The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1918-12-06
PRESS COMMENT
Gosernnlent Telephones


Mr. Vail. was never believer III
the right of big business to go its
way unhindered No big business
man ever submitted to control more
! Loyalty, ard regulation control of
private operation was his idea OF
what public interest required. His
financial arrangements with the Cow
eminent are now agreeable, so that
he is no "sorehead," and must be pre-
sumed to be of the same opinion as
when he was on the rack and OK
pressed llnself formally and can
Ididly He looked forward to an
elected national utilities commission,
with analogy to the Interstate Com
mission in duties and power.
Only this year he repeated his fire.
quent declarations in his last annual
report, from which ono passage may
be quoted:
N'fhes financial afFluence and credit
OF the Government, and it's immunity
from direct control, and the lack of
dependence of the Government en-
ploye upon ,his employment, are in
separable, inherent, and prepondcr-
ant factors 'iE Government operation.
Therefore the desirable factors Of
economic end efficient operation arc
wanting. Whatever can be done
through direct operation can be done
more certainly through control and
regulation of private operation, thus
combining the potency of the SOW
ereign witt the initiative and interest
Of the subject"
This is merely the condensation Of
what he expressed most fully in his
report fot 1913, which can hardly be
surpassed for its arguments against
the plan which he now is to carry
out in connection with Postmaster
General Burleson and the gentlemen
in Congress who have supported his
ideas for the extension of Govern
ment functions while even his dis
charge of the smallest duties already
in his charge are under criticism.
Mr.. Vail has hitherto emphasized
two points Of particular Importance
just now. On one he is the highest
Authority. He has distinguished wire
operation from railway operation in
a manner possible only by an expert.
1t is not possible to give two users of
the telephone the use of wires in the
manner IN which it is possible to in
crease the trains on the same track,
or to put more passengers and freight
into cars. 1t is well known that
doubling tracks more than doubles
efficiency by enabling moro trains to
run. But each user of the telephone
wants exclusive service of the loop
put at his disposal, and the condi-
tons require that. he shall have it.
That is to say, there is no such
elasticity in the telephone service as
in the railway service, and there is a
greater iced of expert operation.
Secondly, such operations cannot be
expected from operation in which
politics has any part. His 'distrust
Iof politicians was matched by his
confidence. in the people. IF The
people themselves should obtain the
right of control (by an elected ma
tional utilities connission) there
would be no further cause for fear"
"But what | am afraid of arc the
}demagogu.s and urprincipled poll
ticians who would have the people
believe tie. are continually being
cheated by the railroads, and the gas
companies, and the telephone COM
panies." And now MI. Vail is in
double harness with politician. It
is q cross matched team, but it may
works better than it looks, If
Mr.. Vail asserts himself as he has
hitherto. That he should palter with
his lifelong record is not to be be-
licvcd.-Ncw York Times.