Mexico weekly ledger., 1914-11-12
OCCASIONAL WANTS

~ f%Ss QHu
OCCASIONAL WANTS
Wanted 10000 pounds Of ola :
new Goose Feathers. Sam w ga and
senger traffic. A notable
this Is the Missouri Pacifia upie Of
during the last fiscal veor winch
TO the state si,12S,l26 IN evp pala IN.
ITS total receipts on Missouri ts., q
and which,but for its Interest," Slie
mess, would have been forced ,yai' Gl''
the hands to a receiver lon, mo
When the people of a great st,. ago
actually receiving hundreds ~ e are
sands Of dollars more from nn uro0'
Gus railroads than they nav ~ n4 as
for service, should thew moi h. Nusn
ing to meet them half wav IN . % ~,
and equitable rate adjustment a.
taking the state as a whole II w.
railroads r now returning M
cally every dollar they receiys y.
service to the public in one war vi
another, should not the people bs u NJ
ing to give them a dollar and IN
cents where they now receive ! dai'
lar, if the additional ten cent. IN
save them from disaster and n,on WIN
powerful added stimulus for er pe~'
dustry in the state? ~'
The charge that the railroads -.
merely pleading for relief CO. a.s
the abnormal conditions prodncad H T.
the European war is not typa Whi,
the foreign crisis has greatly into.
sified their difficulties, the fart "a
mains that the present rates bav.
been unremuneratiye for a npmb.,
of years and a readjustment woplS
have had to come anyway.
Missouri Should Stand for provros,
Before the wonderful resources If
Missouri can be fully developed We
must not only bring our present rail.
roads up to a high point of efficiency
but we must also build many new
lines and extensions into thoga "a.
tons Of the state where farmers ana
local commerce and industry are stn
inadequately provided with trapsno,.
tation facilities. The chief reason whv
the farm lands Of Iowa and IHipoi,
are yalned so much higher than lsnds
OF fully as good quality in Missouri
Is because those states have abopt
double the railroad mileage found !,
Missouri ct the present time. Rn, IN ~
vestors will not put their money ir,a
new Missouri lines il we c%ontinps n
advertise to the outer world tb,,
capital cannot get a square deal with,
in our midst. In an address A.
liyered before the Commercial Chm
at Jefferson City several months opo
W. ,. Mckinley, the big tra,tor
builder Of Illinois, gave this as Me-
reason for not having built i%nter.ur.
ban lines in Missouri up To this time
land until we prove to the invest.
ing public that this Is not the true
attitude OF Missouri people we will
continue TO suffer the penalty.
In many respects the American
railroad problem presents queer and
paradoxical phases. Whatever abus-
es may have characterized their man
agement in some instances in the
past and the frequent charge that
they are highly ''watered," the fact
remains, as vas shown in a previous
article, that they not only furnish
the cheapest service in the world, but
that they are capitalized for many
thousands of dollars less per mile
than the state owned railroads Of
Europe-and yet despite this fact
the country is full of reformers who
are vociferously demanding govern
ment ownership.
The Government and the several
states already make the rates and
are now about to take the last yes.
tige Of financial authority away
from the railroads by supervising
the issuance of their securities, Il
the Government owned the railroads
could it exercise authority farther
reaching? Would the assumption Of
a government debt amounting TO oil
lions of dollars secure greater rights
or protection for the people" Is II
not barely possible that these crusa'
ders who are continually gToplne
about for a new issue are about e
precipitate a state Of affairs whlei
viii make the gigantic American
railroad industry the tool of the relgt
ing political faction at the Natlona
Capital-placing in its hands a IRE
mendous instrument through wnici
it can reward OF punish any sector
Of the country as the expedieney o.
politics may dictate?
A Vital Force for Progress
All thinking men admit that thu
railroads are the very foundation up
on which rests the enterprise and in
dustry of the Nation. Pushing then
way across the traekless wilderness
years ago they made it possible FOL
the homesteader to follow in thel
wake and send the products Of hi
farm TO the hungry markets OF th'
World. So, too, they preceded TN
miner and the lumberman and car
ried their cargoes back to clvilIza
ton. Everywhere they have been TN
true pioneers-the giant pathilndefSi
the advance guards of progress ana
for the last rs years they have peer
the favorite subject of attack lol
countless political opportuniSIi
whose abuse Of them has paved al
easy road to public office.
No other industry except the ran
roads could have withstood the Oh.
slaught. However, the very room
finally give away before the eontln u
al assault of the elements, ana ~
the time has come when the RAILROADS
of Missouri place their fate com'
pletely in the hands of the peopN IN
confident in the belief that they WI
see that justice is done to th'S gre "a
industry which holds within II WV
future welfare of the common =,
wealth. To this end, we apreal w.
every citizen in the state VINO w :,
lieves in the justice of our pea -
make his views known to the ailn'i i
emit public authorities whose ouS{ on n
is to deal with this great que''''"
paid Adv