Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-13
GOVERNMENT NOT TO BE
AN INDUSTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
Congress Is Turning Its Back on Public
Ownership Plans and Harking Back
to Sound Americanism

ownership plans.
Not so very long ago the advocates Of
progressive government socialism were
listened to on the floor of the House with
curiosity, if not always with respect, and
there were men in high executive Offices
who favored government purchase of the
railroads and telegraph and telephone
| lines, and now and then some one advo-
Gated the naturalization of the mines
and the oil wells. Indeed. less than ten
days ago former Senator Jim Ham Lewis,
| Of Illinois, expressed the opinion that the
! President in his annual message to Con-
| gress would advocate this sort Of ma
/ tionaization.
But Congress responds to public senti-
| ment almost as quickly as a chameleon
! changes color when it changes its en-
vironment. 1t is now considering two
| bills, one dealing with the return of the
railroads to their owners and the other
adjusting the relation of the government
to the merchant marine, (which under
other circumstances might have con-
tanned very different provisions.
During the debate on the railroad bill
no one was so rash as to advocate the
| Plumb plan for government purchase of
the railroads in order that the employees
might operate them. Sentiment was
almost unanimous in favor of the with
drawal of the government from all direct
connection with the operation of the
roads at the earliest possible date.
Chairman Esche, of the railroad COM
mittee, remarked in the course of his
speech that after hearing The proponents
of the Plumb plan "we were more con-
vinced than ever that government own
ership will not and ought not to be the
solution Of the railroad problem" Every
one who denounced the Plumb plan was
applauded by both sides of the House.
The experiment with government
operation of the railroads during the war
has evidently convinced the country that
it has had enough of this sort of thing
and Congress is merely rejecting the
sentiment of the people when it advances
arguments in favor of the abandonment
of government operation.
The attitude of the House toward the
merchant marine is even more signiti-
cant. For several years we have been
told that the only way by which the
American flag could be restored to the
sea was through the operation of ships
by the government over routes neglected
by private capital. Even if the ships
were not operated by the government
we were told, they should be owned by it
and leased at such rate as would en-
able the lessee to make profit.
We have had experience with govern
ment construction of merchant ships
during the war. A shipping board was
created, great shipyards were built and
we have turned out several million tons
of merchant vessels. The time has come
to adjust the shipping policy of the gov
ernment to peace conditions and what
do we see? Is Congress preparing to
continue the shipyards and to make the
shipping board permanent institution?
Nothing of the kind. The committee
on merchant marine of the House has
drafted bill. dealing with the situation.
There are twenty-one members on the
committee representing both parties. Its
bill is now before the House. Chairman
Greene, of the committee, explained the
other day that the bill had the unanimous
support of every member of the commit
tee. Former Chairman Alexander,
Democrat, to whom the duty of explain
ing its provisions was delegated, said:
The first question the committee was
called upon to determine was the present
and future policy of the United States
with reference to this vast feet-that is,
should it be permanently owned and
operated by the government or should it go
into private ownership and oneraton?
The committee in Section undertakes to
indicate to the shipping board the policy
of Congress with regard to this great feet
OF merchant vessels. and, if it is agreed
to. to declare that these vessels shall go
into private ownership and operation as
soon as practicable. In other words that
we shall develop the American merchant
marine under private ownership ms a per-
mRnent policy of the government
Nothing could be clearer or more ex-
picit than the final sentence of this
statement. When one reflects that this
expresses the well-considered conviction
of all the Republicans and all the Demo-
Gratis on the committee one is forced to
the conclusion that government owner
ship of merchant fleet is dead issue
The bill continues the life of the ship
ping board for five years, it is true, but
that is in order that it may complete
the ships now under construction and
may have time to dispose of the whole
. feet on advantageous terms.
AS to the naturalization of the mines,
the settlement of the coal strike by fed
eral interference seems to indicate that
we have about all the naturalization
that we need in order to keep the mines
in operation.
Government in the immediate future
is apparently to confne itself to govern
ing-that is, it is going to preserve
order and protect the worker and the
employer from unjust and indefensible
interference and it is going to insure to
every one the enjoyment of the right to
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