Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-12-15
BRYAN AGAINST
OWNERSHIP BY
the GOVERNMENT
Gives hsW|ands Committee His
Views on Railroad Control.
COMPETITION PREFERABLE,

Federal Regulation Should Not Be Al
lowed to Exclude Exercise of State
Authority, He Contends-Thinks Rail-
road Stocks Should Represent Actual
Value and Be Stable as Government
Bonds.
Bryan, who startled the country ten
years ago by advocating government
ownership of railroads, appeared be-
fore the Newlands Joint Committee on
Interstate Commerce last week in sup
port of the claim that the states should
be allowed to retain authority over the
regulation of all transportation lines
within their borders. Mr. Bryan ex-
planned that he had long regarded gov
ernment ownership as inevitable. but
only because of railroad opposition to
effective regulation.
Against Government Ownership.
PERSONALLY 1 cannot say that l de-
sire government ownership" he ex-
planned, because l lean to the indi-
vidual idea rather than to the collec-
tive idea; that is, l believe that gov
ernment ownership is desirable only
where competition is impossible"
Alfred P Thorn, counsel to the Rail-
way Executives Advisory Committee,
previously had presented before the
members Of the Newlands Committee
as one Of his reasons for urging bet
ter balanced and more systematic reg
ulation of railroads the argument that
this is the only alternative to govern
ment ownership. Calling attention to
the restrictions imposed upon the
transportation lines by conflicting state
laws and regulations, to the practical
cessation Of new construction and to the
impossibility under existing conditions
of securing the new capital needed for
extensions and betterments of railway
facilities, he warned the Congressman
that unless they provided a fair and
reasonable system Of regulation that
would enable the railroads to meet the
growing needs of the country's bust
ness the national government would
be compelled to take over the owner
ship of the lines with all the evils at
tendant upon such a system.
Preservation of Competition.
Mr.. Bryan, on the other hand, holds
that the further extension of federal
d, h
step in the direction of government
ownership. He advanced the view that
the Capitalization Of control in the
hands Of the national government
would impose too great burden upo1
, the regulating body, would offer strong
: temptation to railroads to interfere il
: politics and would encourage the gen
eral movement toward centralizatior
of power in the federal government a
. the expense of the states. He said tha
= he did not object to consultations o1
: railroad lines SO long as they did no
destroy competition, that he knew o.
no complaint against great railway
systems because of their size and tha
he believed that the preservation o.
to all consultations.
e Regulation 5ecurities.
Mr.. Bryan declared himself in favo
Of national regulation Of railway stool
;. and bond issues, but added that he say
no reason why that should exclude tn
states from acting on the same sub
O ject as to state corporations. 81 woul
: like to see the stock of a railroad, a
long as it is in private hands, made a
e substantial and as unvarying as tn
:. value of a government bond" he as
serted.
: He suggested that railroad capital
: zation be readjusted to equalize it wit
= actual valuation of the property rel
l resented, making due allowance fC
: equities, and that when this was don
= the roads should be allowed to ear
" sufficient income to keep their stoc
at par and to create a surplus. Th
latter, he tentatively proposed, migl
be allowed to amount to 25 per Ger
l. of the capital.
n Railway Earnings Low.
This subject of railroad capitaliZatio
:, and the amount of railroad earning
is received further attention from tt
committee during its recent session
l. In answer to questions by Senate
10 Cummins, Mr.. Thorn submitted figure
y showing the net earnings of the rOaC
II IN recent years. These figures shO
y that during the five years from 19(
- to 1910 the average net earnings We
5.25 per cent of the net capitalizatio
ID while for the five years from 1910
re 1915 the average was only 4.56 p
l. cent. The total earnings on the stoc
computed by adding to the net ope
ating income the income from the S
curities owned and deducting bond i
10 terest, were for 1910, 100 per cen
III u for 1911, GIT per cent; for 1912, f.
r. =: per cent; for 1913. 594 per cent; f
~ 1914, 4O6 per cent; for 1915, 3.44 p
m cent, thus showing an almost cont
10 nous decrease throughout this six ye
re period. 1t was announced that n;
ne ford Erickson, formerly chairman
n the Wisconsin Railroad Commissio
would submit more complete inform
n ton on this subject to the Commit
at later date.
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