Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-04-04
GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.

Lesson to BE Learned From the Com
bination Of Many Lines.
Mr.. Stuyvesant Fish declares that
the combination Of many railroads IN
the hands of one man will be very
good thing for the railroads. Mr..
George Gould, q hereditary owner OF
railroads, says:
81 predict other and greater com
binations than have yet taken place
l believe the public will be BENEFITED
thereby. The unity Of interests among
railroads is desirable primarily for the
reason that a uniform and equitable
rate basis can be maintained"
These two men, and especially Mr.,
Gould, are experts in railroad manage
ment. They, together with many
other men, Pierpont Morgan, Wander.
bilt, etc., have formally expressed
their conviction that the old idea OF
competition being necessary In INDUS
try is all nonsense. They declare that
the days of competition have gone by
and are to be replaced by days OF COM
binatiOn.
These men unconsciOusly are the
strongest and ablest advocates OF gov
eminent ownership. If there Is no
harm in combining all the railroads
under one management, paying all the
profits to one set of men, why not
combine the roads under government
management, using the profits to re-
duce the taxes and increase the pubic
advantages of all citizens!
The value of the railroads consists
entirely, apart from individual man.
agement and competition, in the grow
ing population of the country, Its re-
sources, agricultural and Industrial
products.
In other words, a railroad Is valu'
able property because there are mil
lions of human beings who travel on
It and other millions whose labor EN-
ploys the railroad in hauling freight
The old theory was that individual
owners and competitors improved the
railroads and reduced the cost. But
Mr.. Gould and the other great authori
ties assure us that there Is nothing IN
this theory. We wish they would tel
us If there is any good reason undel
such conditions why the people who
make the railroads valuable shoult
not own them. This is Of course M
| suggestion in the line Of confiscatior
or any other extreme or Impossible
idea. We merely suggest that public
| CHI hn nnh1iaIV nWnp{
and that steps to this end should b'
taken at once, either by national pur
chase gradually or by laws which a
| the end of certain number of years
shall turn the public franchises owe
as government property.
1t cannot be said that the govern
ment would be incapable Of managing
the railroad systems, for those system
are managed by intelligent men who
under the present trust arrangement
all work for salaries. These men coul'
be hired by the government as well a
by Mr. Gould. As regards the minut
workings of the system and the eco
nomical management there should b
no question, for the management Of on
postoffice is far superior to that of an,
private concern in the world, more re
liable, more economical, more publ
spirited. In fact, the only big leak il
the postoff1ce is due to private owner
ship of railroads. The men who owl
the railroads bribe the officials, direct.
or indirectly, and compel the people t.
pay for mail cars and for mail trans
portation an utterly dishonest. extrav
agant rate. If the railroads were own
ed by the government, nobody woul'
be interested in overworking the men
thus causing wrecks, or in underpayin
the men, thus causing strikes and riots
The service would be better and cheap
err, and the employees would be bette
paid.-New York Journal.