The Washington times., 1905-04-19
Danger Signals.


ownership of public utilities. certain
Of our politicians are demanding
State and National purchase of the
great carriers, and there is a spread
ing socialistic sentiment among our
reputable and welI-to-do professional
and business men that would be ap-
palling If it were unaccompanied by
the spirit of equity and the desire
for further information. These things
mean something. 1t would seem that
they indicate an impending change
In our national existence, rear
rangement of our economic forces,
and important readjustment to our
environment.
The sprout that breaks the soil
does not thereby destroy the earth,
ner need our normal development un-
duly alarm the most conservative
among us. But we must guard our
growth and guide its tendrils to firm
supports. Our Government now owns
the Panama railway, it has long been
engaged in the business of carrying
the mails, and our municipalities gen.
orally own and operate their water
supplies. This may not be the first
step toward socialism, but, surely, it
is warning that the baby has
learned to crawl. The movement,
moreover, is common to all Occi-
dental peoples. In Glasgow the city
owns tram lines and gas works, and
the British government owns not
only the postal service but the tele-
graphs and telephones as we'll In
Germany practically all of the public
utilities are controlled by the central
government, by the state, or by the
municipality. Italy owns her rail-
roads and France exerts a direct
control over the public carriers with
in her boundaries that is tantamount
to partial ownership.
This great bugaboo of public own
ership that looks SO like bear in
the moonlight of our present igno-
rance may turn out to be no more
than a bush after all. Surely, how
ever, we need not jump into the bush
and scratch out both our eyes in the
Wild delight of discovering that it is
not a bear Our proper course would
seem to be to go slowly and eau
tiously, and perhaps we may some
day find it safe for the nation. or the
State, or the city to acquire % all
natural monopolies, (2) all monopo-
lies of supplies and conveniences that
have become essential to the welfare
of The people at large, and, go all
sources of unearned increment
whereby the enhanced value Of
property which arises from the To-
cation or efforts Of the people them
selves may be conserved for the pub
lie benefit
There is grave danger in haste,
however. and we must not only stop
our ears to the demagogues who
would have us eat this apple of the
knowledge of good and evil before it
is ripe, but we must examine the sit
uation thoroughly before we do any
thing 1t is true today as 1t al
ways will be that man never is. but
always to be, blest 1t is true that
our economic conditions are unsatis-
factory to many of our caImest and
wisest thinkers. 1t Is also true that
there will be evils in any change
which we may achieve or have
thrust upon us. The test of expedi-
ency is in the balancing of the condi-
tions
In Germany the empire owns 81 per
cent OF all the railways and the dom
inant state, Prussia. owns 20 per
cent Of these. The administration is
highly centralized and, likewise,
Prussianized. AS a result, to cite
only one instance of inequality. Sax
ony complains that the Prussian Off
eials OF the general railway system
actually divert from the Saxon state
railways the bulk of through traffic
that should naturally traverse that
state and send it around Saxon
boundaries to benefit the railways of
the other units Of the empire. This
is only one Of the evils that may be
expected from governmental owner
ship of transportation facilities in a
federation Of integral states.
Again, the Russian empire owns
the railways within its limits. Po-
land is farther advanced in manu-
factures than any other portion Of
the land and the railway bureaucrats
OF Russia have fixed the freight
charges from Warsaw to st. Peters,
burg and from Warsaw to Moscow go
high that the manufacturers find It
cheaper 10 cart their wares beyond
the boundaries Of Poland and then
use the railways And this, too. is
only one of the dangers Of bureaucra-
cy as applied to state where there
are racial distinctions and the eternal
warfare between agriculture and