The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-11-20
CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY
WILL INCLUDE FEDERAL
CONTROL OF RAILROADS
Senator Newlands, In Out
line of Work Before Com
mittee, Says That Investi-
CATION Will Cover ALI Big
Transportation Problems.
Government Ownership Will
be Considered, He Says,
! and Both Rail and Water
Questions Will Be Taken
up State Officers Heard.

Questions Will Be Taken
up State Officers Heard.
Washington, Nov. 20-The joint
: Congressional committee appointed to
investigate wide range Of problems
relating to railroads and other COM
mon carriers held its first meeting to-
day. State railroad commissioners
were to be heard first. At frequent
sessions during the next six weeks the
committee expects to receive the
views OF railroad officials, financiers.
labor leaders, shippers. heads of ex-
press, telephone and telegraph conn
panies and other students of trans
portation problems. The committee is
to report by Jan. s..
Among those who planned to attend
the opening meeting was Warren 8.
Stone, chief az the Brotherhood of Lo-
comotive Engineers. who is here with
other brotherhood heads to discuss
their legislative program for the conn
ing session of Congress. Represents
tive Adamson. author Of the railroad
i've railroad legislation with President
Wilson today. @r
In opening the session Senator
Francis G. Newlands. Of Nevada. the
chairman. explained that the inquiry
would cover wide field. He said:.
LIT will relate to every phase Of the
transportation question. the rail car
rfers. the river carriers and the ocean
carriers. and the perfection OF har-
monious system of transportation enl-
bracfng rail. river and ocean carriers
that Will meet the demands of inter-
state rs well as foreign commerce and
it Will also be applied to telegraph and
teleph6ne lines. express companies
and other public utilities. fa.
1T will embrace hot only the sub
ject al government control and regu-
latfon of these utilities, but also the,
government control and regulation OF
these utilities, but also the wisdom
and feasibility of government owner
ship and the comparative worth and
efficiency of government regulation
and control as compared with govern
nent ownership and operation
sit will not be possible for US to
come to a speedy conclusion regarding
all Questions but that conclusion will
be more quickly arrived at if we have
the sympathetic aid OF men who for
wears have been coHversant with the
practical side of the transportation
question Of the economists and pub
licists, OF railway Executives and
workers of commercial bodies, farm
ers and manufacturers and shippers
generally"
Referring to government ownership.
Senator Newlands said:
ut is q question that must be faced.
other nati0ns far advanced in civi1i-
zation have adopted the system. Re-
Gently, under, the stress of war, al
most all European governments have
taken over the railways. Whether
that will be permanent taking over
or only temporary one, it demon
strates that in conditions of great
crises when autecratic powers must
be given tg the government, all intel
ligent governments drift toward abso-
lutte and complete operation of the
roads as the only solution Of the qaes-
ton.
'Tf we pursue the exercise and the
study of government regulation wise
", persistently and energetically we
may create such a system of regula-
tion as will meet every requirement,
both in time Of peace and war and in
exigency or crises; but it seems to be
a wise thing for. the government of
the United States to ascertain now
the history of the countries that have
adopted government ownership and
operation of railways and to watch
af hn n
tries in this great war in this regard.
TN this connection will come the
question of the method of taking over
the railroads. Shall it be accomplish
ed by an actual valuation Of the rail-
ways and a condemnation OF them, or
shah they be taken over by the easier
method OF taking over the stocks and
the bonds at their market value thus
at one step having the national gov
ernment take the position of stock
holder and security holder in these
great corporations?"
Strikes as means of settling labor
disputes, Senator Newlands charac-
terized as the 'tmost barbaric and bru-
tai OF processes"
."The question is,'' he added,
whether a nation pretending to some
degree Of civilization, which has ell
minated the doctrine of force from
application to controversies between
man and man, and which furnishes
judicial tribunals for, the settlement
of those controversies; and which is
now and has been<for years endeavor-
ing internationally to secure a system
under which the nations of the earth
will contribute similar efforts for the
adjustment of international disputes
without resort to force whether a ci-
vilzed nation can be content to per-
poknate the existing conditions"
The hours and wages Of employees
must be considered carefully, Senator
Newlands declared, because the bur
dens which constitute the operating
expenses Of these corporations are in
time transferred to the shippers" He
added:
They cannot long rest upon the in
vestors for il they rest upon them too
heavily there will be a decline in the
securities and a consequent difficulty
in securing the money Tor improve
nnents and extensionSE16nd thus the
public demands themselves will not be
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