The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-06-22
THE REPUBLICAN, RAILROAD
PLANK.
"Civitas" Considers II with Reference
to His Proposed Plan Of Genuine
Federal Control of Transportation.

INtpuDIlCtl BldtlOTIH contains the lOl-
lowing plank:
Interstate and intrastate transportatlon
have become 30 interviewer that the at
tempt to apply two, and often several.
sets of laws to Its regulation has produced
conflicts of authority, embarrassment In
operation and Inconvenience and expense
to the public. The entire transportation
system OF tho country has become essen
tally national. We therefore favor such
action by legislation, or. II necessary,
through an amendment to the Cons,itu-
ton Of the United States. a. will result, In
placing II under exclusive Federal control.
That plank bears traces Of the deft
hand Of some railroad man II would
help the railroads. but would 1t rescue
them?
First, let us cut out the talk about
constitutional amendment. No amend
ment Is necessary. Congress now has
power to incorporate a Federal railroad
company and authorize 1t to purchase
and condemn present railroads. and
Congress may then prohibit State
regulation Of the railroads owned by
such a Federal railroad company. on
the other hand. three-fourths Of the
States would have to approve such a
N'liSNlNulipilhl aIfiNIliAlIltlkI Noull
deprive them of their present power.
and who could induce three-fourths of
the states to give up their present
power. especially az 1t might jeopardize
over 500. 900, 900 INT taxes which
they now receive?
This brings us to the question: Even
IL the railroads succeeded In abolishlng
state regulation. would that save them?
They would still be subject 20 the In
tcrstate Commerce Commission, which
refuses TO allow them substantial in
creases OF rates. And there .s a very
good reason for such a refusal. It Is
beginning to dawn on the public hat
the railroad stockholders have nothing
to do with electing railroad directors
and that railroad directors elect them
selves. They are self-elected. self-per-
petuating ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Name
lukes. kept in power BY the proxies
of the stockholders. Present control Of
the railroads il unsatisfactory to the
public. and hence there il a deadlock.
That deadlock would not be broken
by merely a~bolishing State regulation.
state regulation Is an unmitigatcd
nuisance, but its abolition will not en-
able the railroads 10 raise 81 ,0O0, 000. 900
a year, which they must have for
many years to come.
III my previous letters to you ! out
lined the plan of Federal Incorporation
with directors to be named by "A Fed
ertl railroad board. together with pro-
h.hit.on of State regulation and with
3 per cent. on the capital stock OF the
Fedora. railroad companies to be guar
. ant a,l by .ha .nyArnp1a1,. ypgt h "a t.Du-
s.bie extra 3 per cent. II earned and de-
clared, ali over 6 per cent to so to the
Government. On June 2. at a bankers
association at Atlantic CITY. the pres!-
dent OF the Railway Business Associa-
ton OF New York attacked my sugges-
ton OF guaranteeing 3 per cen divi-
dcnds on railroad stocks and limiting
those dividends 10 G per cent. In fer
vid language he declared that this is
un-American and that somebody would
get lazy on the certainty OF 3 per cent.
ana would lack br!.l!ancy IL limited TO
t per cent. The answer is simple.
Railroad stockholders are neither lazy
nor brilliant. They simply take their
dividends. They are deadheads in the
enterprise. They don't even vote.
Often they don't even send in their
proxies. The railroad officers. who.
lazy or brilliant, do the work. seuer-
ally hold very little or no stock at al.
As 10 the surplus profits over & per
cent, few railroads pay over 8 per cent.
and they will become fewer after the
war. And as TO "brilliancy' IN rail-
reading, We have had too much Of that
already for the good Of the public and
investors. The worthy president might
better have discussed how the rail-
roads arc TO get 81 600. 00o. 900 "A ear,
and how present public discomfort is
TO be allayed, aud how We are 10
avoid Government ownership, and why
n Federal railroad board is not des!r-
able What We want Is creative con-
structive thought. not oratory.
/ see that on June . Mr.. Trumbull,
tina chairman OF the railroads eXecu-
tives' advisory committee. representing
we So per cent. OF the railroad mile
age OF tho country significant OF
much). wrote you that Canadian Gov
ernment ownership OF railroads has
been a failure and that Government
ownership here woul inevitably be a
failure. The American people have no
quarrel with Mr.. Trumbull on that
point They think the Same as ne
does, But tho American people have
a message for Mr.. Trtunbul! II his
So per cent II - his:
We demand increased railroad
~trackage. terminals and equipment for
our growing population and commerce,
You cannot raise the money 70 furnish
Those, We refuse TO buy your new
5 oCk and bonds because you don't
show enough profits, We refuse I" al
low you to increase rates to increase
those profits. because We have no con
hdence in present railroad control.
We demand full public control Of your
railroads instead Of III present partial
and feeble control through the Inter
state Commerce Commission This
new public contro, which we demand
may he by a Federal railroad board or
We WILL accept any other plan which
viii give us control and at the same
time keep ont our ravenous mob OF
office seekers. Failing all this, We 20
to Government ownership. Take your
choice" WILLIAM w. COOK.
N-,rv voou luna 81