El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-11-13
THE PUBLIC AND THE RAILROADS;
WHAT THE PEOPLE WISH TO SEE

IN us approach TO solution Of the railroad problem
confronting the country congress should know and if it
ton should be IN the interest large public Other
wise II VIII not be real solution
This large public 10 the nature Of things not delvs
into the intucaces Of railroad financing That is the
psTcuar business Of What the public 60
Into is the matter Of general policy Of management What
the puc wants IS results The matter Of who shall
the oads and Of who shall manage them interests the
public only in far those questions bear the kind
Of service the roads would be ay to render to the public
under the various methods Of management proposed.
There two kinds Of service the public expects Of the
railroads The first is the transportation Of freight, which
for the purposes Of the discussion be said to include
and the mails The second kind Of service the
railroads are obligated to render is passenger ranspor
taton.
The economic deterioration Of any country Is In direct
proportion the decrease IN the efficiency Of railroad
service Nothing has done quite much to knit this
nation into compact whole physically, the railroads
Only the gnoramus and the bomb tossr fails to recognize
that fact With the railroads suddenly brought into dis
use this country would revert within month to thousands
little communities each entirely dependent On what II
could produce itself for its sustenance such means OF
conveyance the automobile and the arshP would help
out in temporary emergency But without OH and gas
one these could not operate tor long anc We are eney
dependent trains for the distribution Of oil and gaso-
line over large areas The unsound belief that the rail-
roa5s per bad because they may have been operated
by interruptions oVers sometimes must be educated out
Of existence
what the public wants, then. or ought to want is an
up 60 date system Of railroads, rauyng every section
Of the country and rendering the most efficient service
human direction produce 10 accomplish this there
must Be coordination among the various roaas oee-
possibly By central body To the extent necessary to
guarantee such coordination government supervision prob
ably would be feasible
What the public wants in the way Of passenger trans
portaton includes first OF all safety. The purchaser CT
ticket wants to know that the chances Of his arriving II
safety his destination are at least ses to one me
next thing the travelling public wants IS comfort ne
Utmost care should Be taken to make travel pleasant
Ths should take into account ease Cleanliness sanaon
eating facilities ventilation, etc The next thing the
public ans speed TO the utmost consistent with sa1ely
and fort Ihe travelling public wants courtesy also
Gr Indifferent employees offset all Of the oonYenences
a road offer
This Indifference very apparent during govern
ment ownership whether # due to the nature Of the
ownership, what amounted to ownership TO deib
crate plan make government ownership unpopular isn't
known What the public wants finally rate Of fare
that VII not make travel prohibtiTe. Railroad travel
should Be the least expensive Of all the methods Of trans
oraon because Of the large scae on which railroads do
business.
what the pnbEc wants in the way Of non-passenger
transportation is prompt careful and not too expensive
service Food and the mails must be distributed with
prompt regularity and in good condition Anything that
throws obstacles IN the way Of such distribution is highly
rsprehensbs regardless Of whether the obstacle be pro
aibitiVe rate or a pr0tracted strike q vorkmeu-
As 70 the question Of ownership: What VII produce
The results outEned3
Let Us suppose for moment that the employees owned
and MANAGED the roads Under such ownership and nan
arsent each nan would derive from the state the utmost
he could expect ron his share OF the ownership There
would be little If any hope Of promotion for excellent
service and there would be hope Of more profit With