The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-01-28

| One-half cents per mile LOT carrying
passengers, the Iowa roads with their
thousands of miles of expensive
branch lines in a territory almost
purely agricultural and with no large
cities or manufacturing centers
should have little difficulty in estab-
fishing the justice of their plea?
All the railroads of Iowa ask is
that the local traffic shall bear its
just proportion of the expenses of
operation, taxes and maintenance
and in asking this they are pleading
not merely for simple justice, but
upon this depends the character of
service which they will be able to
furnish the public from this time
forward. There is no magic art by
which railroads can perform the i'm
possible-and in the final analysis
the people get the kind of railroad
service they pay for, just as they do
in other realms of merchandising.
CONDITIONS MUST BE FACED.
In his opinion given in the Eastern
Rate Advance Case, Commissioner
Daniels of the Interstate Commerce
Commission referred to the fact that
the maximum freight and passenger
rates established in many states dur
ing the last few years means that,
with the ever-increasing cost of oper-
alton, the railroads of the country
are facing a condition which means
that they can neither give adequate
service to the public or make such a
showing upon their properties as will
enable them to borrow the millions
necessary for future betterments and
Improvements. In conclusion, he says
it is a situation which must be fac
ed, not trifled with"
Once more we wish to impress up
on the reader that the railroads
should not be confused with private
enterprises which are able to advance
their prices to meet the exigencies Of
the hour. The railroads are bound
hand and foot and can charge no
more than the law says. Suppose
that through some statute the State
of Iowa should say to the farmer,
that regardless Of the cost of produc-
ton or the volume of yield, he shall
sell his corn at not to exceed so cents
per bushel? Or suppose that through
some similar mandate it should say
to Iowa grocers that they shall sell
rs pounds of granulated sugar for
one dollar? Of course, these suppo-
sitions arc radical-and yet, is this
not in substance what the state of
Iowa is forcing upon her railroads
when it names the rates they may
charge without taking the increased
cost of labor, fuel, taxes, etc., into
consideration? Is it not equally as
unfair? Is there anything about a
railroad which places it above the in
exorable law of cause and effect?
Well might they exclaim with Shy
lock in his pathetic defense of the
Jew, eff you prick us, do we not
bleed? If you tickle us, do we not
laugh? If you poison us, do we not
die?'
In this connection, we wish to di-
gress for a moment to quote some
statistics which should have had a
place in former article. It cost an
average of mills per mile to haul a
ton of freight in the United States,
whereas in England it costs 1888
cents, in Germany 142 cents, and in
France 1.41 cents. In the United
States the average wages paid to rail
road employees are 1928 per day, in
England $1.15, and in Germany and
France not over 81 per day. The Eng
lish railroads are capitalized at
$265,OO0 per mile, in France at
$4,000 per mile, in Germany at
$114,185, while in the United States
the stock and bond capitalization av-
ages only $65,OOO per mile. In view
of this remarkable comparison, do
American railroads deserve the
wholesale denunciation which has
been heaped upon them?
FACING GRAVE PROBLEMS.
Unquestionably we are facing some
of the gravest problems that ever
confronted us as nation-and these
problems grow largely out of war,
which is without precedent in his
tory True, with rapidly increas-
ing cost of operation on the one hand
and reduced rates on the other, it
was merely matter of time until
the railroad question was bound to
become pressing-but the great
tragedy across the seas has suddenly
resolved into an acute crisis a prob
lem which might otherwise have
been solved gradually and without