New-York tribune., 1917-12-24
Railroads and the Government

Washington many of our war-maSinG
agencies are under fire. The Ordnance
Bureau and the Quartermaster's Corps Of
the army and the Shipping Board are be-
ing subjected to critical inquiry, and
shortcomings in management and delays
on urgent military work are being eX-
posed The food and fuel administration
is also being investigated. But the one
agency Of the government which has
failed most conspicuously has so far es-
caped the critical attention which It de-
serves.
That agency is the Interstate Commerce
Commission. It's responsibility for the
condition Of unprepareGuess in which our
transportation system found itself when
war was declared cannot be shifted or
disavowed. The bureau chiefs of the War
DEPARTMENT worked under two masters.
one was the Secretary Of War; the other
was Congress. General Crozier and Cen
cral Sharpe can excuse themselves in &
measure because they had, after all, to
conform to a policy Of non-eXpansion laid
down by the War Department and to limi-
tations on appropriations imposed by Con-
rress. Neither Congress nor the Admin
:stration favored even a moderate pro-
cramme Of military preparation. 80 If
War Department under-chiefs were con-
tent TO 20 on rave.ling and unrayelling
red tape'and substituting indecision for de-
cision taey had at least a partial abb
when war caught them with engines un-
hitched and no steam up.
The Interstate Commerce Commission,
on the other hand was an Independent,
semi-iudicial body. 1t was not under the
control Of a Cabinet officer and was not
hampered in its work by interference from
Congress. Congress gave it a free hand
and has always gladly devolved new re-
sponsibilities on it. When the House and
Senate wanted to dodge an embarrassing
issue like the adjustment Of railroad mail
pay it passed the decision along to the
commission. That body possessed ample
power 10 put the railroads in a condition
90 meet the demands of war to a reasOna-
bic extent.
But it never dreamed of such a con-
tinreucy as war. Even when the war II
Europe broke out it refused TO recognize
the enormous change in the relations Of
the railroads and the public which war
would bring On the day when Germany
declared war on Russia the commission
handed down o rate decision which ig-
nored, almost contemptuously, that event,
which was destined, more than any other
since the commission was created, to af-
feet the status Of our railroads and 10
demonstrate TO a hitherto skeptical public
the enormous value of highly organized,
efficient and prosperous railroad system as
means Of national defence.
The commission lacked breadth of view
and imagination. So did all the other
government agencies at Washington But
its authority was more unhampered than
that Of any other administrative body. 1t
could have helped the railroads to improve
their facilities, to sustain their credit and
TO lay up reserves Of supplies against
day Of need. It could even have inAu-
enced them to make a more efficient use
Of the facilities they then had. II could,
in short, have pursued a constructive pol
icy, building for the future, to a degree
which was not then possible for a mere
chief Of ordnance or a quartermastcr gen
erai, however intelligent or farsighted the
latter might have been.
1t did not make wise use Of its opportu-
h mites. Instead Of cooperating with the
81 roads in a policy Of expansion. unifcation
y and heightened efficiency, it devoted itself
TO holding them In check. Il could see
nothing IN the problem Of Federal reeula.
ton but the scrupulous protection Of in.
oNdual shippers from excessive freight
rates. It was satisfied 70 keep rates down.
wAiie the expenses Of Transportation were
steadily rising. It put the carriers on
short rations It depressed their credit.
It has restricted them for years to re
turn which has made it an enormous
strain for them 10 keep up with increased
traffic demands Il never thought Of what
might happen II il should suddenly become
necessary TO convert the carriers 10 mill
tary uses, when their ability 10 carry
freight would become the one thing
with which the country would be con.
ccrned, and a delicate shaving Of rates, in
order 10 restrain earning power. would
become more and more of triyiality.
Now the policy Of the commission has
borne It's natural fruit It's restrictive
system Of control has broken down, ,ust
rs the system Of inelasticity and com
placency In the War Department has
broken down Ghe railroads must now be
restored 20 vigor. be unified in operation