Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-12-12
GOVERNMENT
 CONTROL IS
 FOR } YEARS
Recommended by Director General McAdoo, Ac- count of Unsettled Condi- tions and Fair Trial.

Washington, Dec. Extension of the period of government control of railroads for five years, until January lSt, 1924, was recommended to con- gress tonight by Director General McAdoo
 Advantages of this, MT. McAdoo said are that it would take the railroad question out of politics from the pres ent, give time for carrying out an eX- tensive program of improvements and provide opportunity for fair test of unified control to indicate the per manent solution of the railroad prob- lem. The President has given me per mission to say that this conclusion 1 accords with his own view of the mat :, ter,' MT. McAdoo concluded.
 l The letter was addressed to Senator Smith of South Carolina and Repre- sentative Sims, chairman respectively, of the senate and house interstate commerce committees. MT. McAdoo ex- plained that to continue government operation for 21 months after formal declaration of peace under present conditions would mean disruption of morale among employees and officers, and could not enable the government to go ahead with improvements and purchase of equipment. Another alter native, the prompt return of the rail-
 rOals to private control without legis-
 laton to permit elimination of the old
 Wasteful competition, would be hurt ful alike to the public interest and to
 the railroads themselves" he said. and the difficulty of obtaining imme- diate legislation providing a perman- ent solution is apparent.
 l "There is one, and to my mind, only
 one, practicable and wise alternative,' MT. McAdoo continued, land that is to extend the period of federal control
 from one year and nine months pro- vided by the present law. to five years, or until the first day of January, 1924 This extension would take the railroad question out of politics for a reasonable period. It would give com posture to railroad officers and em- ployes. It would admit of the prepara- tion and carrying out of a cOmprehen- sive program of improvements of the
 railroads and their terminal facilities,
 which would immediately increase the efficiency of the transportation mach l inc. It would put back of the% rail-
 roads the credit of the United States during the five years period so that the financing of these improvements could be successfully carried out. It
 would offer the necessary opportunity under proper conditions to test the value of unified control and the eX-
 perience thus gained would, of itself
 indicate the permanent solution of the railroad problem. ] "The American people have right
 to this test They should not be denied it. It is to their interest that it should
 be done In my opinion, it is the only practicable and reasonable method of determining the right solution of this grave economic problem.
 l "I am not now and have not been for
 the past year, interested in proving or
 disproving the theory of government
 ownership or any other kind of theory
 The railroads have been operated for
 the past year with the purpose of serving efficiently the paramount
 needs of the war and at the same time furnishing the best possible service to l the public, whether such operation
 tended to prove or disprove any theory of railroad control, no matter what it
 might be. I have formed no opinion i myself as to what is the best dispOsi-
 tion of the railroad problem because the test has not been sufficient to prove conclusively the right solution of the problem. I believe that five year test will give the American peo- pie the right answer An ource of ex- perience is worth a ton of theory.
 There are those who may say that 1 an extension of five years for such test will mean government ownership. Personally I do not believe it. But
 whether such test will indicate that the ultimate solution shall be govern ment ownership or modified form of private ownership under effective fed eral regulation, should not cause us to
 hesitate or refuse to act
 1 If congress does not extend the time
 for government control, said MT.
 McAdoo, the railroads should be re- (Continued page sixl