The north Mississippi herald., 1919-09-05
BRYAN HAS PLAN
FOR GOVERNMENT
TO OWN RAILROADS
Tell Senate Committee Govern
ment Ownership Has Never
Really Been Tried.-Advo-
Gates Dual State and Federal
Ownership as Solution of
Road Reorganization.

William Jennings Bryan laid be-
fore the House Interstate Commerce
Committee his dual plans of state and
fedora Ownership of railway lines as
a solution of railroad reorganization
problem. In doing so the former
secretary of state denounced private
ownership of railroads as indefensible
and intolerable, and characterized
railroad magnates as political corrup-
tionists.
Have Never Tried It.
1--WE have never tried government
ownership" declared Mr.. Bryan, re-
ferring to the administration. A SUBJ
sidized newspaper never thinks to tell
that the private owners could not run
the railroads. The government has
been only in temporary control, and
the roads in the hands of those who
wanted to see government ownership
fail so they could get the roads back"
Mr.. Bryan advocated that the fed
eral government own a skeleton
trunk line system, reaching into ev-
cry state, which in turn would own
the other carriers within the state
boundaries. His plan, he estimated,
would cost the government four or
five billion dollars, while state owner
ship would be decided by the people,
who might decide for temporary pri-
vate ownership.
The committee also heard s. Davies
Warfield, who said his railroad plan
for minimum interest return of six
per cent on rails securieties through g
mandatory adjustment of rates by the
Interstate Commerce Commission
was in principle endorsed by "fifty
million persons owning or directly in
terested in railroad securities" Rep
resentatives of the coastwise ship
ping companies urged that port-to-
port rates should not be put under
control of the Interstate Commerce
Commission in reorganization legis-
lation.
Railroads a Monopoly.
Arguing against private monopoly,
Mr.. Bryan said the railroads must be
considered monopoly, and that ''no
one can defend a private monopoly
unless he has so much stock in it that
it silences his conscience" Under
private monopoly, he said, group of
men the owners, comes to distrust
popular government, while the vic
TINS driven to despair become sus-
ceptible to the seeds of anarchy"
Agrees With Plumb Plan.
!. Mr.. Bryan agreed with the funda-
mental principle of the Plumb plan
that the government should own the
roads, and such naturalization, he
asserted, to be better than private
monopoly. His most vital objection
to naturalization was the concentra-
ton of power in Washington, but this
he said was to be preferred to ssthe
magnates in New York.
As for political power under a ma
tionalization scheme, Mr.. Bryan de-
clared the government could do no
worse than private ownership, for the
railroads have been in political CIR
cles every day for the last 25 wears. /"
Senators and representatives, state
officials and others have been elected
because of railroad influence, he
charged, while the railroad lobbyists
have been corrupting and coercing
every one they could.
Questioned by Winslow.
Representative Winslow, RepubIi-
can, Massachusetts,, questioned Mr..
Bryan at length about railroad infiu-
ence In Congress, declaring that in
his experience that legislation was de-
cided solely on its merits, and that a
member never had an opportunity to
profit through undue influence. In
reply Mr.. Bryan reiterated his
charge, saying it was backed by gem
eral knowledge common in many
communities.