The Era-leader. [volume] (Franklinton, La.) 1910-current, 1917-05-24

II Would Mean POLITICAL Cohtroi ana
Loss Of Ef6eisncy-Dsclares That
Crisis Cenfronts Country on Account
Of Transportation situation-Lowsst
Freight Rates to Be- Found In United
States.
Washington, May l4.-That the Unit
ed States Is face to face with serious
crisis In Its commercial affairs, due to
the conditions by which It's transporta.
ton system Is confronted was the opin.
ion expressed by ". NJ. Acworth. Eng
lands leading authority on railways,
before the Newlands joint committee
on interstate commerce at a special
session held here to enable the COM
mittee to hear his views before his de-
parture for London this week. Two
steps are necessary, according to Mr..
Acworth, to avert this crisis and to
solve the threatening railroad problem
confronting the country.
The first is to allow the railroads to
charge freight rates sufficient to meet
the great advance In operating ex'
penses which 10 taking place and to
enable them to command the credit
necessary to provide the extensions
and Improvements needed to meet the
growing demands Of business. The sec.
ond Is to do away with the multiple
and conflicting systems Of regulation
that now hamper railway operation
and to provide one centralized regula'
tory agency with such local subdiTt'
sions as may be necessary.
Higher Rates q Public Necessity.
Mr.. Acworth's views on the transpor.
tation situation In the United States
were expressed In answer to questions
by members Of the committee, who
asked him to apply bis knowledge
Of railway conditions throughout the
world and Of the experience OF other
countries with government ownership
to the present problem before the Unit.
ed States.
The fundamental factor in the sit
uation Is very simple" said Mr.. Ac'
worth. 1T lies In the fact that you
cannot get three-Quarters Of cents
worth Of work done for less than three
quarters Of a cent, no matter whether
the agency performing it is a govern
ment or private enterprise. Freight
) rates must advance when the cost OF
performing the service advances as
it is doing at present, just as the price
Of bread or meat or any other com.
modify increases with increased cost
Of production"
In answer to a question Mr.. Ac.
worth said that he thought American
freight rates had been at much too low
q level for several years past. that they
had reached this low point during the
period of cutthroat competition among
the roads and had since been held
there by regulating bodies. Unless re-
Lief were afforded to the carriers very
promptly, he said, the result would
be a tremendous loss to the people OF
the whole country through insufficient
! cy Of transportation facilities.
Weakness Of Government Ownership.
On the subject of government owner
ship Of railways MI. -Acworth said:
1T is impossible to obtain satisfac
tory results on government railway:
in a democratic state unless the man
agement is cut loose from direct polit
ical control. Neither Australia no
any other country with democrat
ic constitution-perhaps an exception
4 ought to be made Of Switzerland-ha!
succeeded In maintaining a permanent
severance. In France, in Belgium, II
Italy, parliamentary interference never
! has been abandoned for 4 moment
The facts show that government In
4 reference has meant running the rail
ways not for the benefit Of the people
o. at large, but to satisfy local and sec
tional and even personal interests.
Prussia, Mr.. Acworth said, was thu
best example Of an eficient govern
ment railway system, and he pointe'
out that military considerations wer
treated as Of paramount importance Il
the Prussian railway system. Will
American freight rates had been re
duced nearly 40 per cent In thirt
II years, rates in Prussia were nearly a
high as at the beginning Of the period
| While the charge for moving ton G
4 freight one mile IN the United State
vas a tribe over threequsrters Of
cent the rate In Prussia was II
cents.
Is illustrating the difference II rate
\ between government and private road
Mr.. Aeworth compared the railway
Of New South Wales, Australia, wit
those of Texas. While the amount &
/ traffic to each mile Of line was abor
the same IN both cases, he pointed GU
the Texas railways performed for tt
public four times as much service
the government Owned roads Of Ne
South Wales. The charge u Tex
for hauling ton Of freight one mi
n was less than cent, while in the Au
| tralian state It was well over 2 cents
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