Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-22

lDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY ~, 1897
ing as a lien upon the property. The
interests Of the stockholders would
thus be purchased by the nation, and
the interstate commerce commission
could step into the position Of direc-
tors of the various companies and
gradually system of government adj
ministration could be worked out. The
present bond issues of all the rail-
roads at the present time amount to
$4,000, 000, 900, drawing interest at Az
per cent, and for these government
bonds could be substituted, drawing
interest at only 2 " or 3 per cent. Thus
a. saving would be accomplished OF
from 500, O00, 900 to 1920. 0O0, 900 Of dol
lars annually. The par value Of the
stocks of the railroad amounts to
something like s6,OoO,O0O,0oO and the
market value aggregates little less.
They could be condemned and bought
at approximately the market rate.
The annual revenue Of the railroads
last year amounted to a little over.
1900, 900 ,009. This would enable the
government to meet all fixed charges,
and the low rate Of interest paid on
the bonds issued for the purchase Of
the stock, together with the savings
which my colleague has shown would
accrue, would enable the government;
to make the betternents and extern
sipns of the service and at the same
time create sinking fund which
would extinguish the entire debt in
side of fifty years. This, then, briefly,
is the plan which we advocate.
Let us compare this plan with the
plan which the negative is upholding
here this evening, viz, government
control. In 1887, as my colleague said,
congress saw that there were evils in
the railroad situation which must
needs be remedied. So they passed
the interstate commerce act. 1t was
as plainly directed at the evil as the
English language could make it. and
yet it failed to reach and cure the evil.
So it was amended, reissued, re-enact-
ed and patched up time and again and
still it failed to reach the evil. 1t is
continuing to fail to reach the evils
because the cause for evil still re-
mains. And what is the cause for evil?
1t is the greed for dividends which
permeates the present system and is
the root and foundation Of its greatest
evils.
Honorable judges, do you think that
congress can appoint seven men to
look after the 100000 miles of railroad
in the United States and see that rea-
sonable and just rates are put into eff
feet on all Of them? And yet that is
just what congress is trying to do to-
day. But if the interstate commerce
commission should be successful in
curing one evil Of the present system
! it would only make some other evil
worse. For instance, if the commits.
sion should be successful in cutting
down the railroads profits by COM
polling them to cease giving rebates It
would only cause the railroad to cut
down their expense in the cost of
maintenance, thereby making the SER
vice more hazardous and less efficient.
So in curing one evil under the pres
ent system, you augment another. But,
suppose the commission should be sue
cessful in curing all of the evils, it
would mean that expensive investiga-
lions must be carried on continually,
and these expenses must be paid by
the American people. The railroad
magnates Of today certainly are not
going to run the railroads without
making profits and that means that
the patrons of the railroads must not
only pay the expenses of these investi-
cations, but they must also pay for
the expenses the railroads are to in
trying to evade the law. Whenever
you cut down the profits Of the rail
roads SO that the arrangements can
not amass their fortunes they will
cease to operate the railroads and that
would cause the greatest financial
crisis that this country or any country
ever saw.
ls5}t' Xaf:tu.. - - rs I,,ehand E1sshsS