The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-12-28

greater than ever. In England the passenger traffic has been decreased by more than 50 per cent. One step taken to this end was to increase all passenger, fares 30 per cent. This, with q government propaganda, brought a large decrease in passen- ger travel. It has been suggested that in this country a licensing system be put into effect, whereby prospective travellers would be forced to show trip As late as Jan. 1, 1917, the Eng fish were still curtailing passenger service, on that date 25O trains being taken out of service.
 < The English government has been able to operate the roads without ma terial increases in freight rates and without an abnormal cost to the gov- ,ernment. Railroad men here await with interest Mr. McAdoo's decision, on the pending application of the roads for a IS per cent. raise In freight rates This, the railroad men told the Interstate Commerce Commission, would not be enough to give them sufficient financial resources.
 Increases In Railway Pay.
 The English committee has from time to time granted increases in pay to the railroad workers to meet the higher cost of living. When Secretary McAdoo takes hold today he will face the demands of the four brotherhoods for increases in pay totalling $1os.- 100000 year. These are the same workers who got the eight-hour day. The decision of this matter is in the hands of President Wilson, the unions having refused arbitration.
 To grant any increase to the broth- erhood members would undoubtedly bring demands from the more than l, 100000 other railroad workers It Is said to be the intention of Secre- tary McAdoo to give more pay to the workers It is also said to be hiG in- tention to reduce the salaries of some
 of the highly paid officials of the rail- roads. Inagrnuch as the salaries of
 railroad executives are about one- thirtieth of the railroad payroll. he would have to go a long way in this
 direction to produce an appreciable
 effect on railroad finances. Incident ally, as one railroad president ex- pressed it yesterday, "secretary Mo Adoo Is welcome to the job of dealing
 with the brotherhoods.'
 It is generally believed that one of the first acts of MT. McAdoo as di- rector of the railroads will be to arl- 1 nounce priority schedule which shall exclude many non- essentials and determine some fixed plan for the movement of government freight. One of the most yexatious experiences of the railroads in recent months has been the conflict of priority orders is- sued by different government depart
 ments, leaving the carriers in a 1 uuandary as to which freight to ia vor. Such a plan was early put in
 force in England by freight-licens-
 ing system.
 The English government has moi 1 made public figures as to the cost to i it of operating the railroads. It is l believed from remarks made from
 time to time by government officials
 that the cost has not been unduly i heavy. It is known that in the first
 eight months of the war the govern. rnert paid the railroads $sS, 300, 900 Speaking in sthe House of Commons last spring, Bonar Law, Chancellor
 of the Exchequer, stated that the
 English railway agreement was Tar
 extraordinarily good bargain for tht government.'' The total mileage oi the English roads Is so,0Oo miles, a 1 compared with a total mileage in ti1ii country of 260, 900 miles. While there are outstanding about $20,o0o, ,000,, 900 of American railway securities
 the English railway securities art
 slightly more than $1,000, 100000, In review of the English war op eration of roads recently issued by tn Carnegie Endowment, 1t was stated:
 ''Cn the whole. the authors seen
 to conclude that the English railroa. l agreement has provided the necessar, 1 transportation efnclently and econom
 icaily; that it has been advantageous
 tc the government, not pnduly oner GUS to the companies and problemati cal as to it's effect on the question Q ] government ownership
 Decline In Security Values
 The government guarantee Of Eng