New Britain herald., 1918-02-21
SWEEPING FEDERAL OWNERSHIP COMING
 Senator Lewis Believes Coal, Oil and Wires Are Next
 ROADS ONLY A BEGINNING


 Explains Why Minority of I. c. c.
 Committee Is Opposed to House
 Railroad Measure.
 Washington, Feb. 21. - Senator Lewis of Illinois, speaking in the senate today, declared the admins tration railroad bill is a forerunner of government control over various pub lie utilities and predicted the question would be the great domestic issue in the next presidential campaign.
 Let us not deceive ourselves as to the meaning of this measure,' he de- clared. '"This is the beginning of the government taking the roads as a government agency. The roads will never be permitted to return to the former state of personal control for private benefit. At the same time this country takes over the roads, it will take the telegraph and telephone privileges and then the products for fuel, particularly the lands of coal and oil and put these under govern ment direction.
 'All agencies of this nature in this republic, necessary to the public vel fare of man, will be taken by the gov ernment as a, necessary protection of the republic"
 The roads, Senator Lewis declared, confessed their inability to meet the situation and by surrendering to the government admitted that the one power capable to carry on the work under the existing conditions was the government itself.
 Danger in Private Ownership.
 The government now conducts the roads and directs them as the proof of it's power and ability to do so," i he asserted. Private ownership of railroads failed us for the purpose of sending supplies to ships or for trans port of soldiers for foreign service. What would be the calamity under private ownership if enemies were at our gates and in possession of our country?
 Let us announce that the United States is a, government and shall as- sume governmental responsibility in 1 protecting all public agencies of human welfare from being a monop- l oly of private pillage."
 i If this is done, Senator Lewis said , any Bolsheviki uprising in the United : States will be avoided.
 Opposition in House. Opposition to the house draft of the railroad bill, particularly it's pro- f visions for compensating the roads, | determining rates and fixing the pe" ! riod of government retention after ! the war was voiced today by Repre- | senta tive Ssch of Wisconsin, ranking | republican member of the Interstate | Commerce committee.
 Representative ESch, speaking for 1 the minority of the committee. de- clared the proposed rate of compen- sation is too high; that the power to ] initiate rates should rest with the In { terstate Commerce Commission, ra- ther than with the president, and the roads should be returned to their owners one year or less after the | pro oclamation of peace, instead of two years as proposed by the house bill
 "Owners of railroads should be
 content to receive a guarantee of payment of all fixed charges" Rep- resentative Esch said, including operating expenses, taxes and inter- est and regular dividends on out standing stock. Any surplus above 1 such payment ought either to go to ! the government to aid it in meeting the guarantee, or be equally divided 1 between the owners and the govern | ment
 @'The minority also believe that the
 rate making power should remain in 1 the hands of the Interstate Commerce
 Commission. It is the one body un- der our government that has had the l regulation of railroads, including their rates, in charge. It is not nec- 1 essary to give to the president, even in time of war, the power to initiate i rates. No other nation at war has changed it's rate-ma1xing power No l other nation has given to a single in i dividual this power, not even auto i cratic. Germany
 He said period of year after the proclamation of peace would all , low sufficient time for congress to pass the necessary legislation for ad- 1 JuStment of the final relations be- l tween the government and the car i riers and arrange for the return of l the roads to their owners
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