The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-01-15
FOLLY OF eovERNMENT OWNERSHIP.


FOLLY OF GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP.
1t is inevitable that there should be more or
! less speculation as to whether federal opera
ton of railroads will lead to federal ownership;
| but the weightiest opinions on the subject are
that such a change would not be for the pubic
good The subject is informingly discussed in
the Railway Age, which regards the step taken
| by President Wilson as strictly and solely
war measure. SIT has been interpreted by adj
vocates of government ownership says the
/ Age, ''as long move in the direction Of the
adoption of that policy The president does not
regard or intend it as such. He is understood
on principle to be opposed to government own
ership Furthermore the step is not
due to any avoidable shortcomings of the man.
agements of the railroads. President Wilson
made this as clear as possible in the statement
which he issued in announcing his PLAN
| 1t is considered probable that unregulated
Iprivate management is thing Of the past and
that majority of the people favor private own
ership with better regulation. The number of
those who are inclined to government owner
ship is large, but the facts and arguments when
fully understood are all against it.
| The investment in roads and equipment in
the United States amounts to eighteen billion
dollars, and our recent experience in floating
loans enables us to realize more fully than be-
fore what vast sum this is, what an enormous
transaction it would be for the government to
buy the roads, and the difficulty of raising the
capital required for the purchase of three per
cent. bonds at par as has sometimes been pro-
lposed. And the tremendous task of managing
the roads and making them pay the earnings
they have paid in the last five years is also ap-
parent on reflection. Our government has four
b1vC 4loo
The acquisition of the roads would add about
one million, eight hundred and fifty thousand,
making the total two and quarter millions
This huge volume of voters and their friends
would hold the balance Of power between the
political parties, and who can say how soon
they might act together to promote their inter
ests as against that Of the public? Government
regulation has put the railroads out of politics.
Government ownership would bring them back
with a greater and more malignant power than
| they ever have exercised.
The proof is ample that no railroads by any
government are as efficient-give as good
service at as low rate-as roads in
the same country or others that are privately
owned. The best managed state railways be-
fore the war were those Of Prussia; but they
never handled as much traffic in proportion to
| their operating expenses as the private rail
ways VI rance. Lie private railways OF Can
ada are more efficient than the government
owned Intercolonial; and the private railways
Of the Dominion and the United States move
more passengers and freight in proportion to
their operating expenses than any other rail
ways in the world and at the same time paw the
highest wages.
The more deeply the matter is considered.
the more it is studied in the light of the expert
ence of other lands, the more certain it seems
| that government acquisition of the roads would
be colossal and disastrous blunder
No competent humorist has improved the OBJ
portnity offered by the governments calling
off the supreme court from interfering with
business combinations because it finds lust such
combination on an unprecedented scale 1eces-
sary to its own safety.
| The scrap of paper business is no doubt
influencing the bosheviki in their desire to ne
gotiate peace conditions before neutral wit
nesses in Stockholm.