New-York tribune., 1918-02-06
A Vicious PROPOSAL

A Vicious Proposal
Does the country as whole wish to
have the 100000 miles of American rail-
ways kept under governmental manage
ment and control for a year and half
after the war is ended? Or is it the in
sidious proposal Of a group of extremely
able politicians bent upon using all the
vast opportunities now at their command
toward making Mr.. McAdoo the next
President?
tor one reason or another there is a
widespread impression that our American
that they have failed to meet the great
transportation needs Of the country. This
is an almost complete misrepresentation. The
facts are that in the seven months follow
ing our declaration of war (according to the
latest figures available) the railroads car
ried greater volume of freight and a
larger number of passengers than in any
other seven months in their history--.at
| least IL per cent more freight and still
greater proportion of passengers than last
year, and cne-third more, at least, than in
any period before the war. There was no
congestion, no "break-down," save upon a
very small amount of trackage in four or
five states. South of WASHINGTON, west Of
Chicago, there was no congestion of any
kind. And this record performance of the
railways was in the face of all the confu-
sion, delays and often complete tie-ups
| caused by the reckless use Of priority or
ders which at one time nearly brought the
freight movement of the eastern portions
of the Baltimore e. Ohio, Pennsylvania and
several other large lines to standstill.
This record performance of the railways
was in face Of the fact that practically
since the war began they have been losing
their best mechanics, their best repair men
and many of their most efficient under
operating officials. Their men have been
taken by the draft, by the munition fac
tories, by the steel plants, by the shipping
plants. not by the hundreds or thousands,
but literally by the tens OF thousands. 1t
has diluted the railway ranks with a mass
OF raw, inexperienced and often inefficient
labor and heavily increased the number of
cars and engines in the repair shops and
the time that they have remained there.
The railroads have, for one reason and
another, not been able to secure an ade-
quate supply of new cars and new engines
and when our actual entry into the war
took place it precipitated a condition which
was beyond the powers Of the railroads to
meet. Shipping on the Great Lakes and
coastwise shipping were Communicated for
governmental uses, throwing the burden of
transport of large quantities Of coal des-
| tined for the Northwest and for New Eng
land on to the railroads, diverting these
shipments from their usual water routes. In
addition to this, the government comman-
deered all the engines then building in ell
the locomotive works and part of the steel
destined for car construction
This was the straw that broke the cam
els back America has the greatest, the
cheapest, the most efficient system of trans
portation in the world, and, in spite of all
the hampering restrictions which have
been thrown about it, it was able to cope
with the steadily increasing demands of
the nation, and, as the results for 1881
show. it's equipment had been kept ahead OF
actual needs, resulting in heavy car sur
plus and a corresponding loss to the com.
panies.
And while the price OF every other kind
of commodity has doubled, tripled or qua.
drupled since the war began, almost the
cheapest commodity we had has been held
down to pre-war rates. If the average oi
all commodity prices has risen nearly
100 per cent, then the average freight
rate is relatively about one-half of what it
was three years ago.
There is nothing i,s the character or the
efficiency or the management of American
railways, nothing in industrial or CONNER
cial conditions, which demands that the rail
roads should be kept under governmental
control thirty days after peace is declared
There is just one reason and one alone for
this proposal, and that is the thought of
controlling the votes of 100000 railway
men through the temptation of higher
wages.
We believe that those wages ought to be
higher, much higher, than they are to-day
They should be raised promptly and with
out delay in order that the railroads may