The Opelousas courier., 1908-01-18
COUNTRY'S NEED OF
MORE

! STbe country's need of more rail,
Iads. of the double-tracking Of
!, Lpsent lines, of more rolling
, Eock, is in no wise changed by
4ssent financial conditions. Even
&Ebere should be a slight let-up in
!, sme. this would not change the
I HAT our transportation facili-
Ia are wholly inadequate to the
&eiunne of our trade and that the
orntry is rapidly growing while
IA railroads. are not. The late
Esnator German of Maryland, ten
!. fifteen years ago, very wisely
IN that the greatest problem be-
" the people of America is that
distribution" Distribution, of
pnrse, implies transportation.
srery day since then has empha-
E;;,ed the correctness of Senator
Srn,an's Judgment. Under such
onditions the cost of transporta-
m Is Of far less Importance than
M ouestion of securing the facili-
hi needed. We already have by
4 " The cheapest railroad freight
/ |ais Id the World-rates that are
M marvel Of the people of Euro
oean countries. What we need now
pot low rates, freight or passen-
n. but a vast increase in facili-
Eie for handling business. OF all
Az absurd movements of the last
we've months in the railroad and
POLITICAL worlds nothing else quite
eorals the effort to force down
ailroad rates. It is almost pue-
;e III its shortsightedness. It
las cost our country billions of
dollars without a redeeming thing
tie credit side. Money for rail-
uad expansion can not possibly be
lad under present conditions. In
fnitely better would it be for the
whole country if the people Wouid
Recognize that, instead of reducing
rates, the railroads must be given
6uI authority to make a general
advance in rates commensurate
with the increased cost of doing
business. The railroad business
must be given an opportunity to
make profits large enough to tempt
capital from everywhere to seek
Investment in railroad securities.
Men are not going to put their
money into such enterprises sub
iect to the dangers OF legislation
ind they would be foolish if they
HID so-unless the profit is great
enough to justify such risks. 10
bttempt tolimit the earnings tosix
per cent or even ten per cent, or to
any fixed amount, is not only abb
Eurd, but economically false, for
any attempt to limit the earnings
pf legitimate business undertake
lngs will inevitably react and cost
Ehe country far more than the diff
Ference between a fixed income
md the profit which might other
WISE be made. Their own preser-
would necessarily require of
railroads as favorable rates as
could be given with safety for
themselves and their future.
Of recent years the public seems
% have come to the conclusion
That men with bullying bank ac-
are waiting eagerly for an
opportunity to put money into
broad securities, though the con-
tpl Of the railroads is taken from
them, and though other people
who have no interest in them are
gwen authority to fix the rates at
which they can do business. The
idea is very fallacious. The capital
needed for railroad expansion is
not going to seek railroad invest
Inent, but railroad men must seek
The capital with diligence. It must
be presented in such a way as to
indicate profits largeenoughto JUS
tlfy the risk, or otherwise those
Who have the bulging bank ac-
counts will keep their money
themselves or else put it in securl-
faes over which they do have some
control. AS d field for investment,
lhe railroad is no longer an attract
lve proposition, and this, too,
comes at a time when never in our
history do we so much need money
railroad expansion. It is quite
bounds to say that during
the next FIVE or tx years this coun-
try ought to spend $780, 0O, 900
, year III the enlargement of rail
road facilities. We ought within
the next five or ten years to put
one-half as much money into the
Enlargement of railroad facilities
as the total amount now repre-