The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-06-09
MR. UNDERWOOD ON
RAILROAD PROBLEM
Tai Is. Tex, Morning Star.

TIE O~nQeTWoou, "ioSS
Ia. u.ountry has formed the habit OF
-xsnerting, even when it does not
srzzsss with them, thinks our railroads
Eazrx $50 long been forced to live on a
-t11lu diet that they are in danger OF
:hss5ning anaemic. He thinks, fur
sasrznore, that once they do come to
~ extreme state or debility, there
~xsiEE; be no cure short of Government
g~7Essrship and operation. The idea
sxs Government ownership and opera
7z5rz is not congenial to Mr.. Under
oswo5s prepossessions and susceptl-
1lyjIies. Than this perhaps nothing
g more hateful to him. Hence. urged
aoy xhis prospect, Mr.. Underwood
axspeaks a more tolerant treatment
Of the railroads. He would nave
z:Y,s5n allowed to earn more than they
III. and he would have them disbur-
,,sr1sed of some of the restrictions
s;hxs; have been imposed on them.
The diagnosis, it seems to US, is
,eyn4hy of Mr.. Underwood's reputa-
Saa for sagacity, and the prescrip-
hlnn he would administer sustains his
.Ssne for craftsmanship. That the
eaaroads of the country as a whole
EtEye become enfeebled VIII hardly
.E,e denied. Sufficient proof OF tine
.snzhasm emit is to be founr in the Fact
4hzt transportation facilities have
D-sza grown commensuratelv win the
.arnwth of the country. commerce.
'Emw is particularly true Is respects
sEhN construction of new mlleags.
:Gsus as still a country of many Va.
,:e9rt spaces; but also the vacant
Egace are diminishing in number and
AREA, and those not vacant are be.
GINNING more densely populated and
.Esssng made more productive. So
ecux as this continues to be the case
we shall continue to need the con-
..Sszuction of new lines and the en-
Ezzgement an improvement of those
.ss1t we have. 1t is, hence, evidence
Of I'D unhealthful condition when
eahr work of building and improving
railroads comes to a stop. 1t is, as
tsdbe doctors would say, in the case of
1an individual, a pathological condi-
LICK that warns that something is
{; eaniiss which, if not wisely treated,
TaM become a fatal malady.
That this is truly the case of the
calroads is, it seems to US, undeni-
=atae. The country's commerce can
.g1rt dong continue to grow more ra-
indy than it's transportation facili-
the without bringing US into a stu
satiDn in which further growth of
,G1nmerce will be arrested absolute
~ Already in many sections de-
Eelopment is being retarded by this
,z-sz1se. This is notably true of Tex
sA When this condition becomes
.zacu1e, as it must become if present
Tendencies are not checked, then all
= things else will have to be halted
pending the making of ways and
xreans for removing the obstruction
>&af inadequate transportation facili-
.AeS.
The reason that transportation ia
,s-iEties have not been increasing so
ra1idly as the need of them does is a
ample one, and it lies obtrusively be-
Snna the vision of any one who is not
opfuscated by prejudice. 1t is that,
pElmarily, the railroads can barely
aEArn the interest that they are al
ready obligated to pay. A good
EzsaDy of them are not doing even
":Saat much. Since, then, they are
hard put to earn their existing inter-
>ssA obligations, with what grace can
&hEy plead with lenders to advance
Ikosm more? Their stocks and bonds
A r no longer securities in the real
Srreaning of the word.
They do not offer the assurance
rEhjch prudent investors demand that
THE obligations which they witness
Esln be discharged. Their bonds are
"a promise to pay what is borrowed
'@or them; but the promise is discre-
<.Eted, and belied, in many instances,
by The balance sheets of the rail-
c@ads offering them. For the inves-
Tor 10 whom they are offerea has only