The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-12-11
IMMEDIATE ADVANCE
IN RATES ADVOCATED
To "Save the Crash of the Temple Of
Transportation, Urged U. S. SEN
ator-elect Harding of Ohio at
Railway Dinner.

New York, Dec. ll.--Warren G. Harding
United States senatorelect from Ohio
i'll an address before the Railway Bust
ness association at its annual dinner
here last night favored interstate con
troll for the entire railroad service and
an immediate general rate advance tC
save the crash of the temple OF trans.
portation."
He said:
"The argument has never appealed Ia
me that we ought to prosper our rail
roads for the specific purpose of promot.
ing general property. 1t seems to me
more important to prosper our trans
portatiOn lines as n simple matter of
fairness and justice to this most impor-
tant single agency in our modern lives.
Il believe that the day of plundering
! financing has passed. l should like to
proclaim. in the same breath, the pass
ing of railroad batting less inspired by
public good than by personal profits and
political gain. 1t has been great stunt
to hammer the railroads.
"The drift is toward the sober, Sec
ond thought. There has been an excess
OF commissioning. The best railroad
knowledge in all the land ought to light
the way. Public service ought to be
the impelling purpose, unheeding public
clamor.
Il believe it is the opinion Of ninety
nine of every hundred thinking people
that the railways of the country are en-
titled TO an increase OF rates, and would
gladly see It granted.
Under the present system of reduced
and insufficient earnings, and with in
creased cost of operation, there are no
marked railway betterments except in
the high tide of earnings when cost is
highest and Improvements are hampered
by traffic operations. We ought to re-
verse this order and provide an ample
earning in good times to enable extensive
betterment to be made in the dull pc
riod. This would tend to better service
in the days of the revival Meanwhile
the expenditure for betterments would
relieve the general dullness amid such
as we complain of to-day.
Through agitation and restriction,
there has come impaired credit, until
there is a threatening collapse of the
railroad editice. These items of main
tenance and betterments have been over
looked by the political exhorters.
Perhaps the lack of successful regu
lation is due to the newness of the un-
dertaking, to the unavoidable political
agitation and to the harassment of con.
aicting authority because of varied state
legislation and state commission. We
ought to put the entire railroad service
under interstate control. Such a policy
would have millions in public expense
md put us on broad plane. The laN
making industry is too often worked
overtime. The country needs to-day less
legislative bills pending and more rail
Dad bills of lading.
1T is apparent that the interstate
commerce commission believes in the
pressing necessity for increased earn
ngs, but opposes the short and direct
QUITE. The rate increase would be d.
Get and immediate. Other remedial ef
orts could be left to follow the slow
r process of evolved adoption II tie
income from increased rateE and
dded service charges made excessive
arning contrary TO public policy, the
anne authority which grants the increase
Guild order a reduction.
"A general rate advance will not bring
ne complete revival of American activi-
Y, but il will save the crash of the tenn
lie of transportation, establish railway
redt end lead to that physical rehabil
alton which is of prime Importance in
TO greater American activi +,
es."