Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-18
SHALL UNCLE SAM JOLT THE
THROTTLE?

WE DO not believe that the President
w contemplates government ownership Of
the railroads at this time. He and the rest
Of the country have been impressed, how
ever. by the obvious failure OF our boasted
transportation system to measure up to
the edgencies Of the existing crisis. 1t is
. failure. It appears, of terminals as much
as equipment For years experts have
been preaching that terminals constitute
the heart Of the distribution problem. But
no arguments under the sun could convince
powerful railroad leaders that barging
freight around New York harbor was costly
and destructive Of efficiency. They had It
firmly fixed in their heads that the nation
revolved around the port of New York. the
greatest Of all competitive points. One of
the most valuable public servants Philadel-
phia ever had. private citizen, lost his
fortune. his health and probably his life
In . vain effort to make the railroads
see tho importance Of being fair to them.
0oAVo0 W DCiu6 W Aiktueipiild- Wlldt
Philadelphia suffered, Baltimore suffered
ana Norfolk and all the seaports along the
coast. Boston tried to meet the situation,
and did meet It by building terminals of her
own, as did New Orleans. and Philadelphia
has been compelled to turn to municipal
wharves for relief.
a.
been entirely at fault. They were harassed
by all sorts of ridiculous inhibitions. They
were deprived of the right to own their
own ships and offer a through service from
any interior point to any foreign port
They were subjected to all sorts of hard
ships by different State commissions. They
found their efforts to coordinate blocked
by an antagonistic national policy. They
got to the point where railroad financing
was a herculean task. They had to skimp
on upkeep. and they did not have the
money with which to buy new equipment
and meet the increasing demands of bust.
ness. Besides, there was an abundance
Of empty cars in the lean years preceding
the war. and It did not occur to anybody
that there would be such an enormous
revival Of business as the nation has wit.
messed. The contrary was anticipated.
II may be necessary for the Government
TO administer the roads. There would be
nothing novel in that, for virtually every
business in the nation. from steel.malsing
to pig.killing, is already under virtual Gov.
srnment control. Moreover. the grip of
washington will tighten as the war goes
on. But ownership and control during war
times are different things. The credit of
the country is needed to finance our armies;
We can talk Of buying railroads when the |
Kaiser is out of France.
The President is a firm believer in the |
authority Of public opinion. He would stop |
ct no necessary radical program which ap.
peared requisite to win the war, having
Lincoln to guide him in that course, but gov |
ernment ownership of railroads involves SO |
vital a change in our previous concepts of |
oemocratic government that 1t may be |
doubted If he would move in that direction
without specific mandate from the people
He has no such mandate now. because the
Issue has never been fought out at the
POLLS. The public is quite ready to sane.
tjon almost any temporary expedient to
promote war efficiency. but it dislikes the
of irrevocable national poll.
rtes by executive edict. The Emancipation
Proclamation was a war measure which
etruck at the very heart OF the enemy
but the issue Of government ownership of
railroads is not involved in the present
struggle to preserve civilization.
Tho railroad problem is essentially one
q service. II we get that. incidental prob.
l1ns win solve themselves.