Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1903-01-01
(AOUNS by HENJ.G.WELcH.

ownership usually point us to th'
fact that government managed rail
roads dc not furnish the ecOnveniences
comforts and luxuries that are the
every day rule in our country. The
fact is that nothing is done in Other
lands quite like it is in ours, so II
seems to us that argument is of little
force. There can hardly be COM
parison of rates, either for passenger
or freight transportation, because
conditions are so different and be-
sides that statistics can be SO manip-
ulated as to prove almost anything
within the bounds of reason.
| Cosmopolitans tell US that there
are no such travelling facilities in
any country in the world as are
every day furnished to the ordinary
private citizen of moderate means
in our land. All available infOrma-
ton seems to indicate that no rail-
roads anywhere handle freight better
than do our great corporations. We
are told that this would be impos-
sible under government manage
ment.
If we are permitted to be reminis-
cent we might easily seem to be on
that side of the case for we can well
remember when private enterprise
did better work in local deliveries in
the cities than was that done by the
Postoffice Department. The famous
"Blood's Despatch in Philadelphia
maintained a successful business for
years before the Postoffice author
tiles succeeded in doing so, and in
fact after the government assumed
that business the Despatch held it
in competition until to get rid of it
4 law was passed making it crime
to carry ON any such enterprise. The
government could not compete sue
cessfully so it had to Great a monop-
oily. Much the same condition of
affairs existed in the trans-continen-
tai mail under the regime of Wells,
Fargo & Co. They held the field for
reliability of service until they were
forced out of it by law.
The government has had to learn
the money order business from the
Express Companies and in some re-
Ispects the Express Companies are
still ahead. With all the govern
mental advantages the Express
Companies can and do give the best
service in what might be termed
"parcel carriage traffic." The gov
ernment would accept fee for reg
istering a valuable parcel but would
assume no responsibility until it was
realized that for the same fee the
Express Companies were carrying
the same business with profit and
were responsible for its delivery in
lgood order. Then government Of
ffcials learned the same lesson. YOU
can insure package in the mails
for small fee and the insurance
Companies make money out of it bu
the Postoffice Department has no
yet thoroughly "caught on" 1t will
shortly and then law will be made
forbidding any one else doing it
That is, when the government goe.
|, into business it insists on monOp
oily of that business AID yet its bes
lessons have been learned from pri
vate enterprise. This is true il
, every department of its service.
The reader would naturally infe
from all this that we are among tn,
, opponents of "Government Owner
J ship of Railroads" but such is no
, the case. We believe that transpor
{ tation is properly governmental
| function and we have regarded tina
E as the only relief from the spirit tha
expresses itself in the Vanderbilt
| outburst of "The Public be" 70
I which we need not go hundre'
e miles from home. This disposition
!. to assume the most autocratic an,
f unreasonable authority is the caus
s of the strongest convictions on thi
J. subject and that will sooner or late
bring about the change, but ther
It are wide stretches in problems to b
met before it is accomplished an
e while most of us will be on the othe
4 side of the divide before the chang
is achieved we believe that some noV
a living will see IL come to mass