The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1915-01-06
why OPERATING
RAILROADS
Struggling Against Increased cost o.
Labor, Supplies, etc on one hand
Reduced Rates on Other.

& ~
Reduced Rates on Other.
During the last few years the advo
Gates of government ownership o
railroads have been somewhat per
sistent in the public press and thu
matter is referred to here, not Will
any idea of combating this propagan
da, but merely that the people may
briefly see both sides of the picture
So long as a lot of men welcome the
3Wrecking OF the railroads on the the
DRY that the government will take then
over and that such state of at
fairs would be preferable to private
ownership. it will be impossible tt
obtain from them fair judgment o.
the latter system which now prevails
in the United States. 1t is impossible
to go into this great question at any
length at this time, but here are 8
few things worth thinking about
Much has been said in recent years
about the water" contained in Ameri
can railroad securities, and, in this
connection the valuation of the gov
eminent owned railroads of Europe is
very interesting. In Germany the
state owned roads are valued al
SLABS per mile, in Austria at $12O,
G92, in Hungary at S69,210, in Italy al
$i26,88G, in Belgium at S199,914, in
Switzerland at $102,95O, in Roumania
at $50, 113, in Japan at $SS, 1O4, in New
South Wales at $71,391-while the pri-
yately owned lines of the United
States. regardless of what water may
have been forced into them in specific
instances, are valued at only
$63,944 per mile. Whatever imitation
may therefore have been put into these
properties in the past, the fact re.
mains, that their present valuation is
much lower than that of the govern
ment owned railroads OF Europe, and,
what is still more important, the rates
charged are the lowest and the service
rendered admittedly the best in the
world. 1t is also pertinent to remem-
her that the charge of watered stocks,
after all. can be made against but very
few American railroads.&c. lions
share of them having been managed
without a breath of scandal or criti-
cism.
In this connection, statement con-
tanned in the last annual report OF the
Deutsche Bank OF Berlin, which has a
paid up capital and reserve fund OF
$75,OO0,O00 is interesting: American
railroads need higher rates. The pres
ent rates are the lowest in the world
but fraction Of the
English railway rates, for instance
and this in the face of the fact that
wages in the United States on the av-
erage are fully twice as high as in
Europe Certainly this view of the
privately owned lines of the United
States, coming from Germany, which
has the most successful state owned
system of transportation in the world,
is worthy Of grave consideration.
In further continuation of this state
ment we quote the following statistics ::
1t costs mills per mile on an average
to haul ton OF freight in the United
States while in England it costs an
average of 2.33 cents, in France 1.41
cents and in Germany 1.42 cents. The
average daily wage paid to American
railroad employees is 1928, in England
it is $1.15, and in Germany and France
it averages little more than dollar
per day. Are American railroads there
fore entitled to the wholesale abuse
and denunciatiOn which has been
.heaped upon them from all sides in
recent years
Z. Letting Well Enough Alone.
In view OF these facts, the average
citizen may well ask himself whether
1t is not best to let well enough alone
rather than invite other ills we know
not of-whether it is not wiser to cure
such defects as may cucumber the
present system rather than run the
danger of plunging this mighty indus
try into the whirlpool of party politics
for all time, with its attendant oppor-
tunity for evil of which the past at
fords such rich variety of experience.
The United States is still young
country, and in many. sections only
partially developed. Many new lines
and extensions are needed here and
there to giveSa wider opportunity to
expanding agriculture and commerce,
and nothing could be more unfortun-
ate or disastrous than that these fav-
ors could henceforth be obtained only
by leave OF the dominant political fac
ti0ns which will reign at the national
capital in the years to come. Political
parties are intensely human institu-
lions, and the average cautious citizen
will prefer to leave the railroad eX-
pansiOn of the future to the economic
law Of supply and demand of the diff
ferent communities rather than to
place such temptation for power in
the hands Of those who rise and fall
in the field of politics. Furthermore,
should the time ever come when the
government takes over the railroads,
it means that the people will have to
fOregO the millions Of taxes which
they now pay and which help to sup
port the public schools, public high
ways and other public eXpenses-and
that henceforth these millions OF rev.
enue will have to come out OF the
pockets Of the people.
Many other things could be said
upon this phase OF the question, but
space forbids. For some time, the
government, through the interstate
commerce commission. has been en-
gagged in making physical valuation
of all our railroads as a matter of
guidance for future rate adjustments.
Again, We repeat, since the people alb
solutely control and regulate the rail-
roads, is that not enough? Will it not
be better to let well enough alone
to cling to that which is good and