Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-16
RAILROAD CONTROL
BIG QUESTION NOW
Public, it is Said, Realizes That
Unity of Control is Economical
and Advantageous.

Washington. Nov I6.-Pcrmanent I'M
provcmcnts of railroads. with closer unih-
cation wherever possible, Will be con-
tinued through the u months oi federa!
control allotted after the declaration Oh
peace. il has been learned from an authorl-
tativc source Since the signing OF the
arnistice there has bsen much speculation
in Washington ms to what the policy
would be with regard to the railroads, now
that the emergency of war transportation
is to be shifted from them and therefore
the Immediate reason for the granting OF
Federal control removed.
Not only are permanent improvements
to he made but the aim will be to watch
public criticism of the service and to
introduce convcnicnccs where they can
economically be put into practice. During
the war public attention has been CON
centratcd on the battlefront, and the
Federal operation of the railroads has
been side issue from the popular stand
point, but during the 81 months OF
Federal control following the war, it is
recognized, the results attained will be
much more closely observed by the public
In peace time. too, there will be less
arbitrary interference with railroad
operation because of war needs, SO that
il is expected that the Railroad Admins
tration will have a better opportunity to
increase efficiency. The purpose will be
to show To the utmost in the 2l months
of peace time operation what results
unified control will produce.
MERITS OF UNIFIED CONTROL.
The policy. according to information
obtainable, will not he one designed to
prove the advantages of public owner
ship, but instead to present the benefits
of some unified control and uniform
methods and practices throughout the
country 1t may bc stated now that the
belief is that the public will never consent
to return to some of the conditions Of
railroad operation that existed before the
assumption of Federal control neccs-
stated by the war. An illustration cited
is the use now Of the Pennsylvania Sta
tion in New York City by the Baltimore
&Ohio Railroad, whose passengers were
formerly compelled to cross to and from
New \ ork by ferry boats.
A convenience TO shippers pointed out
is the introduction of universal demur-
rage system Before the war dcmurrage
charges differed from one State to another,
not only 10 the Inconvenience of the
shipper, but adding In many instances
an increased cost. Further systemati-
zation has been obtained by classification
of freight rates, and it was learned today,
on good authority, that the Railroad
Administration has we'll advanced sys-
tenn dlsigned to simplify and further to
standardize freight classification. though
the proposed new regulations will not
introduce any revolutionary departure
from present methods.
The point is made by railroad officials
m favor of the improvement that NJ pres
ent only an expert can work out from rate
cards what the freight between two
points would be on a given article. The
aim IS at least to remove some of the
puzsling features of the present system.
CENTRAL TICKET OFFICE.
One central ticket office and uniformity
m railroad tickets are asserted to be other
improvements which those cinnected with
Governemnt control Of railroads contend
the public will not be willing 10 see aban-
doned Shippers. it is stated already see
much better results in the saving Of time.
and the ability Of the Railroad Administra-
ton to enforce full carloads wherecompeti-
ton did not do so. This is an economic
gain, according to those advocating
some form of centralized control or op-
Grafton. But whether net gain III cost OF
operation viii be shown is another question.
as on two items, material and labor-thcre
has been heavy advance in price
One development may alter the plan
10 try to achieve the greatest possible
efficiency of centralized railroad operate
during the twenty-one peace-time months;
that is the power of Congress TO shorten
the period, though no move TO this end
has been indicated. Anyhow, 1t IS the in
tention to make the most of the time avail
able. and whatever should be done in
changing IN this limit, ii is recognized that
the public ownership of railroads and some
centralized control or operation Of them.
as against their return TO private owner
ship, viii be the leading issues in the next,
Presidential election
The War Finance Corporation, it is
learned, Will be used in meeting the needs
OF new railroad equipment, such as
advancing money to car pools There
will, however, not be the heavy invest
ment in new steel rolling stock that has
been proposed. The reason for this is
that the cost of steel cars is too high for
the railroads to afford to buy them
except to meet current needs or those in
the immediate future