The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-12-08
PLEA FOR EQUITABLE
RAILROAD REVENUES
Made BY President Rea of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad in Message Read
Before Association of Life
Insurance Agents.

New York, Dec. s.--A plea that Presi
dent Wilson and Congress Should, with
out delay, order that an equitable basis
for railroad revenues be instituted at
once" was voiced by Samuel Rea, presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania Railroad COM
pany, in a message read to-day before
the annual convention of the Association
of Life Insurance Presidents, in session
here.
/ LET lis have an end of restrictive,
cramping, punitive regulation and begin
an era of constructive. broadening work"
wrote Mr.. Rea. "Let us consider how
much the railroads can wisely spend,
rather than how little they can get along
on"
Owing to his duties with the railroads
war board, President Rea was unable to
deliver his message in person. Instead,
he wrote in part:
''Let me say most emphatically that
neither American agriculture nor indus
try can possibly progress beyond the ca
pacity of the transportation facilities of
the nation to handle their raw materials
and their products. When you stop rail-
road expansion in country of such dis
tances, population, industrial and agri-
cultural activities as ours, you automati-
cally set dead limit to the expansion
of commerce and production.
Gas one of the chief of the underlying
causes which have been sapping our re-
sources of transportation, ! would name
the continued failure to provide an ade-
quately remunerative basis of rates The
direct effect of this error has been to
make it difficult to raise and sustain
sufficient capital for the improvements
and extensions which are sorely needed
In the mania for restricting the charges
for transportation, the financial possibil-
ity of permanently maintaining quality
of service seems to have been overlooked
Aside from military considerations, we
in the railroad industry know from per-
sonal observation that what the public
and industries need is service, rather
than the saving of fraction of mill
per ton mile We know that there are
many shippers in this country to-day |
who would gladly pay more than the
established rates to have their commod
tiles moved promptly and regularly
The operating results and the net re-
turns of the railroads for many years
show there has been constant rise in
expenses and taxes, and decreasing re-
turn on the investment in road and
equipment.
II do not want to convey the impress
sion that the railroad situation is hope
less or that the credit of the roads is
entirely crippled. Such is not the case.
Their credit can be sustained and their
usefulness increased through the adop-
ton by the regulating authorities of
responsible and unified policy of fair
treatment in the matter of freight rates.
The government is allowing reasonable
prices and profits to industry; why not
to the railroads? II
such policy, and not the loan of
government credit, would, under normal
be permanent solution for
the problem of railroad credit. l do not
wish to be understood as saying that a
government loan might not be a desir-
able expedient if, under war conditions,
the entire capital market is to be alb
'orbed by the government. But it /.
should be regarded as an expedient only,
if at ALL as an emergency
measure.
,ible for the present congestion of traf
ic and its movement out of normal
'hannels but the carriers would now be
ar better able to cope with this condi-
ion if they had received more liberal
treatment in the matter of rates during
he past, at a time when they could have
securities and financed i'm
while labor and material
we're reasonable in cost, and the supply [
4 both adequate. The end Of expansion
nd improvements on railroads is the be
inning of decay and the letting down
I the standards Of service. The lack Of ]
sympathetic attitude toward the rail
Dads in governmental quarters has I'M
led 20 apprehension as to
he future Of their securities, and this.
personally believe, If not corrected, win
Ultimately affect the credit Of the gov
rnment itself
Notwithstanding prevailing high !.