Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1917-06-07
Tells Congress Committee That
They Lead World.
NO GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP

crisis In Its commercial affairs, due to
the conditions by which its transporta-
ton system Is confronted, was the opin-
ion expressed by w. NJ. Acworth Eng
lands leading authority on railways,
before the Newlands joint committee
on interstate commerce at "a special
session held here to enable the COM
mittee to hear his views before his de-
parture for London this week. Two
steps are necessary, according to Mr..
Acworth, to avert this crisis and to
solve the threatening railroad problem
confronting the country.
The first is to allow the railroads to
charge freight rates sufficient to meet
the great advance in operating ex-
penses which is taking place and to
enable them to command the credit
necessary to provide the extensions
and improvements needed to meet the
growing demands of business. The Sec
ond is to do away with the multiple
and conflicting systems of regulation
that now hamper railway operation
and to provide one centralized regula-
tory agency with such local subdivi-
.sions as may be necessary.
Higher Rates Public Necessity.
Mr.. Acworths views on the transport
tation situation in the United States
were expressed in answer to questions
by members of the committee, who
asked him to apply his knowledge
of railway conditions throughout the
world and of the experience Of other
countries with government ownership
to the present problem before the Unit
ed States.
"The fundamental factor in the sit
uation is very simple" said Mr.. Ac-
worth. 1T lies in the fact that you
cannot get three-quarters of a cents
worth of work done for less than three
quarters of a cent. no matter whether
the agency performing it is a govern
ment or private enterprise Freight
rates must advance when the cost OF
performing the service advances as
it is doing at present, just as the price
of bread or meat or any other COM
modify increases with increased cost
of production"
In answer to a question Mr. Ac-
worth said that he thought American
freight rates had been at much too low
a level for several years past, that they
had reached this low point during the
period of cutthroat competition among
the roads and had since been held
there by regulating bodies. Unless re-
lief were afforded to the carriers very
promptly, he said, the result would
be a tremendous loss to the people OF
the whole country through insufficient
CIV of transportation facilities.
Weakness of Government Ownership. 4
On the subject of government owner
ship of railways Mr.. Acworth said
1T is impossible to obtain satisfac-
tory results on government railways
in a democratic state unless the man
agement is cut loose from direct polit-
ical control. Neither Australia nor
any other country with democrat
ic nstitution-perhaps an exception
ought to be made of Switzerland has
succeeded in maintaining permanent
severance. In France, in Belgium, In
Italy, parliamentary interference never
has been abandoned for a moment.
The facts show that government in
reference has meant running the rail-
ways not for the benefit of the people
at large, but to satisfy local and sec
tional and even personal interests
Prussia, Mr. Acworth said, was the
best example of an efficient govern
ment railway system, and he pointed
out that military considerations were
treated as of paramount Importance In
the Prussian railway system. While
American freight rates had been re-
duced nearly 40 per cent in thirty
years, rates in Prussia were nearly as
high as at the beginning of the period.
While the charge for moving ton OF
freight one mile in the United States
was trifle over three-quarters of
cent, the rate in Prussia was 1.41
cents.
As Illustrating the difference in rates
between government and private roads
Mr.. Acworth compared the railways
of New South Wales, Australia, with
those of Texas While the amount of
traffic to each mile of line was about
the same In both cases, be pointed out.
the Texas railways performed for the
public four times as much service as
the government owned roads of New
South Wales The charge in Texas
for hauling a ton of freight one mile
was less than cent, while in the AUS
tralian state it was well over 2 cents.
american railways lead the world"
said Mr. Acworth. Nowadays when
men in any other part of the world
want to know how to run railway
they come to the United States and
study your railways here. The Amer
lean railways are entirely the result
OF private enterprise. and | think they
go long way toward proving the case