The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-04-29

Just much as any other line OF INDUSTRY
They are confronted with n rapid falling !
off in business which is much more rapid |
than that confronting any other industry. |
They are confronted with conditions which /
were created during the war and which |
cannot incidentally be gotten away from. |
great deal of inexperienced labor had to |
be employed during the war because of the !!
loss of skilled labor. The railroads had |
not only to furnish their quota of employees |
to the army and navy, but in addition they |
had to furnish the entire force that was |
needed to equip and operate the American |
railroads in France. In addition to that |
they lost employees right and left to in |
Ihus a very large proportion or ineXperl1
enced labor was taken into the railroad
business. We are therefore confronted by
these two elements, each of which makes
for an unfavorable result; one is that bust
ness has fallen off rapidly that opera
tons cannot be reduced to keep pace with
tive are necessarily maintaining an oper
ating plant which could carry much more
business that,is carried and consequently
there is a very unfavorable showing on
that account with respect to operating
cost. We have not yet been able TO get
away from the war condition whereby
operating costs are high by reason of I'M
skilled labor and by reason of time that is
necessarily taken in readjusting hours of
employment and conditions to the present
situation of peace activity on subnorinal
basis. ! want to ask you gentlemen who
look at this matter in n clear-headed way
developed rs to the present unfavorable
showing that it is a matter that is inc
vitable, that is perfectly natural.
THE railroads are going thru a drastic
readjustment process after the greatest war
the world has ever known. 1t is what any
body might expect. One of the reasons
ewhy the railroads are retained for time is
in order to take care of this period of re-
adjustment. If the railroads had been
under private management they would
have been confronted with exactly the
| same sort of situation. They would have
been loaded down with war costs and they
would have been Iaboring along with an
"a cnr of
| costs. To my mind it is one of the great
| est pieces of good fortune to the railroad
| security holders that the government is
! temporarily in control of the railroads,
paying guaranteed rental for their use
| and standing in the breach and taking the
| shock of loss which is inevitable in the
period of reimbursement. 1t is quite com
| mon to hear that in industries generally
labor costs have increased 100 per cent as
| compared with the pre-war period. The
| percentage of increase has not been so
| large with respect to the railroads, but it
has been very great. and l want you to
| bear in mind that these same war condi-
| tons are exactly the conditions we are
/ having now to make the present unfavor-
able showing for the railroads of the coun-
| try.
The thing of the greatest Importance
| to the public is what is to be the perma-
ncnt solution that is to be adopted of the
| railroad question. i think it is in the
| highest degree necessary and desirable that
we approach that matter in an atmosphere
| of clear thinking rather than in an atmos-
phere of confusion. If there is n tendency
| to assume that all the high costs of the
! railroads are due to government control
| the public is deceiving itself in the most
] unfortunate way about the problem that
| confronts it. Federal control of the rail-
| roads is a fact The high costs of railroad
| operations are facts Therefore, there is
| disposition to assume that the high cost
! is due to federal control. altho practically
every other business has had the same high
| costs, fltho not federally controlled. If
| the public is led into confusion on that
point and to thinking that these high costs
or operation are merely due to federal
control and will terminate at the end of
| federal control, it is going to provide
scheme of permanent regulation which will
| fall far short of meeting the situation, and
| lie the sort of ;ailroad regulation and
| the sort of railroads which are needed IN
order to carry on the business of the
country.
Preserves Private Initiative.
81 think it is of the highest Importance
/ to preserve the benefit of the private initia-
| tive: In my judgment, therefore, there
! ought to be n participation in the profits
in excess of this low government guaranty,
so that the private mana gements of the
railroads would have an inducement to try
| 10 economiZe and to try to be more eff
! cient, and in that way get the advantage
which we get from private management
and at the same time get the definite
! tainty which We would get from direct
| government assurance that the capitaI
would have moderate and certain return
thru this government guaranty.
| seems to me ought TO be combined in order
| to work this thing out. Anything short of
| tnat is going to prove Il disappointment
ana II 1t does prove disappointing. l think
the next step the country will take will be
government ownership. In order TO avoid
| TINS the thing to do is right now to take n
pold ana radical step and have a new form
OF private management with a direct gov
eminent guaranty which will preserve the
benefits of the old arrangement and get
| past. ~
| I believe that in any form of regulation
| mat takes place in the future there ought
! railroad managements and the government
| regulating bodies than there ever has been
| an nine me past. The private arrangements have
| Iooked at the problems from their own
| viewpoint and worked them out according
| 10 thelr own notions The regulating
| bodies have worked fnngs out accor,linsr
| to their own notions, and vet all the time
| both have been dealing to n large extent
| with the same subject matter and yet have
neNer had an opportunity to get together
MY Judgment is that it would be Of i'm
mense benefit in any form of regulation
| that is adopted to provide for government
| representation on the boards Of directors
| OF the railroads and to provide that those
| government representatives on the boards
| or directors of the railroads shall be mem
| bers OF the regulating bodies which pre-
| SCRIBE the rates and regulate the service
| llsh a point of contact
| u would like to make 1t clear in con-
! ciusion that don't regard it as my func-
tloh IN any sense to try to dispose of the,
railroad problem for the future I am so
closely in contact with it, however. that
| tribute to a full discussion of the matter
Dy putting those things before YOU |
| conceive my function to be that of trying
| 70 take care of this temporary period
| OF federal control in such n way as 10 give
! the most adequate service to the public
! at rates rs reasonable and satisfactory
| as is possible after the fullest considera-
non OF every element of the public and in
| doing all that | earnestly hope | may have
your confident belief that however short !
may raIl OF 100 per cent performance yet
serve the American public in this temper
airy period and to give the best service
mat the conditions will permit and to try
TO readjust the railroad conditions on n
reasonable way to a peace basis as rapidly
| as possible
MRS. SAM WOOD IS DEAD