The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-11-20
RAILWAYS PLAN TO FORCE AID
VANCE IN RATES.
BY Thomas @. shotwell.

BY Thomas @. Shotwell.
New York American, Oct. S, 190S.)
Now that the elections are almost
out Of the way, railroad men are or
ganizing for vigorous campaign to
force an advance of freight rates.
Their argument is that, unless this be
done, wages will have to be reduced.
1t is said they stand ready to dis
charge thousands of employees to
make a bad situation worse II the
public refuses to countenance their
extravagant demand for higher rates.
Responsible railroad managers are
acting like lot Of cry-babies. They
are pretending that they have been
abused more than any other class Of
business men, when everybody knows
perfectly we'll that their claim Is abb
surd.
Railroads are not doing so much
business as in the past, but that Is
not for the reason that they have
been abused, but because there has
been panic, and 1t might also be
said that it cannot cause one, either,
for panics are natural development
of growth. They are to the business
world what growing pains are to
children. The panic which has
caused all the suffering will be over
in a year, and business is already on
the move. The really important
railroad men know this perfectly well
but under cover of pretended belief
that something must be done to save
the railroads, they are attempting to
fasten on the public schedule OF
rates that will justify the enormous
prices to which railroad securities
have been manipulated.
If the United States occupied all
the North American continent, this
matter might adjust itself and the
disaster caused by such an advance
might be only temporary. But the
Canadian railways are standing ready
to snatch from the American roads
the cream of east and west transport
tation business, and once they get 1t
they will keep 1t. The supremacy of
New York City as a center OF COM
merce can perhaps never be des-
troyed, but 1t will be seriously i'm
paired IL this scheme for higher
freight rates is successful.
1t must be remembered that the
earth Is round like ball, and that
any railroad in Canada has a shorter
haul from. the Atlantic to the Pacific
than any railroad in the United
States. This alone Is enough to give
the Canadians a tremendous advant-
age, but in addition to that, the prin-
cipal roads of the dominion have been
promoted in such way as not to
overburden them with millions Of
stocks and bonds for which no value
came to the property. Their fixed
charges are so much smaller than
those of railroads in the United
States that, with gross earnings
equal to the fixed charges of the
roads in this country, they can actu-
ally pay dividends and lay up sur
plus.
1t is no answer to this that con-
struction and terminals In the United
States cost more. Everybody knows
they do. 1t Is tremendously expen-
sive for the New York Central to con-
struct its New York City terminal,
but that does not change the fact that
Canadian railroads do not have to
build such expensive terminals. Even
the additional cost Of railroads In the
United States that are legitimate
provide a heavy handicap. and, in adj
dition to that, there are the millions
of capitalized graft that must be pro-
vided for. Let 1t be admitted that
the railroads are honestly managed
at presenr-and they undoubtedly are
yet the graft Of past management
remains as dead weight on prog
lress.