Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-04-16

rendered" His own railway Is con-
fronted with an increased annual eX-
pense OF $1,5S0,000, of which $S50,000
is due solely to the uncalledfor Full
Crew act, passed at the behest of labor
unions; the other $730,O00 being occa-
stoned by the raising OF wages through
the arbitration in 1912 under the new
federal law. the Newlands act Now
an ordinary corporation finding it's en-
penses increased by causes beyond its
control, would feel free to charge more
for it's product: but the railway Is es-
topped, since the power over rates has
passed to the interstate commerce
commission. The difficulty is so much
intensified by the diversitication Of
government control that President Rea
insists:
Some way must he found whereby
the serious but divided responsible
ity of government regulation of rates.
wages and other railway matters shall
either be concentrated under one adj
ministrative branch of the govern
ment, or the results of legislative acts,
orders of commissions. and awards of
arbitration boards shall be recognized
by rate regulatory commissions, so
that regulation of wages, rates and
other matters may continue without
working manifest injustice to the
railroads and those who have invested
in their securities.
Should the interstate commerce
commission long postpone it's rate de-
cision or decide against an increase,
there will inevitably be profound SYM
pathy for the honest railroad manag-
ers in search of new capital who thus
find themselves ground between the
upper and the neither millstones. They
also feel themselves seriously wronged
when they appear openly before the
legislature to ask for the repeal of the
full crew law, and find that neither the
legislature nor the press pays any at
tention to their protest. 1t does not
help the situation to point to the mis-
management of the New Haven or the
st. Louis & San Francisco and say that
this sort of wrong-doing is responsible
for the present situation. The presi-
dents may admit this sorrowfully, yet
wake up the next morning to find a
bill in the legislature at Albany to re-
wise communication rates downward in a
given county by fifty or sixty per cent.
The telephone company is in the
same light plight; but recently placed
under the control of the public SER
vice commission, it finds a bill intro
duced at Albany enforcing five-cent
rate in New York. This may be just
proposal, but the responsible telephone
officials must be forgiven if they feel
bit bewildered and go about wonder
ing where the next blow is to come
from. The Bell telephone company is
facing the postmaster generals de-
mand that it's stockholders be COM
PEELED to sell out to the government.
Its president, Mr.. Vail, in his re-
markable report just issued, at
tacks the postoffice's argument for
government ownership, They are
obviously very misleading if it is
contended either that the postal
business is well managed or that the
parcel post is financial success. Who
can tell? Not Mr.. Burleson. He has
abolished the special parcel post
stamp, and would never think of reck-
oning in rentals, or interest on plant,
or overhead charges. to ascertain
whether the parcel post is carried at d
deficit or not.
Meanwhile, the government refuses
to reimburse the railways adequately
for carrying the mails, and insists on
different rates for heavy and light mail