Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1915-01-29

states during the last few years
means that, with ever-increasin;
cost Of operation, the railroads O.
the country are facing a condition
which means that they can Meth Ell
give adequate service to the public
or make such a showing upon theil
properties as will enable them to Dor
row the millions necessary for future
betterments and improvements Ir
conclusion, he says it is situation
J which "must be faced, 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 ad-
vance their prices to meet the ex-
igencies 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
o. production or the volume of yield,
he shall sell his corn at not to ex-
ceed so cents per bushel Or sup
pose that through some similar man.
date it should say to Iowa grocers
that they shall sell 25 pounds of
granulated sugar for one dollar ?
OF course these suppositions are radi-
cal-and yet, is this not in substance
what the State of Iowa is forcing up
on her railroads when it names the
rates they may charge without TAX
ing the increased cost of labor, fuel,
taxes, etc, into consideration Is
it not equally as unfair Is
there any thing about railroad
which places it above the inexorable
Law of cause and effect ? Well might
they exclaim with Shylock 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-
grcss for a moment to quote some
statistics which Should. have had a
place in former article. 1t costs
All average of mills per mile to haul
a ton of freight in the United States
whereas in England it costs 2.SS
cel'ts in Germany LAP cents, and in
France la cents. In the United
States the average wages paid to
railroad employees are 1929 per day,
in England s1.15, and in Germany
and France not over 81 per day. The
English railroads are capitalized at
s2e5,000 per mile, in France at
$4,000 per mile, in Germany at
$114,1S5, while in the United States
the stock and bond capitalization av-
erages only $4,000 per mile. In
view Of this remarkable comparison,
do American railroads deserve the
wholesale denunciation which has
been heaped upon them ?
Facing Grave Problems.
Cnquestionably we are facing
some of the greatest problems that
ever confronted us as nation-and
these problems grow largely out Of
war which is without precedent in
history. True. with a rapidly In
creasing 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 cri-
sis a problem which might other
wise have been solved gradual
ly and without any far-reaching in
dustrial disturbance.
The United States is heavy debt
or Nation. During the average year
our balance of trade against the rest
Of the world amounts to approx
mately 100000, but on top or
this we always owe approximately
another $500,0O0,O0 which heretofore
we have been able to stand off by
selling Europe industrial securities
great warning countries have serv-
ed notice that they not only expect
us to pay our debts above our trade
balances in gold, but that in addi-
ton they look to US to buy back
from them hundreds Of millions Of
dollars worth Of American securities
which are now held abroad. 1t was
to deliver this grim message that
Sir George Paish, OF the English |
paid his recent visit to
the United States, and when he got |
through making his statement to a
group Of big New York bankers, an
old veteran flnancier who has sur
vive6 vnanv financial storm rerna rk- |
ed to his profoundly silent auditors, |
THE sheriff, with writ is on the
In the present instance, the rail-
road crisis Is of tremendous i'm
portance because in it is involved the |
still greater problem of the integ-
r!ty and safety Of the whole super
structure Of American business. That |
We cannot shove 1t aside by broad