The record., 1917-05-31
British EXPERT
LhUDS RAILROADS
Of UNITED.sTATES
Tells Congress Committee That
They Lead World.
HO'GOvERNhEkT OWNERSHIP

-Eceo cF E:iicercJ cJ-De ectare. That
Crisis Corfrc'7=s c3untry en- Account
Of Transportation GitGarion-Lowest
Frei9ht Rates to &c Found In United
States.
Washington. May I4.-Tir5t the Unit.
ed States is face to face with serious
| Crisis IN its-co.nnle gcial affairs due to
| the conditions b. which its transporta.
ticn system is confronted, was the opin.
ion expressed by w NJ Acworth. Eng.
| iaAG leading authority on RAILWAYS.
DefCTe the NeWlands joint committee
On interstate commerce at a special
session held here to enable the com.
rnittee TO hear his views before his de.
parture for London, this week. Two
steps are necessary according to Mr..
! AcWorth, to avert this crisis ana TO
solve the threatening railroad problem
confronting the country.
Ihe first is to allow the railroads to
| Charge freight rates sufficient to reet
the great advance iD operating ex.
penses which is taking place and to
enable them 80 command the credit
!
and improvements needed TO meet the
growing demands of business. The sec.
ono is to do away with the multiple
and conflicting systems Of regulation
that now hamper railway operation
and 20 provide one ccntraIized regula.
tory agency with such local subdiyi.
sions as may be necessary
FfIrn@a 80, d.
Mr.. AcWortb's views on the trauspor.
tatlon Situation III the United States
we're 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 govern ment ownership
TO the present problem Gefore tie Unit
ed States
TIE luadanaental factor il the stu,
y - 777a. e h Nfr Ac-
wofth. Il les in tie fact tLat you
cannot get thrGa-qpar.er$ CT i cents
worth q 0ora done 70. less / In three
/ quarters q i cent, no natteIf Wheeler
| the agency performing il is &. govern
ment CT private ENTERPRISE Freight
rates must advance when thp cost Of
performing tie service advances as,
it is doing at present, just rs the price
OF bread CT meat or any ot4er com.
modify increases with increased cost
oI production"
IN answer to question AIr. Ac-
worth said that he thonght american
freight rates had been al mucI, too low
q level for several years past, that they
had reached fhis low point d,lring the
period o. cuttEroat ComDet;riol among
the roads and had siilee blen Lald
there by regulating bodies II less re-
lief were afforded 20 the carriers yery
promptly. he said, the result would
be q tremendous loss 10 the Iseople cf
Tie whole country through il bufiCi
cy CT transportation facilities
Weakness of Government Ownership.
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 tie man
agement is cut loose from direct poiit-
ical control. Neither Australia nor
any other country with q democrat
ic constitution-perhaps an exception
ought to be made Of SwitzerlaGd-ha
succeeded in maintaining a permanent
severance. In France il Belgium. in
Italy, parliamentary interference never
has been abandoned for ii momeat
The facts show that government in
reference has meant running tie rail
ways not for the benoGt Of the people
at large, but to satisfy local and section
al and even personal interests
Prussia, MIR. Acworth SAID, was the
best example Of an efficient govern
ment railway system, and he pointed
cut that military consideration were
| treated as OF paramount importance il
the Prussian railway system While
American freight rates had been re-
0uced nearly 10 per cent il 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 tribe over three-quarters 9f a
cent, tAe rate in Pnlssia vas !4l
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 i'll both cases, he 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 ton of freight one mile
was less than cent, while If tie 4HS-
t!rallan state it was yell oyer 2 cenFs
"Amferican railways Lead the world"
said Mr. Acworth. Nowadays when
men in any other part OF the world
want to know bow 10 run rsilEag
| they come TO the United Statss q4q
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
against government owne suip"