The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1917-06-15


Crisis Confronts Country on Account
Of Transportation Situation-Lowest
Freight Rates to Be Found In United
States.
Washington, D. C.-That the Unit
ed States is face to face with seri-
GUS crisis in its commercial affairs,
due to the conditions by which its
transportation system is confronted,
was the opinion expressed by w. NJ.
Acworth, Englands leading authority
on railways, before the Newlands joint
committee on interstate commerce at
special session held here to enable
the committee to hear his views before
his departure for London. Two steps
are necessary, according to Mr.. Ac-
worth, to avert this crisis and to solve
the threatening railroad problem con-
fronting the country.
The first is to allow the railroads to
charge freight rates sufficient to meet
the great advance in operating ex-
penses which is 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 subdivi-
giOnq aG NAV hQ unppSCarU
Higher Rates a Public Necessity.
Mr.. Acworth's views on the transpor-
were 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 government ownership
10 the present problem before the
United States.
THE fundamental factor in the stu
alton 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 cent, no matter whether
the agency performing 1t is a govern
ment or private enterprise. Freight
rates must advance when the cost Of
| performing the service advances as
1t 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
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
i promptly, he said, the result would
. be tremendous loss to he people of
| the whole country through insufficient
cy of transportation facilities.
Weakness Of Government Ownership.
On the subject of government owner
| ship of railways Mr.. Acworth said:
ut Is impossible to obtain satisfac
tory results on government railways
in democratic state unless the man.
agement is cut loose from direct polit-
ical control. Neither Australia nor
any other country with a democrat
ic nstitution-perhaps an exception
ought to be made of Switzerland-ha
succeeded in maintaining a permanent
severance. In France, in Belgium, in
Italy. parliamentary interference never
has been abandoned for a moment.
The facts show that government in
reference has meant running the rail-
ways not for the benefit of the people
at large, but to satisfy local and Sec
tional and 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 Prussian 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 trlfle over three-Quarters of a
cent, the rate in Prussia was 1.41
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 in 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 1 cent, while in the Aus
! tralian state 1t 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
they come to the United States and
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 ownership"