The daily times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1902-1936, 1919-05-21
CUMM|NS
RAILROAD PLAN
For Returning Roads to Pri-
vate Ownership Under Gov
ernment Regulation. Value
TO BE DETERMINED

W3shin gtOn Nav 21,-ReaI-
izing that the Railroad question is
one of the most important prob
lens before the country today,
Senator Cummings of Iowa, who
will be chairman of the Interstate.
Commerce Committee in the Sixty.
sixth Congress, has made public
the outline of his plans for legisla-
ton on the disposition of the rail-
roads. The main features of the plan
are: first, that the roads be organiz-
ed in fifteen of twenty systems, al
though not on the regional plan;
second, that the government should
guarantee the roads some fixed
minimum of earnings, for example
four per cent, on their valuation
and third, that the roads should
be operated by private corporations,
organized under Federal law.
In giving his reasons for the
first of these provisions the Senator
said that it was designed to protect
the weak lines:
when a large road and a weak
road compete in the same territory
the Senator said, they must make
the same rates, and those rates
must either starve the poor or else
give it's powerful neighbor earnings
and burden on business. Putting
them together makes it possible to
provide identical rates and avoid
either starving one or over-fatten-
ing the other.''
The Senator admitted that there
would be objections from many
sources against giving Govern
ment guarantee to the railroads,
but he defended the plan as fol-
lows:
"It-the government guarantee
will be objected to as giving special
preferment and security to private
capital invested in railroads, But,
under the conditions that will be
imposed of Limited profits Gov
eminent controlled rates, and the
like, they will largely lose the at
tributes of private property. Taking
any period of three years in their
history, the roads will be found
to have averaged higher earnings
than they would be guaranteed un-
der this plan; SO the business
| community would not be losing by
| it.
Before the roads are turned over
| to these proposed new systems
their actual value will have to be
| determined. The Bureau of Val
uation of the Interstate Commerce
Commission has been engaged for
several years in making such a
valuation. In speaking of the prog
ress fthe Committee the Sena.
tor said:
Actual valuations have beer
completed of only small grouI
If roads, and these all minor ones
But on the other hand, the inven
tory of the railroad property Of
the country is about 90 per eent
finished. In addition the commits
sion has decided many of the diff
ficult questions that must be settled
in order to fix the principles, tina
when applied to the inventory, will
Gamble determination of the act
ual value. The date which tn,
Bureau of Valuation has gathered
will be of the utmost utility in tn,
final determination of value unde
plan in mind
In view of the losses sustaine,
by the roads during the last yea
and quarter an increased rat
would have to be granted, the Sen
ator said. During the time it will
take to get the law passed for tn
new plan, the companies organized
etc., the Senator favors the return
of the roads to the corporation
, moving owning them