Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-01-21
TUESDAY ......JANCARY q, 1919
RAILROADS AND UNEMPLON-
NSNT.

with hundreds OF thousands of I'M
employed men in the country, and
with unemployment increasing daily
as soldiers are discharged and war
workers lose their jobs, not mile of
new railroad S. being built. not side
track is being extended not "A dollars
worth of improvements is being made
anywhere, because the roads are in
the hands of the government, ana no
action is being taken to release them
from its grip.
The railroads are the greatest en-
ployers of labor in the United States
When the war came on roads--par-
ticularly the Santa Fe-had planned
to build a number of branch lines to
their main line. There is little doubt
that a road into the San Juan cOun-
try would have been built by this
time. and the construction Of the Col
mar cutoff was assured.
But the government now has its
hands on the funds of the roads, and
it will not build a foot of new road,
But the proposal is that the grip on
the roads be continued for five years
to determine whether government
ownership is a good thing or not
The railroads, on the other hand,
ask that congress relieve them from
the ruinous restrictions imposed by
the Sherman antitrust laws and from
the regulations of the Interstate Com
merce commission and the various
state commissions.
In order to secure this relief it is
suggested by the roads that a secre-
tary of transportation be created. and
that the Interstate Commerce COM
mission become railroad court.
The Interstate Commerce commits
sion has assumed legislative powers,
IT has made laws for the roads. 1t
has indicted the roads. as though it
We're court. 1t has tried and con-
victed the roads and sentenced them.
Then it has acted as sheriff or mar
shall in executing its own sentences.
There are three things which must
enter into the fixing of railroad rates:
Fair interest on the money invested,
adequate wages for the men employed
and the best service of the public
consistent with wages and interest.
If the government should take over
the roads freight and passenger rates
would be higher than under private
management because the government
is VIGOROUSLY inefficient in manage
ment of business. Wages would be
lower than under private manage
ment because the people would con-
stantly clamor for better service than
the government would give and at
lower rates.
Candidates for congress soon would
be running on economy platforms, and
the economy would be brought about
in wage reductions. There will al
ways be vastly more consumers than
there are railroad employees, and the
consumers would win in the fight very
quickly
But the worst phase of the. matter
right now is the unemployment that
could be largely prevented if the
railroad companies had chance. Fol
lowing the civil war was the greatest
era of railroad construction this coun
try ever has seen, and the number OF
branch lines that would be construct
ed during the next five years probably
would more than equal the mileage
of the period from 1865 to 1872.
For the government to hold its grip
on the transportation lines of the
country and make no provisions for
the employment of the unemployed.
is worthy of and will receive the Sc
Vorest public condemnation.