New-York tribune., 1918-04-09
Community Value" of Capital

community Value or Napltal
Sometimes a telling phrase illumi-
mates a subject in way that even
the longest explanation may fail to do.
A year or so ago Mr.. Frank A. Wander
lip gave the country gentle jar by say
ing that we are "a nation of economic
illiterates"
1t was not especially agreeable to be
told this, but the phrase went home be-
deal of talk about "the New Freedom"
it was, on the whole, refreshing.
In a recent article in "The Railway
Age-Gazette" Mr.. Vanderlip speaks of
the great need there is that the people
Of the country should realize the "com-
munity value" of capital. When our
eye caught the phrase we read "com-
munal value" but it is better as it
stands. In rejecting upon Mr.. George
L. Records communistic campaign for
the Senatorship in New Jersey, and
flood of similar sentiment, especially in
the South and the West, we think Mr.
Vanderlip has spoken at timely mo-
ment.
What does it mean-this Community
value" of capital? Let US take a very
familiar instance
A million or so of people ride every
day in the subway. They may, if they
wish, ride from Van Cortlandt Park to
the hither side of Brooklyn for five
cents. How often do we stop to think,
of what a wonder it is?
Or how it was achieved?
From just mechanical point of view
the whole thing is pretty much an
swered in one word: "STEEL."
You Tide mostly in steel cars, carried
by steel trucks, with steel wheels, roll
ing on steel rails, diving under East
River through steel and concrete tubes,
and rolling out into The Bronx on steel
girders-the trains drawn by steel mo-
tors, impelled by power generated by
huge steel and copper dynamos.
Let your eye follow the operation on
and on. This electricity is the converted
energy of coal which is landed at the
power station in steel barges, has been
drawn from the mines in steel gondolas,
been lifted up out Of the mine by steel
hoists, and mined out of the earth by
steel drills
In order that the miners, the hoist
ers, the railway men, the barge men
could have food to sustain them in their
work there had to be built vast net
work of railways all over the rich grain
fields Of the West, to carry ploughs and
harrows and harvesters and motor cars
or horses out to the farmers, and then
haul the grain away.
Practically all this network is of steel.
and likewise the ploughs that turn the
furrow, the harvesters that gather the
ripe grain, and now even some of the
great elevators which store the product.
And in order that this food should be
cheap and the coal should be cheap, in
order that millions could ride for almost
nothing in the subway, this tremendous
ly vital fundament of all modern indus
trial life-steel--had to be dirt cheap.
as it is.
The network Of steel railways in the
United States has cost above Is or 16
billions, In cash. Wipe out every dollar
Of questionable or "watered" stock
which Senator Johnson, of California
tells US of upon every occasion, and at
least Is or 16 billions of cash investment
remains.
This railway system is without a rival
IN the world, and it furnishes the cheap-
est transportation in the world. On the
average, these railways use up in one
way or another nearly half the steel
output Of the country. That outnut
last year exceeded forty million torsi
Inc mind cannot grasp it. Try to see
million tons of molten steel flowing from
the ladies' and passing through the mills.
Then multiply this forty times. The
mind cannot comprehend it.
This output of steel had a value last
year OF between 2 and billions. Bv
the time 1T was made up into locomo-
tiyes and steel cars, and steel rails and
steel haryeaters. and steel ploughs and
steel drills, it may have readily been
worth 2 billions more.
The total value of all these products
and manufactures of steel in the last
generation probably exceeded the total
OF the nations taxable wealth in, say.
1913.
1t would be impossible to compute
the total capital invested in all these
steel manufacturer, but IL we take the
average Of the big steel companies, we
find that ip>,normal times they turn over