Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-12-30
President Wilson's Views.

|
terances Of PRESIDENT ~ iison to- a grow
Of eastern railroad executives. In III
letter to Mr.. Trumbull of the Chesa
peake & Ohio he said: .ss,I %z S{s
"You ask me to call the attention .
the country to the imperative neei
| that railway credits be sustained ant
the railroads helped in every possible
way, whether by private co-operativ'
effort or by the action wherever feas
ible Of government agencies, and
am glad to do SO, because think thu
need is very real. sys -.,...,~5,. 3. -
"They' are indispensable to OIL
whole economic life. and railway Sc
curities are at the very heart Of mos
investments, large and small, publ,
and private, by individuals and by in
stitutions. #sS s2s g.. e,.:$ =.
II am confident there will be earn
est and active cooperation in this
matter, perhaps the one common in
terest Of our whole industrial life.
Undoubtedly men, both in and ou1
of official position, will appreciate
what is. involved and lend their aie
heartily wherever it is possible fol
them to lend it. But the emergency il
in face extraordinary and where there
is manifest common interest we ough,
all of us to speak out in its behalf
and I am glad to join. you; in calling
attention to it. This is time for all
to stand together in united effort to
comprehend every interest and serve
and sustain it in every legitimate
way" ~ S3 ~.
Again, in his recent letter to Secre-
tary McAdoo on the new banking law
he used the following language:
"The railroads of the country are
almost as much affected (by the war;
not so much because their business is
curtailed as because their credit is
called in question by doubt as to their
earning capacity. There is no other
interest so central to the business well
fare of the country as this. No doubt,
in the light of the new day, with its
new understandings, the problem of
the railroads will also be met and
dealt with in spirit Of candor aud
justice" f. ~ - - T. ~
Like utterances have come from
scores Of other prominent public men
and financiers during the last few
weeks men who are above making s.
selfish plea for any private or cor
porate interest and whose sole desire
is that American business shall
emerge from the present precarious
situation without disaster. Under these
it is the merest folly
for any citizen to treat the present
crisis lightly or flippantly, for we are
passing through a period in which the
financial resources of every nation i'll
the world will be tested as never be-
fore. 81, - Is 81
-. Railroads Lost Millions.
The net operating income of the
railroads of the United States for the
year ending June 80, 1914, was $11S,"
554,875 less than for the previous
year. The gross earnings for the
year were 66,69S,4S6 less than for
1913-while expenses and taxes were
$40 $685. more. But heavy as this
burden was before, the great struggle
across the seas, carrying in its wake
the destruction of untold hundreds Of
millions of dollars worth of all kinds
of property, renders the situation a
more serious. 1t means,
in short, that for number Of years
to come Europe will have no surplus
for investment in the United
States or elsewhere and that Amer
lean 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 foreign sec,1r-
tiles. may be Judged from the fact
that the bond and note obligations