New-York tribune., 1918-02-19

permitted 10 pool their trAt1c ana
their earnings; that useless lines will
be abandoned; that all tho property
and all tho equipment which every rail
road has heretofore provided for its
own operation and its own use will be
used in common by nll the other rail
roads in tho nationalized system, |
believe that the government will con-
troll and finance this unit, and that
private ownership will be continued in
the future as in the past In short,
complete govrnmental control, with
private ownership Of the property con
trolled.
Calls War Board Success
Suffice it in this place to say that
the tremendous success achieved by
the Railway War Board in the nine
months of their control is most
torceful illustration of what can be
done under n unified railroad system
properly managed. It may safely be
predicted that the American railroads
will never return to the old system Of
competition. l believe that it is gone
forever; that the Sherman antitrust
law so far as it affects railroad COM
binations will be repealed; that anti
pooling laws directed at railroad op-
erations will, in so far as they affect
the transportation systems of the
country, be abrogated, and plan will
be adopted which will give the govern
ment practical control of American
railroads. without the weakness and
the ineiliciercy incident to government
ownership"
In discussing Section Of the bill.
which provides for just compensation
to the railroads for their use while
| under government control, Senator
Watson said
at is better for us under existing
circums stances to deal generously with
the roads than to have eighteen bill
ions Of properties plunged into litiga
ton. with all that such litigation would
mean to the country at the present
time"
In discussing the rate making power
Senator Watson said:
This bill is a war measure. 1t deals
with an unusual situation and there
fore confers unusual power The
Pres ident by the provisions of this act
IS authorized to guarantee the roads d
fixed dividend TO insure the maintcn-
ancc of every railway system at its
present efficiency and to finance inn
provements ard additions.
Need Governments Aid
at may be necessary. therefore, sue
CcssiUlly TO carry out this vast pro j.
ect. for the President to raise the
rates, and he should be given power to
assume the initiative in this under
taking. Ii follows that their control
and operajioH should be placed in the
hands OF the executive department of
the government. While in time Of
peace the authority to mako rates may
remain lodged in the legislative branch
Of the government yet. in order prop
erly to finance the operations Of all
the railroads, it seems to me there is
no escape from the conclusion that it
must be done by the executive branch
Of the government alone.
Everybody knows of the vast pecu
lation incident to railway finance; of
the manipulation of stocks by those to
whose keeping they were committed by
contiding investors; of secret rebates
granted to favored corporations; Of the
tremendous evils growing out OF inter
locking drectorates; of the sinister
and underhand methods, star-chamber
processes and dark alley plans inaugu
rated and consummated by many rail
road corporations in the days gone by.
These crying evils naturally resulted
first in a protest and then in storm
of indignation and then in restrictive
years. resulting in the application Of
the Sherman antitrust law to railroad
combinations; of anti-rebate laws; Of
railway rate regulations; of widening
the powers Of the Interstate Commerce
Commission; of the formation and in
creasing activity of state regulating
bodies.
at finally became exceedingly pop
ular to assault the railroads. and every
legislature in the country had d body
or reformers whose sole claim to fame
was the number Of bills introduced
seeking to strike at the railroads or at
railway management.
Wants Advisory Control
"If the government owned the rail
roads they would be directly admin-
istcred by The President and his Cab
met. But ! believe it to be far pref
cradle that some plan should be de-
viscd that would mean advisory con-
troll. exercised very much as England
is handling its railroads to-day.
Government control will undoubted-
ly enable the railroads of the country
to handle all the traffic in any time of
peace and practically all of it in this
time of war. 1t is not necessary that
i Il policy of government ownership
/ should be adopted in order to secure
this desired end.
"Governmcnt ownership Of railroads
would undoubtedly be immediately
followed by the government ownership
of the telegraph and telephone systems
and express companies. We have al
ready gone to great lengths in expert.
ments with government ownership We
have d government owned railroad ir
Alaska; we have government ownct
nitrate plant; VIC have a government
owned armor-platc plant; VIC arc erect
ing two government owned ammunition
plants, and, in my judgment, without
any authority of law; we have a gov
ernmcnt owned merchant marine; ant
VIC are SO far committed to that polcS
that it is time for us to pause LONG
enough to see whittier we arc drifting
as a nation.
az believe that the government
ownership of all the methods of trans
portation and all the means of com
munication, adding four millions oil
people to the pay roll and converting
them into Federal employees. will ulti
matcly result in the destruction of ou,
form of government. Undoubtedly il
means letting down in efficiency. il
means a lowering of all the standards
Of efiectual Workmanship. and it means
vastly increased outlay Of money fol
d vastly inferior service Every one
who is familiar with the operations o.
the government knows these things &c
be true.
"All the other authority conferred
upon the President is for the period o1