The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-08-10

The man who doubts that the nation il
going, within the next few months, TO
be brought face to face with u similar
crisis is blind.
do the ll0, 900 900 people of the
United States. of whom at least so per
cent are opposed to government owner.
ship and favor II return of the rail
roads to operation by the companies,
intend to let the labor leaders. by
threatening or calling strikes force the
tax paying public to buy the railroads
and assume complete responsibility for
their financial results, and then force
the public to turn the railroads over
to the employees to manage? If the pub.
lie doesn't intend to submit to this, it
must begin very soon to manifest its
purpose to the president and the con
gress of the United States and to de
mand that they adopt effective meas
ures for the pubic's protection.
at is easy to sympathize with the
complaint of the employees that the
benefit of the billion.dollar a year ad
vance in wages which has been given
them under government operation has
| been nulified by the increase in the cost
of living. The real question, however.
is whether the railway employees are
better entitled to further advances in
wages than the public is TO immunity
from the increase i'm taxes or in freight
and passenger rates which u further
advance in wages would make neceS'
sary. The claim made for the employees
plan of government ownership and
employees management that it would
stop increases in the general cost OF
living, and even cause reductions in II,
is of all claims that could be made for
II the most preposterous. 1t is said
that Il large saving in the railway cap.
ital charge would be made under this
plan because the government could is.
sue bonds bearing per cent interest
TO buy the roads. But everybody knows
that the government had finally to pay
"a per cent interest 10 raise money
to carry on the war: and that govern.
ment bonds are now selling in the mar
ket at rates that yield practically per
cent: and ii is an insult to the intel.
igence of the American people to claim
that the government could raise at
per cent the many billions that would
be required to buy the railroads.
Second it is claimed that if the
railroads were turned over to the man
agement Of board two thirds of whose
members were appointed by persons
on their roll. vast economies in operat'
ing expenses could be effected by uni
fled operation and better cooperation
between the officers and employees. But.
we have unified operation already at
least 80 per cent of the railroad oper
ating officials of the United States are
Of the opinion that the Plumb plan
would destroy the last vestge of eff |
cheney in the operation of the railroads.
Now. whatever would destroy efficiency
in the operation of the railroads would
necessarily tend to increase the cost of
living.
"If the railroad labor organizat tions
were disposed to rely entirely upon
propaganda for the promotion OF the
Plumb plan their advocacy of 1t would
afford no ground for concern. Any |
person with even an elementary knowl |
edge of economics and railway opera
ton can demonstrate that the Plumb |
plan is economically unsound in every |
particular and that its adoption would |
result disastrously to the public and
in the long run to railway employees
themselves. But unfortunately it is |
daily becoming more evident that the
railroad labor organizations do not in
tend to rely entirely on propaganda to
secure the adoption of their plan"