The Washington herald., 1918-05-01

For three months we have kept
track of cursory complaints which
citizens have against the street car
department-and to some extent
those against the telephone COM
pany.
And we find that most of the COM
plants originate wholly and solely
because of i'll treatment of the pat
rons of the corporation by the en-
ployes.
And in almost every case the per-
sons who have been i'll treated
and in many cases they have had
real complaints to offer-have sworn
eternal vengeance on the corpora
tlons themselves, and have insisted
that things would be far different
"if the people themselves owned the
street car company or the telephone
company"
The truth is, things wouldn't be
a bit different, in the majority Of
complaints. II the employees of the
company are to blame for the laXi-
ties, here and there. they would be
just as much to blame under owner
ship. Perhaps more so. If we judge
the case correctly.
We have said 1t before in this
column, and we reiterate it, pub
lie service corporations can only
be successful as the employees of the
corporation cater to the patrons.
II the employees are high handed
in their tactics the public will be
dissatisfied, and the corporation will
be looked upon as operated in the
public interest.
II the employees are courteous,
attentive and constantly on guard
to serve the public the public Is
bound to be pleased and the cor
poration is bound to be looked upon
as successful-that is, If it does
things as 1t should do under ordi-
nary circumstances.
The next time you get peeVed
at the public utility see whether its
the employees or the men who own
1t who are to blame. II the en-
ployes are to blame don't place
the blame elsewhere-or il the COM
pany itself is to blame do not try
to put the blame on the man.
Place it where 1t belongs.
Declaration of war against Tur-
key and Bulgaria at this time would
interrupt some of the charity work
people from the allied countries are
doing there. Moreover, it would
cut off the supply of money and food
which is going there to feed and
house the nurse populations which
are friendly to the allied cause
if they could but talk and say what
they feel in their hearts.
This Is probably one very good
reason why there has been no war
declaration asked for by the Presi-
dent There are others also. The
Senate will probably consider the
various reasons when the subject
is brought up formally or informally
with the President or with the State
Department.
There are many obvious reasons
why a declaration of war appears
to be the only consistent course for
America to follow, but there are
many reasons, too, why no such ac-
tion should be taken.
If there is doubt in ones mind
as to advantages to be gained by
affirmative action. passive action is
to be deemed the better part of dis
cretion-and this. it appears, is the
case just now in this affair.
The Mooney case Is attracting
much attention in California and
elsewhere for that matter and sur
prisingly there are indications that
Lenine and Trotsky are both being
brought into it with some additional
indication that one or the other of
those auctioneers-to-the -the-Kaiser had
a hand in ii. In California they say
they will sift the matter to the bot
tom until they find just where the
trouble lies-but IL they do they will
have more mammoth task than
We expect them to complete. This
direct interest of the President in
the affair means that this falls
vote will likely show to what ex-
tent the President has been gen.
orally supported there in his ac-
tion.
Republicans hope Chairman Hays
has seen to 1t that when Presi-
Dental candidate of the party goes
to California in the future he will
not be made to eonsort with the
standpat leaders to the exclusion
of the progressive workers. The
matter is of distinct Importance,
the party well wishers say, and IL
ii is not settled now there Is little
hope that when the campaign
comes on. with all its excitement
and with the keen desire OF local
leaders to put II over their con-