New-York tribune., 1919-01-31
GuARANTEE
v,,trrR oF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Clouded Vision

PROPOSES TO spend for bcttermsnts and
inurevements this year is half billion
dollars. From any point of view TINS is
clearly Inadequate. 1t is certainly un-
timely 1t is less than the average .eX-
nenditures Of the reads under private
management in, say, five years preceding
government operation. and half billion
row IS the equivalent Of perhaps a quar-
ter Of billion then, owing to the inter
vening rise in wages and the cost Of
equipment and materials.
The net capital Of the steam roads is
very near to twenty billion dollars. Even
be-terments and improvements at the
rate Of per cent a year would mea-,
therefore. @ billion dollars annually.
And as far back as 1907 James j. Hill
made the historic statement that for i'm
provements and extensions a full billion
year was then needed by the railroads
for at least seven years following to
bring them up to the level Of the require
ments Of American industry and trade
They have never had it. 1t is notorious
that expenditures in the four years pre-
ceding 1917 were skimped to the bone
partly because Of lack Of funds and
partly because Of the refusal of the In
terstate Commerce Commission to grant
larger increase in rates. 1t was ir
part because Of this skimpng that with
the great rush Of war business in the fall
# 1917 there came the so-called 'break-
down of the roads which was made
pletyxt for their seizure by the govern
ment If the roads had been in prime
condition they could have met even the
unprecedented demands of war.
They were not in prime condition then,
and they have not been improved any
under governmental operation. On the
contrary, we quoted recently from The
Rai1coy Age the estimate of some rail
way experts that the deferred main
tenance-m maintenance alone to say moth
ing Of improvements-for the year Of
governmental operation was fully $780,
100000. If this be true, how can an ex-
penditure Of half billion, at present
price and costs, be remotely adequate,
even if to this is to be added 286 millions
more for equipment ordered last year but
not delivered?
When the government took hold a year
ago the roads themselves made estimates
Of the needed improvements that then
toealled 81 ,30O0Q0.000. If we add to this
s5oo.o0o00o Of deferred maintenance
and deduct last years expenditures the
minimum amount now needed would Ger
tsinly be above billion dollars. 4 bold
and courageous railway policy would
probably make it much more. There is
q double reason now for such bold and
fore-.eated management. The FIRST Of
these is the obvious unemployment prob
len, which VIII bring increasing difficult
les probably up to midsummer or later.
Large expenditures now by the railways
ni1at readily give just that push-of or
fp that industry and business now
e,a awaiting
b9' there IS q much larger reason. If
fae isagmeat of cur most forosiphled
business men and fnanciers is to count
for anything the next few years viii be
hgomiae 'imes for Industry in This cooa-
try We have the cash and the goods
.r. ftf r.r,r.~.rtttrf.,- e.rG .,>l.i,.,, ..>,~,.
ao<ae fof another period Of remarkable
aaeastr.al expansion Contrary to wide
pseal achcf, there has been no such
general Industrial expansion in thcsfour
years " var. Immense munitions FAC
tories no~ bring dismantled are mute
testimony to this fact. II this expansion
comes our railroads VIII be as little
eqg.ppec n meet IL ~ they wcre to meet
Tie emergency IS 1914
u oosergers of railroad aNairs one of
inc grcat wealoe ses of operation bq in
e'ua1al companies vas the disposition
- cDrlaA ezpend.t0res ia dull times and
then - rush forward improvements at On.
apex u pro perity The result were in
eafaoiy mike r. the poqernroent can
nj dp bettef in tais single regard il has
certainty Deen at'e n ahom no pycat
pperatiye resDIts IN any ether NH and
fae fise ~ rats has been sorocfajng Dro.
dsgipsn n Tho salluay administration
eanhDt meet thc prescnt pbgiou4 cncr-