The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-30
VIEWS OF MIR. BRYAN
DISCUSSED GOVERNMENT OWNER SHIP AND REGULATION.
Believes That Intcrwtate Commerce.
 Commission and state Bcsrds should Asccrtain the value of Railroad Property.

Boston. March 29.-H. NJ Whitney. a prominent Massachusetts Democrat and former candidate for Lieutenant Governor tonight made public a letter he had just received from William J Bryan dealing with the railroad ques- tion
 The letter was in response to one from MT. Whitney in which he asked: Whether In your judgment there is any danger that regulations will be carried to the point of preventing q reasonable return or money invested in the railroads of the country and in case of the adoption of Government ownership by the nation of the several States, the stockholders could expect to receive a price equal to the value of the physical railroad properties?"
 Mir. Bryan writes in part as fol- lows:
 T am in favor of both national and State regulation, and I also believe that public own-.ship is the ultimate solution of the railroad question In my dfscussions on this subject I have pointed out that because of the dam ger of centraIization of ownership by the Federal government of all the lines, prefer a system in which the Federal government will be confined to the necessary trunk lines and the ownership of the rest of the lines be left to the States.
 This, however. is not an immediate question; at least I am not sure that the people are ready to consider the question of public ownership and until they are ready to consider that aues- tion. the interest is centered in regu- lation. As an advocate of. regulation of the strictest sort I can sav to won that there is no danger whatever that this regulation win be carried to the point of preventing a reasonable re- turn on money invested in the rail roads of the country!"
 And I also assure you whenever public ownership Is adopted by the states or by the nation, the stock holders may expect to receive a pri- yate list equal to the value Of the physical properties of the road; but m such assurance ought to be necessary because the public has shown no dis position to reduce railroad earnings to point which would deny a reasona- ble return.
 I have contended that the present value of the railroads should be as- certained by the Interstate Commerce Commission and the commissions of the various States in order that the investors may know when buying stock of intrinsic value and when they are being cheated. As long as promoters are permitted to issue stock that does not represent real value, there must be fuctuation in the stock market for every disclosure of bad railroad management necessarily af- fects the value of the stock.
 The stockholders, therefore, who desire to purchase for legitimate in- vestment should have as much inter- est as the patrons in reducing the railroad business to an honest basis, but the railroads have thus far pre- vented the passage of a law author izing the Interstate Commerce Com. mission to fix the value of the rail- roads.
 When the value of the roads Is ascertained. I am satisfied that pub lie sentiment will insist that the re- turns shall be sufficient to pay a req sonable dividend upon the money in- vested. What this dividend should be 1t might be difficult to fix arbitrari- ly. I should say that any maximum rate fixed by the people should be a little higher than the rate fixed by competition in tiis purchase ,of stock. If. for instance, stock which pays four per cent. dividend can be sold at par, a maximum dividend ought to be enough above that to provide for possible fluctuations in business. If it requires a five per cent dividend to make stock sell at par, the nthe max imum dividend contemplated by legis- lation should be above five per cent, or say six per cent.