Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1914-12-25

weeks-men who are above making q
selfish plea for any private or corpor.
ate interest and whose sole desire is
that American business shall emerge
from the present precarious situation
without disaster. Under these cir.
cumstances it is the merest folly for
any citizen to treat the present crisis
lightly or flippantly, for we are pass
ing through period in which the fran
cial resources of every nation in the
world will be tested as never before.
RAILROADS LOST MILLIONS.
The net operating income of the rail.
roads of the United States for the year
ending June 80, 1914, was sl1s. 554, S75
less than for the previous year. The
gross earnings for the year were were
$66, 69s, 1856 less than for 19l3-while
expenses and taxes were SAG, 535. 653
more. But heavy as this burden was
before, the great struggle across the
seas, carrying in its wake the destruc-
ton Of untold hundreds Of millions of
dollars worth of all kinds of property,
renders the situation thousand fold
more serious. 1t means, in short, that
for number of years to come Europe
will have no surplus money for invest
ment in the United States or else.
where and that American railroads
will have to finance their future needs
at home! How herculean this task will
be, saying nothing about protecting
themselves against the dumping of for
eign securities, may be judged from
the fact that the bond and note o5liga.
tions which will mature between now
and the end of next year, and which
the railroads will have to meet in some
way, amount to more than 1868, 600, 900
and this doesn't take dollars worth
of new improvements OF betterments
into consideration. These are obliga-
lions which we're incurred in the past
and which must be met ss they fall
due if the transportation companies are
to be preserved from wholesale re-.
ceiverships and ruin.
Manifestly. therefore, American in
vestors. big and little, will have to
come to the rescue and before they
viii conaent to do this American rail.
road securities will have to be re-es-
tablished - . s,und, respected and
paying investment-and this, on the
basis Of present railroad earnings, 10
impossible!
For this reason the railroads of Iowa
believe the impending crisis demands
that they lay this whole problem BE-
fore the people Of the entire state
that they have q heart-to.heart talk
with the farmer, the merchant, the
manufacturer, the banker, the labor.
ing man, and all other citizens upon
this great question which so vitality sf-
fects the future welfare of the COM
monwealth and the nation.
WHY RAILROADS ARE HELPLESS.
In times of acute financial stress pri.
vate industries are in position to very
largely adjust their affairs to meet the
emergency. They can advance the
price of their commodities, cut their
pay roll in half, or shut down alto.
gether, and thus permit the storm to
blow over without actual shipwreck.
The railroads, a. quasi.public enter
prises, however, are in an entirely diff
ferent position. Their rates are regu.
lated by law AMI cannot be advanced
without the consent of the people
through their law making bodies. In
order to please the convenience of the
public and not to break down the COM
merce of the country they must oper
ate their freight and passenger trains
whether they carry . full load or only
quarter Of . load-snd in view Of
these facts it 10 manifestly unfair 70
put the railroads in the same class
with private industries in the present
crisis and ask them to shift for them.
selves ~ best they can. When the
people took over the complete making
and regulation Of railroad rates they at
the same time assumed the solemn i'm.
piled obligati to see that the rail-
roads get . square deal-for the peo-
pie are the only power that stands be.
tween them and ruin.
We believe every intelligent citizen
will agree that agriculture, commerce
and industry cannot get along without
the railroads. On the other hand, the
railroads cannot get along without the
patronage and, what is equally essen
tial, the good will of the people. That
some of those who have been entrust.
ed with railroad management in the
past are somewhat responsible for the
apparent gulf between the public and
the transportation companies is per-
haps true. Busy and harassed by the
herculean tasks entrusted to their care,