strictly business basis and
operate them as a private corpora
tion would; but this would involve
sharp reduction in operating ex-
penses, cutting down the force Of
men; and, controlled as Victoria is.
this will not be accepted. If an ex-
pertinent carried on by Englishmen,
with all their native conservatism
and Inherited prudence, brings forth
such results, it affords no encour-i
agement 10 try it here, where poll
tics ard business pursue paths yet so
far apart. -,......