The Pulaskian., 1918-12-06

carry through under single direction
the necessary priorities of shipments
1t would have been impossible other
wise to complete maximum production
of the factories, mines and farms with
the maximum car supply to take the
products to the ports and markets.
impossible to route troop shipments
and freight shipments without regard
to the advantage or disadvantage of
the roads employed; impossible to
subordinate, when necessary, all ques-
lions of convenience to the public re.
cessity; impossible to give the neees-
sary financial support to the roads
from the public.
But all these necessities have now
been served, and the question is, what
is best for the railroads and for the
public in the future?
Exceptional circumstances and ex-
EXCEPTIONAL methods of administration
were not needed to convince us that
the railroads were not equal to the
immense tasks of transportation i'm.
posed upon them by the rapid and
continuous evelopment of the indus
tries of the country. We knew that
already. And we knew that they were
unable to be, partly because their full
development was rendered impossi.
BILE by law and their competition made
obligatory, so that it has been impos.
sible to assign to them severally the
traffic which best could be carried
by their respective lines in the inter-
est of expedition and national econ
omy.
Conclusion of War.
1--WE may hope, | believe, for the
formal conclusion of the war by treaty
by the time spring has come. The q
months to which the present control
of the railways is limited after for
NAL proclamation Of peace shall have
been made will run at the farthest, I
take it for granted. only to January of
1921. The fill equipment of the rail-
ways which the federal administration
had planned could not be accepted
within any such period.
1.-THE present law does not permit
the use of the revenues of the several
roads for the execution of such plans
except by formal contract with their
directors, some of whom will consent,
while some will not, and therefore,
does not afford sufficient authority to
under take improvements upon the
scale upon which it would be neces-
sary to undertake them. Every APP
proach to this difficult subject mat
ter of decision brings us face to face,
therefore, with this unanswered ques-
ton
what is right that we should do
with the railroads. in the interest of
the public and in fairness to their
own
Let me say at once that have no
answer ready. The only thing that is
perfectly clear to me is that it is not
fair either to the public or to the own
ers of the railroads to leave the ques-
ton unanswered, and that it will pres
emily become my duty to relinquish
control of the roads. even before the
expiration of the statutory period, un.
less there should appear some clear
prospect in the meantime of legis-
lative solution. Their release would
at least produce any element of so
luton, namely; certainty and a QUICK
CIT Of v1,.;uofo
81 believe that it will be service
able for me to set forth as explicitly
as possible the alternative courses
that lie open to our choice. We can
simply release the roads and go back
to the old conditions of private man
agement, unrestricted competition and
multiform regulation by both State
and Federal authorities, or we can go
to the other extreme and establish
complete government control, accom-.
panied, if necessary, by actual govern.
ment ownership; or we can adopt an
intermediate course of modified pri-
vate control, under a more unified and
affirmative public regulation and I'M
der such alterations of the law as will
permit wasteful competition to be
avoided and a considerable degree of
unihcation of administration to be eff
fected, as, for example. by regional
corporations under which the rail-
ways of deflnable areas would be in
effect combined in single systems.
Prisoners Saw Eood Scan+v