Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-04-11
BRYAN 5 Rail POLICY
Comes Out With Revised Views
Favoring Federal Ownership
of Trunk Lines
SCHEME FITS GOVERNMENT PLAN
Would First Fix Valuations and Pre-
vent Any More Stock Watering
Plan in Operation in Other Countries
Government Could Either Buy or
BuiId-Bryan's Expressed Views.

New York, April 1.-THE Wall Street
Journal prints letter to the editor
from w. J. Bryan, dated at Lincoln,
Neb., April 6, giving Mr.. Bryan's re-
vised policy, especially with regard to
railroads and their relation to the gov
eminent. The main part of the letter
follows:
1--WE are not at the and Of railroad
development, but rather at its begin
ming. and I feel as / have always felt,
that the ownership and operation by
the federal government of all the rail-
roads, now constructed and to be con-
structed, would go far toward the OBJ
liberation of state lines, and | regard
the preservation of our. dual form OF
government as necessary to the per-
petuity of the republic.
THE plan according to which the
federal government is tt, own only the
necessary trunk lines, and the several
states the remainder ,;f the road is
consistent with our form of govern
ment, and instead Of leading to cen
tralization promises to build up the
states and thus offer q sure bulwark
against Capitalization. l have been
surprised that this plan should be OPP
posed on the ground that it would lead
4 1tua G
o. this that led me to present the plan.
while the plan was proposed before
knew of Its having been tried in
oil er countries, have learned that it
has been successfully employed in
other countries, notably in Germany,
where nearly all the railroads are
owned by the several states.
1T is not necessary that there should
be many trunk lines. Some have as
sumed that every line which. runs thru
two or more states is IL trunk line, but
this does not necessarily follow. Only
enough trunk lines are necessary to
give each state an outlet for the mer-
chandise shipped over the state lines.
While. it is not likely that adjoining
states would have any difficulty In
making joint traffic arrangements, still
the operation of few federal trunk
lines would give to each state an in
dependent position.
AS to the acquiring of lines, !
suppose that. all would agree that the
system should he inauN,urated gradual
ly, so that the government could profit
by experience. 1t is probable that a
commencement would be made with
one transcontenental line, with a pos
sible crossline. A line from the At
lantic to the Pacific crossed by a line
from the lakes to the gulf would do
more to demonstrate the wisdom or the
folly of government ownership than all
the arguments that c,uld be made for
eminent is incompetent to attend to
such matters and too extravagant in
public work. the private roads need
not be afraid of competition.
"These experimental lines can be
bought or built whichever the govern
ment officials think best. I have not
entered upon the details Of the plan or
attempted to decide upon what basis
the government should buy. If it an
nounced its purpose to buy line there
would probably be 9, number offered
and it could have it's choice. The gov
eminent might buy a controlling inter-
est in nne-that is the way the rail-
road ma gnates do. If it built new
line, the success of the new line would
largely determine thu. value of other
lines offered for sale to the nation or
to the various states Our commerce
is increasing so rapidly that a new
line would not materially lessen the
business of the old lirses; there is even
now need for more transcontinental
lines, and the Chicago, Milwaukee &
st. Paul is building thru to the coast
to meet this demand The transconti-
mental roads have not been able to
carry the freight offered to them and
the Union Pacific is earning an income
on considerably more than the value
of the road.
IF it were thought best the gov
eminent could do as France did, guar
anteeing fair dividends and contribu-
lions to a sinking fund, which at the
end of a term of years would give the
government the title to the roads.
'If any one doubts the financial
success of a government trunk, he
must overlook the fact that the mails
at the present rates would at once
furnish quite an itern of business.
Being assured of an outlet for the
traffic OF their roads, the states could
proceed to acquire local roads slowly
or rapidly, as they wished. If the
people of any state preferred to leave
the local lines in private hands, they
could do so; ii they desired to build
new roads, they could build them; If
they desired to buy existing roads upon
such terms as seemed best, they could
do that