The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1915-07-02

uriufn We can nave 4 ttutfai ItduNu
Of settled. prosperous conditions In
this country. Certainly = was riEht
that the railroads should be made 20
understand and attend to the view
point and demands Of the people. n
scoms Equally fair that the people
should seek for the basis 81 better
understanding. Something Of this is
vet forth In the nations business"
BY A. a. smith. Of the New YoFh
Central linen.
'~rhey Cthe rallroads) need most.
he says. "jus, now and for the fu-
ture, to be correctly understood and
appreciated by the people. az the
most essential element N the present
aud future commercial prosperity OF
this country and they need to have
accorded & them fair. Jus, and reaf-
enable treatment by the public, by
legislatures. commissions and other
resulative bodies. IN order that they
may expand. develop ef4oient meth
DDS and Improve their service. Il Is
believed that the need Is appreciated
by the great majority OF thc principal
shippers and travellers. but there are
many others-nnd probably a major
lty Of peopie-whose daily affairs are
20 remote from the details OF COM
merCe that they often constitute con-
troll without knowing or appreciatinE
that In the end they viii he vitality
injured.
The railroad Is the artery which
carries the life blood NJ the nation.
II il Is Impaired AL parts CT the bed,
will suffer. As In the human body.
the millions OF %capiiiaries and most
remote members are those which will
IN the end suffer first and most
American railroads. like the Ameri-
can pioneers. have been the most po-
tent factor In advancing civilization
and promoting m in the his
tory OF the world.
unfortunately much iesisl7 ton,
although doubtless enacted In good
faith. has been enacted without "A de-
tailed knowledge OF the situation, or
without accepting the advice or sug-
gcstions OF experts, OF even Os the
governments own commissions such
legislation. OF course, impairs efh-
cheney. demoralizes discipline and inn
poses unnecessary expenses both upon
the public and upon the railroads,
without benefits to either. so-called
full crew bills and many similar
regulations are unfortunate waste Of
money. This is not Intended as a
criticism OF the need OF regulation.
What we appear to need is regulation
based upon intimate knowledge of the
pIohiems Of and intimate
knowledge OF the great problem of
railroad transportation. and proper
coordination OF the various regulot-
ing bodies.
what are the prospects. as l see
them? " this refers solely 10 the
immediate commercial outlook. 1t Is
a most difficult question TO answer,
because the OF the world is
now being affected by great foreign
catastrophes beyond the scope Of hu-
man prediction.
Viewed purely from the standpoint
OF our nation, our situation appears 10
be most fortunate. We are az peace,
with prospects Of continuing "a. The
harvests promise to be abundant and
more than sufficient 70 provide For all
our needs. In spite Of the foreign
situation. mhich somewhat embar-
rasses our trade. our home business
appears to be active with indications
OF constant growth.
f'From a purely railroad stand
point, the prospects viii be deter
mined largely by the attitude Of the
public toward railroads, with respect
20 the eliminating OF legislation and
regulations which are unremunera-
tive 10 the stockholders and also
eliminating regulations which are not
/ beneficial 10 the pubiic as "a whole"