The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-09-05

hdent that 1t would be quite out Of
the question 81 duplicate them tne
rallroads ior IN aHerage q 10000
d niIle ana tliis tiE'lre appllsd g th44
stiols Stpiilt each ttiEtssts
cost of al least S10 DO 000 q
attempt ing 70 eeze out be sater
MI. Bryan would probably find him him
SELF engaged In g process which the "a.
courts would declare 10 be eonfisca-
ton. That would hardly be popular,
since the share capital OF the railroads
of the country is distributed among
:327S51s stockholders, while in the
bonds. which are SO largely held by
savings banks every wage Garner in
the country who has laid by something
for a rainy day may be said to have a
proprietary interest. Railroads con-
hscatlon, we are inclined to think.
would be pretty bad politics.
The fiscal aspects of the transaction
as it would AFFECT the Federal and
State Treasures merit something
more than a passing glance, In order
to apportion this new debt between
the Federal and the State governments
it would be necessary to separate tile
trunk lines" from the .local lines. -
Probably there is nobody on earth but
Mr.. Bryan who can do that. We do
not believe he can do it. In fact, rail-
road men Of long experience are stag
gered by the suggestion. But taking
the railroads of the country in a lump,
and assuming that they are to pass
under government control and opera
ton, they must somehow be made to
earn enough money to pay the interest
on the bonds issued for their purchase.
Here the student of Mr.. Bryan's
theories is confronted by doubt and
difficulty. Under private management
which the worlds experience justifies
us in believing to be more successful
than government management, the
railroads 10 not always earn money
enough to pay bond interest, to say
nothing or stock dividends, In 1897
10 pei. cent Of the outstanding railway
shares in this country paid no divt-
dends, and ON 16 per cent of the
bonds no interest was paid. MIR Bryan
will probably remember that in the
years of calamity that coincIded with
disappearance upon the public stage
bearing remedies. a great many of the
railroad companies were in the hands
of receivers. When bad years come
railways reduce wages, discharge
hands, cut down the train service, and
in every possible way reduce expenses,
Yet a great many of them are unable
to make both ends meet. II the rail-
roads under the management of the
Federal and State governments fail
to earn the interest on the bonds is
sued to pay for them-and they Ger.
tain1y would fail in times Ofprolonged
business depressfon-what would the
United States and the various States
do? Let the bondholders whistle for
their interest checks. as they have to
do under private arrangement now
and then? We do not suppose Mr..
Bryan would care to face situation
of that kind. That would mean that
the United States government and the
governments of the various States
were lnsolvent. Against a private cor
poration becomes insolvent the credit
tor has the remedy of a recelyershfp.
We cannot put the. government at
Washington into a receivers hands
that would be paying too high for
the luxury Of a Bryan Presidency. But
something would have to be done to
protect the credit of the government,
since If its railroad bonds defauIted
all it's bonds would fall in price, and
its borrowing capacity would be d.
unfinished. 1t would have to go into
the financial markets of the world like
South American republic. selling its
bonds below par at high rate of in
terest. Rather than do that 1t would
of course lay on more taxes, and so
make up the railroad deficit. That is
what Mr. Bryan's plan comes to, and
that Is what most ventures in public
ownership come to where the books
are honestly and truly kept.
In a country like Germany, with
S., 900 miles of railroads, or in France,
with 10000 miles, the fiscal problems
involved In government ownership and
operation are not Of dominant I'M
portance. With orr 212,OOO miles of
railroads It is different. The under
taking is too big to be entered upon
in gayety of heart and lightness of
head. Mr.. Bryan will find that it is
too big when he sits down to elabo-
rate his plan and favor the public with
details In factC the submission of his
theories to serious practical examina-
ton is a superf1uous task. They are