The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1914-07-15
THE HEAL wRENKEns on
PROSPERITY.

n cost Of tbs current diagnoses
mi u tho business situation
Avn seem to seek for causes In
political conditions. Therefore most
Of the diagnoses fail IN their logic
because they are not sustained by
The analyses Of facts. An era Of hlsh
prices can only be sustained as Ions
NJ money ia we'll distributed among
the people. When Il tends to con-
ccntrate In the hands OF a limited
number the buying power 81 those
who have reduced their available
money 20 furnish his accumulation
Tor the Few must be correspondinay
Impaired and their consumption
must be reduced 60 the general
detrimcnt Of business.
The railways Of the country repre-
sen a far larger aggregation OF cap
ltal han any other Industry. They
are also the largest of
certain staple materials. Their list
OF employees numbers about l,400,-
0OO, which means that al least one
person In each hundred OF population
earns his income by railway service
of some sort. A much larger mum
Der derive their support from rail
way earnings. There were 1920
companies listed by the interstate
commerce commission In 1906 and
- OF the larger mes had 6bO, 600
shareholders who looked ior profits
In their investment. Some OF these
companies have been ably managed
In the interest of tho shareholders.
Some have been crlminnlly managed
in the interest OF predatory directors
ana nnanciers who used them as tho
basis Of reckless issues Of securities
In the form Of stocks and bonds. thus
creating capitalization so large hat
the roads n hope to pay div
idends under a reasonable rate Of
fare.
Tho New Haven roads 1i,ooo
shareholders can not be In a. exult-
ant mood over the condition Of the
property which Is the basis OF their
securities. The Rock Island system
IL said To have been delugrd with a
creation of S357.0o0.O 600 OF watered
securities. Tho Frisco system. the
Pere Marquette. the Chicago q Alton
have been similarly treated with the
general result that a few scheming
promoters and |hnauciers nave alb
sorhed millions Of money n many
thousands OF investors have ex-
changed their capital for securities
II doubtful value which may be
swept away In the necessary squeez-
ing 10 get the systems back 10 n
reasonable basis OF investment.
Can any sort of political maneuv-
cring accomplish worse results to-
ward tho destruction Of public m
hdencc or the Encouragement of
capital? Who will answer? such
shifting OF money values into the
hands OF the few without any ade-
quate compensation To the many
must have a blighting G, ct upon
business. The impairment Of earn
ing capacity in railways and general
Tetrenchment In railway purchases
OF materials and supplies, which Is
another consequence Of reckless ex-
ploitations, has an ever greater and
more direct effect upon business.
Yet the loudest ciamor is not for
the prevention OF such business
wrecking lndulgences but against the
intention Of the government 10 pre-
vent further indulgence N such de-
structive practices. II is a too COM
mon practice to treat remote symp-
toms instead of the disease. but In
the present case the protest seems to
be against any treatment whatever
because tho patient happens to be
big business"