The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1916-12-06
new POLICY NEEDED
IN GOVER N M MT
RAILWAY CONTROL.
Hc'pfu'nesS an1EDGCuTag2mGnt
Urged b. Allied ?. Ta9H.
CREDIT MUST EE IMPROVED

lncreaoe Of transportation Facilities
Necessary to Secure Relief From
High Cost Of Living May Thus Be
Provided For by tho Railroads.
Washington. NOV. 2S.-A new policy
OF government railroad rcGnut.ol.
based on constructive principles OF
helpfulncss and encouragement instead
of upon principles Of repression ana
punishment. was urged by Alfred =.
Thorn, counsel for the Railway Exc;.u-
tivcs' Advisory Committee. the first
witness on behalf of the railroads be-
fore the Newlands Joint Committee on
Interstate Commerce, which has insti-
tuted n general inquiry into the prob.
lens Of railroad regulation.
ut Is proposed by the joint rcsolu-
tion Of Congress- said Mr.. Thom. ito
go into n comprehensive study Of the
whole subject OF transportation. to
make new assessment, after 90 years
Of experiment, OF It's history. its pres
ent conditions and its future needs.
The railroads accept the view that reg
ulntlon Is a permanent and enduring
part of government I'm America ami
that the first duty OF the carriers is to
the public. That duty Is to afford
reasonable facilities on reasonable
terms and Mt reasonable rates. and this
must be done before any private inter
csts can be considered"
Certainty, Safety and Sufficiency.
Mr.. Thorn contended that the real in.
terest of the public is In being assured
OF certainty, safety and sutlicIcncy OF
transportation facilities. rather than I'm
rates The first consideration OF the
public Is to obtain transportation facin.
ties. What the cost is, Is in reality
second consideration, he said
Mr. Thorn proposed an increase OF
transportation facilitics as a method
OF securing relief from tho high cost
Of living. There have been lcss than
1000 miles Of new railroad construct
cd In the United States during the past
year." he said. less than >in any year
since 1913, except the period OF the
Civil War and yet the cost Of living Is
daily advancing owing to shortage of
supplies which might be remedicl by
securing access to new areas OF pro-
ductiOn
cd;. No..
."r,,s ,ood, >. ~, MISUNDERSTANDING,
whether railroad credit is as good as
the public interest requires. 1t is i'm
possible for railroads to earn enough
o. n"'p. ''. ''.,'Hs"'' nv" '"'''i'''s
.o'' ~ e"' ''''',''' h'' ''''S' ne
49,, ', ' iN'''''H '"n.
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. '''o'.H "n''''''S rh
'o"" ,''," Wy" "'''r investors ne
"n".'"'''" ~, 'oi'""i''S
contro,,na Nv irrn.,nr, hm,
and limited hv yovcrnmont,l ,u,hnr;,,.
nnd NOT bv ono I'M h,, .o,or,I ,,n,,,,.,
mental authorities which do nnt r,,n..
niZe rcsponsihiljty Co,. ,ssrr,l ro,u,,,,
% investors ana orc uncoor,,in,tol
second Railroads c,nr,t con,r,,
and the government counot onl d,os
not limit the expense account.
Third The present system of rcou.
lation is based on n poicy OF rcrn,otio
and correction ana not ON Il policy OF
hclpfulncss and encouragement.
Fourth. The outstanding obligations
OF the railroads have already exceeded
the financial rule OF safety and involve
dispronOrtiOnate amount Of Oblipa-
tions bearing fixed charges.
F1fth, The investor must accept
subordinate obligation or security with
no assurance or surplus OF earnings
TO support It,
oiNth, Other competitive lines Of in
'es, ilieh' present superior attractions.
seventh me raiiroah business Is
"'ho'y co''ro'''u ny poli'lcal instead
- O'''ess ''i's'''''"''o'iS
Look Forward, Not Back.