The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-23
IN OLD MISSOURI
The Days When She Tried State Ownership of
 Railroads.
ALMOST FORGOTTEN TIME
The Experiment Did Not Work al All Satisfactorily for
 Them.

 forty years ago Missouri tried State ownership of railroads. The experi- mcnt cost the people about 5,o0o,- 00e. not to mention several years Of hard thinking, writes Walter B. Stew ems in Appleton's. The Governor of Missouri became a raili oad manager. He established rates, ran trains, main- tained the tracks, even added better ments to the property. He showed bal ances on the right side of the ledger. The governor was proud of the rec ord of railroad management by the State, He gave the facts in his p1es- sages to the General Assembly. But te did not advise continuance ot state ownership. While the experiment was on scale somewhat impressive for those Gays, 1t did not suggest to the popular mind a permanent pplicy The 'jcvernor told the legislature and the people that the paramcun, want was ( completed railroads In that View public sentiment coincidei. State ownership found no advocates. Hav- ing ownership, the Sta,a deliberately disposed ef it and substituted power to regulate
 The rclicy of State aid to railroads began in Missouri in 1851 Charters were granted and bills were passed authori.ng the issue of bonds, guar d.;tood bv the State, tc construct rail taais. he condit; n u lche'' tG the a'd wes that the railr aJ coirlany must lu. up $50 ool of it's own funds for ca; h grant of S5o,6oo bon,lN by the S,atA This policy WI silen free trial urtl ltt5, when the people of Mis- ;,curi made the '.isaereeable dlscov- c.s hst the State had authorized :ne issue of $9.000,0op of bonds; tic rail- rhal L;.'ldlng was progressing r-fv slowly; that the cost was twice or three times the original estimates; that these bonds which had commend ed d premium when issued were below par and selling at an alarming dis
 count. Achange in the policy was im- rerstive, but the cllange that took place seems inexplicablc to this gen. oration, which canno. realize the rail- road mania of that decade before the war
 The railroad companies admitted that they were at the end of outside resources. They had raised and spent all that could be obtained In sub scriptions from counties. cities and in- dividuals. They made the astounding proposition that the State authorize the issue of $1o.000,OoO more in aid bonds, $19,O00,0O In all They asked that this aid be made available to them as they contributed. not dollar for dollar as before, but $1 of their money for $2 of State bonds Fine promises were made that with this aid the roads would be pushed through Ito the western and southern borders of Missouri Strange to tell, the legis- tors were convinced by the reasoning that with this additional s10,00e,000 the roads would be completed and that without 1t the State might lose what had been put in The bill passed. au- thorizing the issue of s10,000,000 to be applied in the proportion at s2 of State money to sl of railroad sub scriptions
 With the return of peace in 1858, Missouri faced railroad problem that required four years for solution. It held first liens on the roads Prin- cipal and interest of this railroad aid debt reached s31, 1,735,0o0 before the policy of settlement had been fully carried out, No advocacy of perma- nent state ownership was developed Popular sentiment almost universal Iy demanded completion of the roads across the State. Under such conditions of public feeling, Governor Thomas General Assembly passed measures which at the same time foreclosed the liens and transferred the roads on intended to expedite con struction and to save as much as pos sible on the bonded debt Each road presented problem different from the others. One road which gave the State most trouble and prompted the experiment in railroad operation by the State was known then as the Southwest Branch; it is now part of the main stem of the Frisco sys- tenn. Of this road the State took ac- tual possession.
 A report of about six months op- eration of the road by the agent of the State shows receipts to have been
 I1S.s7O.SS The expenditures for the same period were s1120063S but the expenditures covered much more than operating expenses. General Fisk re- tained the working organization of the road. As the receipts exceeded expenses he paid the officers and em- ployes the salaries and wages past due.
 applying in this way during the six
 months the sum of s1s,5S5.2a. The
 report further shows the purchase out
 of the receipts of several thousand
 ties.
 In the foreclosure of the States
 liens and in he sale of the roads to
 new companies, as each settlement
 was made, was found the opportunity
 to which this far-sighted governor
 drew attention The experiment of
 railroad ownership is an historical
 fact which has special interest at this
 time. Of greater significance, perhaps,
 is the regulation feature which was
 made part of the readiustment of re-