The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-05
Strong Argument In Favor Of
Government Ownership Of
the Country's
Railroads.
PLAN OF A SENATOR
Lines Across Country Would Prove
Tremendous Influence
to Private
Roads.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6.-The
strongest argument ever presented
for government ownership Of rail-
roads, is the threatened paralysis OF
traffic due to an employers-employes
controversy, Senator Norris, OF Me-
braska, declared today.
Should the impending disaster fall,
he announced, he will seize the op-
portunity to advance the doctrine that
private ownership Of public utility
necessarily is opposed to the public
interest.
Norris will introduce a bill calling
for the construction or purchase OF a
nationwide system-a line from the
Atlantic to the Pacific and from the
gulf to the lakes. This he will pro
pose to operate as model utility
both as to treatment of the public In
rates and to employees in pay.
"Watered stock is the great evil
OF railways" said Norris. Many of
them must earn interest and divi-
dends on from two to five times
their actual value
Nothing, therefore is more unfair
and unintelligent than to 'cuss' rail
they must cooperate with such econ
with such a NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. at
titude toward the public, that the
surprise is that the blow up has not
come sooner.
"This strike is as Inevitable as
summer or winter. Possibly the situ-
alton may be patched up.
"But so long as the railroad man
ayers must devote their every genius
and their every atom of labor toward
earning dividends and interest on
values that do not exist, there is
hanging over the traffic OF this coun.
try-over it's business life, it's food
supply, its milk trains that carry
food for it's babies-a Damoclean
sword.
Government ownership would sue.
ceed because there would be no wa
ter. Admit that operation might not
be SO economical-and that term
may mean, with the tremendous wa
tering of stock eliminated, opera
ton would pay.
Ear more important it would be
in the public interest. A manager
would not ask how high rate can
I get for this commodity? How
cheap can I hire this man? How high
charge can / fix on the business of
this town where have no competi.
tor to make up for the deficit L incur
in carrying goods between towns
where / have competition" And all
rates would be uniform, fair, with
out rebates or favoritism Of any kind.
what / fear in government own
ership is politics. To remedy that,
I would make it Jail offense for
any congressman or senator to ask
for the promotion Of any employe,
once the government line was estab-
lished.
"I would finance the line with a
government issue of bonds and stock
to be sold to all the people. If lines
could not be purchased for fair
price, I would build others.
zone class of stock I would reserve
for employees exclusively for them to
invest in when they choose.
"I believe these two 1ines-one
east and west from ocean to ocean
the other north and south from lakes
to gulf-would have SO tremendous
an influence in moulding rates and
treatment of employees that further
extension of government ownership
might not be necessary-or, If it was.
its advantages would be SO apparent
as to rout opposition"