The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-01-05
HOW ENGLAND RELIEVED HER
RAILROADS OF Their FINANCE
z BURDENS TO HANDLE TRAFFIC
Report By Carnegie Endowment of Special Interest in
America at Present Time Officials Enabled to De-
% vote Entire Time to Railroad Movements


Washington, D. c., Jan. Slow
England has relieved her railways of
financial difficulties during the wae
and left the managers free to devote
all their energies to moving the great
volume of traffic, is to be told in a
special report on the English railways
in war soon to be published by the
Carnegie Endowment for Information
al Peace Tho study has been made
by Prof. Frank II. Dixon of Dart
mouth, and Dr., Julius H. Parmelee of
the Bureau of Railway Economics
Because of the measures about to be
taken by the administration to unity
American railway operation and pro-
vide for the financial necessities of
the carriers, an advance abstract of
the Carnegie report is released for
public Information.
The essential features af the Eng
lish railway mobilization plan include
operation Of the lines by the same
officials and employees as before the
war with the exception. of course, of
them en- called to the colors; a cabinet
officer at the head of a committee of
railway operating officials. in exist
ence before the war, under an act of
parliament more than 40 years old;
the transport of all government bust
ness without the necessity of routine
payment for each specific service; the
guarantee by; the government to the
railway companies Of the same net
earnings that they had In the last year
of pcace; the equitable settlement Of
all labor disputes by the payment of
war bonuses. N'' ...'..
The merit of the English plan, as
stated by r. A. Mckenzie, a. British
financial authority, Is that the inter
ests of the railway shareholders hay
ing been assured, the companies were
able to devote themselves to the work
Of economical and efficient distrtbu-
ton, witout worrying over the usual
and unusual financial problems.
England declared war on Germany
August 4, 1914. At one minute after
midnight on August 5th the railroad
systems of England, Scotland and
Wales passed under the control of the
Central Railway Executive Commit
tee vested with governmental powers
under a law. put on the statute books
in 1871.
At the head of the committee is the
Chairman of the Board of Trade, a
cabinet officer heading the depart
ment roughly corresponding to the
United States Department Of Com
MERGE and Labor. The active head OF
the British committee, however, is q
railway executive, Sir H. A. Walker
of the London Southwestern Railroad
The law under which the govern
ment took over the railroads required
If to render them full COMPENSATION
Tor loss or INJURY sustained because o.
government conIroL 10 carry OUT LIE
provision OF law the government maze
an agreement with the railroad com
pan1es' the prrnc1pal FEATURES Oh WHICH
are:
l. mat the raliroaos pace tnen
entire ORGANIZATION at the olsposal O.
the military authorities ana handt
traffic IN accordance Win oifecuon
from them sz.,. ...g. J.-..
2. That the government per1oo1cal
ly pays TO- eacn ROAD sucn sums o
money as are necessary to make II
net income Tor the period equal U
its net income for the correspondent
period Of the calendar year 1913. Il
other words the last year OF peac
was taken as the basis OF payment.
Several notifications of the agree
ment have been made. The first mod
ification covers the question of fxe'
charges on new railway capital invest
ed during the war period. F1xe
charges are Of course paid out of ne
revenue. Under the agreement as orr
gtnally made 2 company compelled b
military or otf7er exigency to enlarg
n its facilities would automatically b
placed in d worse. position than roa
Accordingly, early in 1917 the govern