Bisbee daily review., 1913-12-13
ASK FOR POPULAR SUPPORT
 ID REMEDY EVILS
Howard Elliott of the New England Lines Looks to the People to Help Reform Policies

NEW YORK. Dec. I2.-In an ad-
 dress last night at the dinner of the
 Railway BusinAss Association. held at the Waldorf, Howard Elliott, who succeeded Charles Mellen as Chair
 man of the New England lines. made
 a plea for popular support in securing
 assistance for railroads He said; i National need of terminal and other
 railway facilities having been thor oughly impressed upon the public
 mind, shippers and editors general Y ! convinced that larger net railway re- ' turns should be permitted, what gre 1 the reasons and perp,exities which prevent the people from giving effect to a policy that will cure the S>auble. making 1t unanimous2 Even if there
 is only a vigorous minority opposeo
 to such policy candid consideration
 of their objections is due them.
 It is claimed that the management
 of some roads has not been honest
 that insiders have profited when they
 should not. The morals of all kinds
 of business have improved year ny
 year and things have been done in
 railroad and other business in the de-
 velopment of the country that were probably net right then.-and that cer-
 tainly are frowned upcn now by law
 and public opinion. Such things
 ought never to have been done Own
 CTS of railways should root out dis
 honesty if it exists, and If they will
 not, public authority will do it. But is there anything in the situation that warrants calling a halt on the deyel-
 opment of a continent? Every time a clergyman, a doctor, senator. or cashier is punished, are we forthwith to abolish all clergymen. all doctors. all senators and all cashiers. while we unfrock that particular clergyman. convict that particular doctor, of mal- practice, expel that particular senator. or jail that particular cashier?
 It is said that some railways are over-capitalized Whether they are or not, and certainly American roads have led the world in refraining from 1t. no more capitalization ought to be created than is necessary in order to serve the public. If too much was is is to be regretted, but no workable method has been suggested by which sued by some roads in the past, this securities issued legally and bought in good faith can be taken from their owners without failures and receiver ships that harm many more people than the owners of the securities. As fer the future every railway of i'm portance runs through one or more states which regulate security issues. And apart from that those responsible for railway management realize, as they never did before, the absolute necessity of sound business principles in issuing securities, law or no law. The present problem Is not to restrict the. business of securities but to find people willing to buy them.
 One hears that if securities were sold over the counter the bankers commission would be saved Perhaps some day if confidence can be re- stored part Of such commission might | be savedf but a railroad must have l financial experts, at fair price for ser 1 vices rendered. if the commissions ] ban be saved they ought to be- But not l even city, state and federal govern I ments, whose credit IS based on the | taxing power. have been able at all | times to float even moderately popn- l lar loans without the aid of bankers, ! so it would seen9 as fl it was to the | interest of the people to be patient | with a railway which has practically | no control over the price of what it | has to transportation-and very | little control over the price of labor | needed to produce that transportation. ]
 Others object because they say the | new revenue would go to increase div idends. So some of it would and must. 1 The dividend which a stockholder re. ceives is not all that he would like | CT that his managers want to pay, but | is an amount needed to induce him and others to buy more stock or bonds l when an enlarged plant is necessary in order to meet the desires and ab- soIute necessities of the public
 It is said that the increased income I needed could be had by economics. IL is true that economies have been in- troduced, and there Is room for more Of them. Railroad managers as a whole are pushing hard every day to improve men, methods and facilities Many economies. however, can only De adopted by throwing away old ap- plisnces and buying new ones, which is the case in mills and factories as well as in railroads. And if the rail roads have no money with which to get the new tools they must do the best they can with the cd ones. No effort in this direction should be neg Iected, and TO other industry Is, or in the nature of things can be, so thor oughiy organized nationwide as the railways to cooperate in studying, cx- perimentiug, sands standard tzing pros- ~e $ shsa aElview of the wonderful ! savings already acconiplishb d, lboth major and minor. in the past few years. and the larger percentages of
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