The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1914-11-12
q THE SERIOUS CRISIS
WHICH CONFRONTS
MISSOURI RAILROADS
Facts of Vital Interest to Every Farmer
Business Man and Citizen of the

The present series of articles is per
haps the first instance in which the
railroads of great state have gone dl'
rect to the farmer, the business mar
and the citizen generally to discuss with
them in frank and candid manner this
great problem which, in its varied
phases, so vitality affects the welfare OF
every man. woman and child in the
land. The average American voter
wants to be fair about any public ques-
ton and he is, once he fully under
stands the surrounding premises-and
thus, had the railroads of Missouri and
other states taken their troubles d.
rectly to the people some years ago,
the chances are we would not be con-
tronted with the stagnation which has
gripped the business world for some
time past and which, unless remedied
in the near future, threatens utter in
dustrial paralysis throughout the coun-
try.
Every railroad official in the Nation
today is doing everything in his power
not only to obey the mandates of the
Interstate Commerce Commission and
the different Public Service Commits
sions, but also to aid and facilitate their
work in every possible way. AS evil
dence of this statement, we cite the fol-
lowing facts with reference to the stu
alton in Missouri: In 1897 the Legisla-
ture of this State enacted 2-cent pas
senger fare and also greatly reduced
freight rates upon number of impor-
tant items. The railroads appealed and
won their case in the trial court. There
upon the State appealed to the Supreme
Court of the U. S. and that high tri-
bunal reversed the case without preju-
dice to the railroads on the ground that
the valuation Of, the properties had not
been properly established. 1t did not
say by its decision, as Is commonly sup
posed by many people, that two-cent
passenger fare is adequate in Missouri,
or that present freight rates in this
State are fairly remunerative.
Had the railroads of Missouri cared
to do so, they could have filed new suits
the day after the Supreme Court made
its decision. Instead however, they
chose to make the best of the situation.
They met with the Public Service Com
mission at Jefferson City and agreed to
give the reduced rates thorough trial
and today, instead of going to the
courts for relief, they are laying their
troubles before the people and the
Commission with full confidence in their
sense of fairness and in the belief that
they will be willing to grant such an
advance in rates as will enable the rail-
roads to continue to give good service
and to play their great part in the
further development of the State.
Present Situation in a Nut Shell
Briefly speaking, the present series
of articles has sought to establish the
following facts:
First, that the closing of the Euro
pean money markets, added to their
already heavy burdens, has suddenly
brought American railroads face to
face with the gravest crisis in their
history and hence the recent appeal
of President Wilson.
Second, that contrary to public opin-
ion, American railroads are owned by
nearly two million investors, large and
small, rather than by a few rich men
in Wall Street or elsewhere.
Third, that hundreds of millions Of
dollars of the assets of our old line life
and fire insurance companies, savings
banks, benevolent associations, ETC.,
are invested in railroad securities and
that when you destroy the value of
these securities you affect the welfare
of millions of holders of life insurance
policies and bank depositors.
Fourth, that the railroads are the
largest employers of labor, buyers Of
steel, fuel, lumber and other supplies
and the largest taxpayers in the Ma
ton, and that for this reason they con-
stitute the very cornerstone Of the
country's prosperity.
Fifth, that while the products of the
farmer, the manufacturer, the laboring
man and all kinds of materials have ad-
vanced in cost by leaps and bounds dur
ing the last 20 years, the railroads stand
out as the one gigantic industry IN the
Nation which has not only not been
permitted to increase its rates, but
compelled to continually reduce them.
The Situation In Missouri
Looking at the matter from purely
Missouri standpoint, the time has come
when the people must choose between
giving the railroads some substantial
Increase in freight and passenger rates
or sending lot more of them into the
hands of receivers. There isn't sim