The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-01-10

'sThe common administration will be
carried out with as little disturbance
of the present operating organizations
and personnel Of the railways as posi-
Bile, Nothing will be altered or dis
turbed which it is not necessary to
disturb.
''We are serving the public interest
and safeguarding the public safety,
but we are also regardful of the inter
est Of those by whom these great prop
critics are owned aud glad to avail our
selves of the experience and trained
ability of those who have been manag-
Ing them. 1t is necessary that the
transportation Of troops and of war
materials, Of food and of fuel, and Of
everything that is necessary for the
full mobilization Of the energies and
resources Of the country, should be
first considered, but it is clearly in the
public interest also that the ordinary
activities and the normal industrial
and commercial life of the country
should be interfered with and dislo-
Gated as little as possible, and the pub
lie may rest assured that the interest
and convenience Of private shipper
viii be as carefully served and safe
guarded as 1t Is possible TO serve and
safeguard 1t in the present extraordi-
nary circumstances.
while the present authority of the
executive suffices for all purposes of
administration, and while of course all
private interests must for the present
give way to the public necessity, 1t is,
! am sure You will agree with me, right
and necessary that the owners and
creditors of the railways, the holders of
their stocks and bonds, should receive
guarantee that their proportion will
be maintained throughout the period OF
federal control In as good repair and
as complete equipment as at present
and that the several roads will receive
under federal management such COM
pensation as Is equitable. and just alike
to their owners and to the general pub
lie. / would suggest the average net
railway operating income Of the three
years ending June 80. 1917. earnest
~ recommend that these guarantees
be given by appropriate legislation,
and given as promptly as clrcumstan-
ces permit.
Guarantee Only Justice.
81 need not point out the essential
justice of such guarantees and their
great influence and significance as ele-
ments in the, present financial and in
dustrial situation of the country. In
deed, one of the strong arguments for
assuming control of the railroads at
this time is the financial argument.
1t is necessary that the values of rail.
way securities should be justly and
fairlyprotected and that the large finan-
cial operations every year necessary in
connection with the maintenance, OPP
GRAFTON and development of the roads,
should, during the period of the war,
be wisely related to the financial oper-
atoms of the government.
"Our first duty is, of course, to con-
serve the common interest and the
common safety and to make certain
that nothing stands in the way of the
successful prosecution of the great
, war for liberty and justice, but it is
also an obligation of public conscience
and of public honor that the private
interests we disturb should be kept
safe. from unjust injury. and 1t is of
the, utmost consequence to the gov
eminent itself that all great financial
operations should be stabilized, and CO.
ordinated with the financial operations
of the government. No borrowing
the federal treasury, and no funda-
mental Industrial values should any
where be unnecessarily impaired. In
the, hands of many thousands of small
investors in the country, as well as in
national banks, In insurance compan-
les. in savings banks, in trust compan-
les, in financial agencies of every kind,
railway securities, the sum total of
which run up TO some ten or eleven
thousand millions, constitute vital
part Of the structure of credit and the
unquestioned solidity Of that structure
must be maintained.
'@The secretary of war and 1 easily
agree that, in view Of the many COM
pick interests. which must be safe
guarded and harmonized, as well as
because of his exceptional experience
and ability in this new field of govern
mental action, the Honorable William
j. McAdoo was the right man to as
sumo direct administrative control of
this new executive task. At our re-
quest, he consented to assume the au-
thority and duties Of organizer and di-
rector general of the new railway adj
ministration. He has assumed those
duties and his work Is in active prog
ress.
May Need Money.
ut is probably too much TO, expect
that even under the unified railway
administration which will now be pos
sible sufficient economies can be eff.
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