The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-01

ments for wages. there IL nothing what
ever in law or In logic to prevent the
commission from saying that such a
OF wages is un~warranted, and
that upon the general public ought not to
lie imposed the burden of paying for It.
state Legislatures may enact measures
Increased expenses and yet by
reason Of the Internationally between
state and Interstate rates the national
Government, through its control over In
~terstate rates. In effect ~ not In act. pre-
vents an increase of rates TO meet the
expenses incident to carrying out the leeis-
lation OF individual States.
We are compelled by the Sherman act
to compete: and yet. under the Hepburn
law. in substance forbidden to compel
with other railroads. The Hepburn law.
by requiring us to nie all rates thirty days
before they become effective, practically
ENSURES that the rates over all railroads
between two points shall be the same.
To Mr.. Lee the Federal Government
seems in is attitude toward the roll.
roads to resemble the fond parent who
said, Yes, my darling daughter; hang
your clothes on n hickory limb, but
don't go near the water"
Other dilemmas Of The railroad
managers. as to freight rates and pas
senger service and carriage Of the
mails. are discussed.
or the three respects In which this
practical railroad man has found grad
yates " technical schools deficient on
entering the railroad business, two
are familiar enough--lack Of practical
experience and judgment. and an idea
that they are far superior to the rest
of mankind-while the third IL more
original: "A certain narrowness Of
mind. i~nculcated through a too ex-
elusive attention in college to mathe-
matics and theoretical science, and a
too great neglect Of broader subjects
such as political economy. history and
general literature" The broader"
subjects are found in actual expert
ence TO increase the mans resources
fulness by compelling him to work
from principles instead of trying to
ut his problems to particular detailed
cases learned In his engineering
course. This practical testimony will
he valuable to some educators. who
oppose the tendency to rlgidly techni-
cal education. even for engineers.
DO We want Government owner
ship" There is, quite indisputab.y,
an "undercurrent" Of opinion in favor
OF IL. caused by the concurrence of
forces that increase railroad expense
and at the same time severely restrict
the opportunities for revenue. ut is
as though we were seeking to move
along by the trade winds carrying us
to Initiative. enterprise. progress and
the development OF commerce, vet
found ourselves caught in the Gulf
Stream with n current forcing us to-
ward the excavation. dampencd en-
thusiasm. the political chaos and the
bureaucracy OF Government owner
ship" In France Government owner
ship OF railways. starting In 1908 when
under private management the West
ern Railway had q deficit OF 81, 0OO, 900
francs a year. has increased the excess
Of expense over revenue. year by year,
TO these sums: $500. 900, So, 900, 900,
II, 900. 900. 4 1000, 900. 0 1000. 900.
Government ownership has no
magical quality" that makes a nan
better work for II than for a pri-
vate employer. 1t does invariably
employ n great many men for the same
W U dTu uote lHt NoTh leSS eW-
GENTLY. The Government does not keep
the of its enterprises with
the e%Xactness demanded by private
companies. 1t is not good for the
State to be in general or specific COM
petition with its WI citizens. Gov
eminent ownership would not wipe out
the old problems. whether lumber
should he carried as cheaply as coal,
whether all rates should be upon the
same mileage basis, whether the same
facilities and use OF the same equip
ment should be given to a thinly set
tied territory az TO n that is densely
populated. II is not necessarily be-
cause of corruption. graft, hut be-
cause OF cumbersome n unwieldy
methods that governmental operation
is more expensive than MANAGEMENT
by a private establishment. In Prus-
STA the system is successful because
II Is in the hands of experts, employ
ment is permanent, and the Govern
ment authority is rigidly automatic.
This Government is not suited TO such
enterprise. But unless the railroads
are permitted TO earn better returns
on the investments OF their share
holders Government ownership may be
forced upon us. Investors have sup
Piled large amounts of capital for rail-
way improvements. but these large
expenditures in recent years have
earned little. Unless private capital
can be more favorably treated it can
rot he much longer induced to provide
the increased tracks, terminals and
equipment demanded by the business
of the country. Railroads would then
be compelled to restrict their pro-
grammes OF Improvement, and, fol-
lowing that condition, the inevitable
result would be a universal demand
for naturalization of the railroads, the
Government stepping in to do what
private capital could no longer be In
duced TO do"