New-York tribune., 1918-08-23
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
C lR: My attention has been called to an
4 editorial in The New York Tribune of
August 10 headed, "Government Rail-
roads," we'll as to an article headed
after Seven Months-The Effects of Rail-
road Unifcation," published on August S,
in the same paper.
Both these articles criticise government
administration of the railroads with an
affectation of patriotic tolerance which
seems to assume that it is an evil that
must be endured during the war despite
its alleged ineffcency
Briefly, the grievances complained of are:
Cd The advance in freight and passenger
(2) The abolition of the through bill of ladins
tor export freight and the cancellation of export
and import rates.
(S) The dismissal of solicitors who took an
interest in the handling of the traffic? and the
consoidatlon OF freight and ticket Offices
go The withdrawal Of the credit previously
allowed in the matter of freight charges which
must be paid before or upon the delivery
of the goods unless the consignee gives bond
(5) The difficulty of getting information re-
gardinG tariffs and rates.
el The dscontinuance of package car service
between important jobhing and consuming sec.
'O The withdrawal of the shippers right to
route lnelr frelyht as they chose.
In support of the claim that these changes
have nconvenienced the public without in
creasing the efficiency or carrying capacity
OF the railroads, the editor Of The Tribune
comments as follows upon the recently pub
lished statistical statement of railway oper-
ating details and results for the first five
months of government operation, which
ended May 81, 1918:
GOVERNMENT RAILROADS
We have now some details to the first five
months Of government operation of the RAILWAYS
and while it is far too soon to pass any juda-
mcnt, two facts stand out very strongly and are
worthy of note.
The first is that in these five months, on the
face of the figures. the roads carried slightly
less ton-mcage than in 1917. This in spite of
the tremendous pressures Of war and of the
known increase in many lines Of production, is
certainly very significant. Extra traffic has
been carried in other ways largely. as we know,
by motor trucks
The second fact Is that the number of ava;la-
bic locomotives and remained practically the
same as in the first part of 1917. There was no
increase The roads were taken over for their
supposed inefciency But the government with
ali Its money and power. has found it easier to
acquire experience than to increase the efficiency
of the railroad machine
After five months Of unlimited credit and
power there IS no increase in cars or locomotives
or rail movement, tonnage hauled. To move
their increased traffic the industries of the coun-
try have had to resort to the highly expensive
carriage by motor trucks country roads
This may have been unavoidable. and the rail-
way administration. like the fuel bureau may
have done everything possible. 1t may prove
its wonderful efficiency and high superiority in
time. We merely point out that there is no
evidence yet that the government is performing
miracles that might not have been expected of
the roads themselves if they had simply had
enough money to go ahead in their ordinary way