The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-12-08
WILSON TO
TAKE RAILROADS
This Action Indicated by the
Conditions at Wash
ington
HARD DRIVE FOR FED
ERAL OWNERSHIP
They Seem to Have Whip
Hand in the Sit
uation

Washington, Dee 8-The country neet
not be surprised If President Wilson
within few days, issues a proclama
ton placing the railroads of the United
States under his own control. No 9th
err course appears open to him in tbs
opinion of men acquainted with congress
sional opinion, who declares that the ad'
ministration never can drive through
Congress bill appropriating a dollar
for the use of the railroads so long as
they are operated by themselves.
Advocates of government ownership
see their chance to take a long step to.
ward it. Congressman who have achieved
much of their political advancement
| through attacks upon the railroads dare
not now retrace their steps, even at the
behest of the administration. They are
convinced that, in large section of
the country, at least, any action that
would tend to perpetuate the life OF the
railroads under railroad management
would react upon them.
Politics, perhaps, as much as econom-
les, appears to be the guiding force in
this supreme moment when the most inn
portant economic development for half a
century calls for the wise solution of a
grave national problem. The announce
ment of Senator Newlands Thursday
that the railroads would need loan or
guaranty of $l000000, 900 almost inn
medately to enable them to meet the
demands of the war emergency drove to
cover enough members of both branches
to create the general opinion in Wash
ington that the president must take
charge of the railroads if he expects to.
get out of Congress any money for their
rehabilitation and operation.
The carrier officials themselves are
puzzled as to what attitude they shall
assume toward government operation.
Their own preference would be TO contin-
ne operation of the roads under their
own management with the necessary
government loan or guaranty which
would enable them to operate all sys-
TENS as q unit, but they fear also that,
whether under their own or government
the carriers would be I'M
able to meet satisfactorily the needs of
the hour and that wave of public criti
eism wou dldrive Congress and the gov
eminent to take over the properties, per
system of management be retained. They
are half inclined to accept, without pro
test, whatever policy the administration
may lay down. Moreover, they have, |
hanging over them always, the menace of
by the department of JUS
tce, which, apparently. is unable to dis
tinglish between urgent public needs and |
its own narrow conception of its techni- |
cal duties in the enforcement of the law
1t will be recalled that when the sec
rotary of the interior, supposedly repre-
'enting the administration, made an
agreement with the coal operators, the
department of justice instantly threat
sned resort to the law prohibiting
in restriction of trade Sim
larly, when the railroads war board a
short time ago, announced pooling of
'ailroad facilities which, either rightly
'r wrongly, was interpreted as viola
ion of the anti-pooling laws, that organ
zation was placed upon the carpet i'm
nediately to explain what it was doing