Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-05-28
COOK s SCHEME
HAS ITS FAULTS
PubIic'S Attitude Toward the
Railroads Is Undergoing
Steady Change.
sv 3. c. FORBES.

-
NEW YORK, May 2s.--A twenty-five
billion dollar holding company to con
troll the railroads of the United states.
under the plan drawn up by Mr. vii
liam W Cook and outlined here yester-
day, is at first glance alluring. But the
more the proposal Is studied, the greater
and Kraver ars tie objections that spring
10 mind Many of MIR Cook s statements
would seem to call for modification in
ciew of recent events Let me try to
comment briefly some Of them
The issue, he affrms, is Socialism or
Noto" I do not think so. Is It not true
that the government, through the inter
state commerce commission, has at last
placed the bit in the mouth of the rail
roads and can force them to move in
whatever direction is desired?
Already the public clamor against the
railroads has in large measure subsidized
Indeed, the public are today complaining
less than are the railroad arrangements
Decision after decision has been handed
down aaginst the transportation compa-
MES and very few in their favor Inc
interstate commerce commission certain
" can not be accused of showing favorit
ism toward the companies The latter
have repeatedly complained that the com
missioners regard themselves more as
the champions Of shippers than as i'm
partial judges So uncomfortable have
numbers of roads been made that any
appeal for government ownership lis as
likely to come from the managers as from
the general public
Railroad regulation, in otner words, has
become M
toothless innocuous, a mere theory II
is offering strong. insurmountable bar
riers against practices which used to
arouse the publics ire Therefore, the
present conditions have not become i'm
possible or intolerable from the public's
point of view. An era of fairer play has
been opened up.
The s25.ooo,Ooo combination, therefore
is not urgently necessary to rescue the
country from socialism Moreover, such
plan does not appear feasible To
begin with the 3 per cent guaranteed
stock proposed would not find a market
a substantially higher rate of dividend or
interest would have TO be paid Even
then the scheme would be so much in
the nature of an experiment-an expert
ment on scale never before attempted
by any nation-that investors would in
all proba hility prefer to hold aloof not
withstanding the government guaranty.
Is the claim that the plan would not
impair the efficiency Of the present rail
way staff" incontrovertible? Can it be
seriously argued that railway officials
barred from earning for stockholders
above a certain fixed percentage would
produce the results attained under exist
ing corporate ownership Would not part
st ~ i .
Would not initiative be dulled? Would
not numbers Of our abest railroad men
to whom moneymaking is not the first
considerable QUIT rather than be sub
jected to the new form Of domination?
The project would be revolutionary,
no matter how carried out II the rail
roads we're to be slyly picked up when their
securities we're depressed, there would
be increasing uncertainty in investment
circles, for the owner of shares paying,
say per cent, would never know the
moment he might be informed that his
dividend would be cut to the per cent
rate-a matter Of infinite importance
Or. if properties we're to he acquired by
condemna tior topsv- turvydom would
reign. Mr.. Cook SAYS of Socialism: 1T
is the direct antithesis of the Anglo
saxon idea that whatever man honestly
ACQUIRES becomes his own, to dispose Of
as he sees fit" How would the o1n
demnation procedure square with the
clause l have put in black letters?
Railroad management in America has
heen lifted from the speculative mud in
which II was wont to disport. 1t is
cleaner now It is watched closer Il
has to keep within bounds prescribed by
governmental bodies The public are no
longer absolutely defenceless. They have
driven the railroads out of politics They
are gradually demanding that no new
securities be issued without governmental
Federal or state-sanction.
Finally. the capitalists who WELD ire
n1endous power over our railroads at
least realize that they can not snap their
fingers at public sentiment The old au
tocratic brutal attitude has been dropped.
Warning has been given that the people
will assert themselves as masters Of the
situation and that If drastic measures
become necessary action will he taken.
The constant increase in the number of
citizens holding railroad stocks can have
but beneficial influence And surely the
reformed currency system should go some
wav toward correcting the evils Of con
~-c,sntrated capital-evils that constitute
danger to the orderly continuance Of the
republic
Capital is on trial 1t knows that if it
does not act squarey vengeance will he
taken in one form or another For the
present however, the suggested twenty
1--WE billion dollar holding company and
1.