Mountain advocate., 1917-05-18
BRITISH EXPERT
LAUDS RAILROADS
OF UNITED STATES
Tells Congress Committee That
They Lead World.
NO GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP

Of Transportation Situation--Lowes,
Freight Hates to &c Found In United
States.
Washington. May I4.-That The Unit.
ed States is face 20 face with "a serious
crisis IN It's commercial affairs. due To-
the conditions ny which its transports.
ton system is confronted. was he npiu.
ion expressed by W. W. Acwurth, Eng.
! lands LEADING authority on railways.
before the Newuuds joint committee
ON Interstate commerce. mt special
! session held here to enable the COM.
mittee TO hear ma views before his de.
| partura for London this week. 1--WE
steps are necessary. according To Mr..
Acvorth. Ia overt this crisis and tn
solve the threatening railroad problem
confronting tn country.
| The first is a. allow the railroads 10
chS-se iIeight rates sufficient to meet
the great advance In operating ex-
! penScs which is taking place and to
enable them t. command the credit
necessary 10 provide the extensions
! and improvements needed TO meet the
growing demands OF business. The Sec
ond is 10 do away with tue multiple
and conflicting systems of regulation
that now hamper railway operation
and To provide one centralized regula.
tory agency with such local subdivi-
sions as may be necessary.
Higher -6ates Public Necessity.
Mr.. Acwol,hs views on the transpor-
iation situation in the United States
were expressed in answe" to questions
oy members of the committee, whs
asked him to apply his knowledge OF
! railway conditions throughout the
worll ind OF the experience OF other
countries with government ownership
to tie present problem before the Unit
I'd States.
The fundamental factor in the situ-
alton is very simple" said Mr.. Ac-
worth. 1T lies In the fact that you
cannot get thrce-quartcrS of cents
| worth OF Wort; done for less than three
quarters Of cent. no matter whether
he agency performing it is a govern
ment or private enterprise. Freight
rates must advance when the cost of
performing the service advances as
t is doing al present, just as the price
Of bread or meat or any other COM
modify increases with increased cost
n production"
In answer to a question Mr.. Ac-
worth said that he thought American
freight rates had been ut much too low
a level for several years past, that they
had reached this low point during the
period Of cJttLroar competition among
,hc roads and had since been held
here 10y regulating bodies. Unless re-
lief were afforded to the carriers very
promptly. he said, the result would
ne tremendous loss to the people OF
he whole country through insufficient
" of transportation facilities.
Weakness of Government Ownership.
On the subject OF government owner
ship of railways Mr.. Acworth said:
1T is impossible TO obtain satisfsc-
tory results on government railways
IN a democratic state unless the man
lgcmcnt IS cut loose from direct polit-
zeal control Neither Australia nor
any other country With Democrat
ic conStitutlon-perhaps an exception
ought TO be made of Switzerland-has
succeeded in maintaining Il permanent
severance. In France, in Belgium. In
Italy, parliamentary interference never
has been abandoned for IA moment
The facts show that government in
reference has meant running the rail
ways not for the benefit OF the people
at large but 20 satisfy local and section
al aud even personal interests.
Prussia, Mr.. AcwOrth said, was the
best example OF an efficient govern
ment railway system, and he pointed
out that military considerations were
treated as OF paramount Importance In
the Prusslan railway system. While
American freight rates had been re-
duced nearly 40 per cent in thirty
years. rates in Prussia were nearly as
high as at the beginning OF the period.
While the charge for moving a ton Of
freight one mile in the United States
was a trifie over three-quarters Of q
cent, the rate in Prussia was l41
cents.
As Illustrating the difference in rates
between government and private roads
MIR. Acworth compared the railways
or New South Wales, Australia, with
those OF Texas. While the amount OF
rafic 20 each mile OF line was about
the same IN both cases, he pointed out,
The Texas railways performed for the
public four times as much service as
he government owned roads OF New |
south Wales. The charge in Texas
FOR hauling a ton OF freight one mile
was less than cent, while in the ANS
.ralian state it was well over cents.
American railways lead the world"
said Mr.. Acworth. Nowadays when
men in any other part of the world
want to know how to run a railway
hey come to the United States and
'tudy your railways here. The Amer
can railways are entirelv the rasu1t