Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1915-01-27


matter is referred to here, not with
any 'dea of combating this propa-
ganda, but merely that the people
may briefly see both sides of the pic
ture. So long as lot of men well
come the wrecking of the railroads
on the theory that government will
take them over and that such state
of affairs would be preferable to pri-
vate ownership, it will be impossible
to obtain from them fair judgment
of the latter system which now pre-
walls in the United States. 1t is i'm
possible to go into this great ques-
ton at any length at this time, but
here are a few things worth think
| ing about: Much has been said in re-
cent years about the water" con-
| tanned in American railroad Secur1-
| ties, and, in this connection the val
uation of the government owned rail-
roads of Europe is very interesting.
In Germany the state owned roads
are valued at $114,1S5 per mile, in
Austria at S120,692, in Hungary at
| $69,210, in Italy at $126,SS6, in
| Belgium at $190,914, in Switzerland
at $102,950, in Roumania at $780,
I113, in Japan at $SS,104. in New
South Wales at 1,391-while the
privately owned lines of the United
States, regardless of what water may
have been forced into them IN speci-
fc instances. are valued at only $685.
944 per mile. Whatever initiation
may therefore have been put into
these properties in the past, the fact
remains, that their present valua-
ton is much lower than that of the
government owned railroads of Eur
ope, and, what is still more impor-
tant, the rates charged are the low
est and the service rendered admit
tedly the best in the world. 1t is al
so pertinent to remember 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 with
out a breath of scandal of criticism.
In this connection, a statement
contained in the last annual report
of the Deutsche Bank of Berlin,
which has a paidLup capital and re-
serve fund of $75,000,000 is inter
esting: american railroads need
higher rates. The present rates are
the lowest in the world-represent-
ing but a fraction of the English
railway rates, for instance-and this
in the face of the fact that wages in
the United States on the average 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 sys'
tenn of transportation in the world
is worthy of grave consideration.
In further confirmation of this
statement we quote the following
statistics: 1t costs mills per mile
on an average to haul ton Of
freight in the United States while il
England it costs an average of 2.3.
cents, in France Al cents and in
Germany LAP cents. The averag e
daily wage paid to American railroad
employees is $2.23, in England i
is Is, and in Germany and France
it averages little more than a dollar
per day. Are American railroad.
therefore entitled to the wholesale
abuse and denunciation which ha:
been heaped upon them from al
sides in recent years?
Letting Well Enough Alone.
In view of these facts, the averag,
citizen may we'll ask himself wheth
er it is not best to let we'll enough
alone rather than invite other ILL
we know not of-whether it is no
wiser to cure such defects as may
cucumber the present system rathel
than run the danger of plungins
this mighty industry into the whirl
pool of party politics for all time
with its attendant opportunity TO,
evil of which the past affords suci
rich variety of experience. The Unit
ed States is still young country
and in many sections only PARTIAL,
developed. Many new lines and ex
tensions are needed here and there
to give a wider opportunity to ex
panding agriculture and commerce
and nothing could be more unfortu.
mate or disastrous than that these
favors could henceforth be obtained
only by leave of the dominant politi.
national capital in the years to come
Political parties are intensely human
institutions, and the average cautious
citizen will prefer to leave the rail
road expansion of the future to the
economic law of supply and demand
of the different communities rather
than to place such temptation for
power in the hands of those who rise
and fall in the field of politics. Fur
thermore, 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 support the public schools, pub
lie highways and other public expen-
ses-and that henceforth these mil
lions of revenue 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 a physical valua-
tion of all our railroads as matter
of guidance for future rate adjust
ments. Again, we repeat, since the
people absolutely control and regu'
late the railroads, is that not enough?
Will il not be better to let well
enough alone-to cling to that
which is good and eliminate that
which is bad in the present system
which, with all that has been said
against it, furnishes the, best and
cheapest transportation service in
the world?
Increased Cost of Operation.