Arizona republican., 1919-01-02
.LOvETT FAVORS PRIVATE ROAD
 | W N [ RS HIP
Approves National Regula-
 tion = Believes Competi- ton Insures BetterService
 Thinks Political Control Dangerous s-Less Waste Under Corporate Control Huge Financial Task

NEW YORK, Jan. 1-Opposition to government ownership of railroads, on the ground that competition in service and facilities, but not in rates, should be preserved, was voiced in a state ment issued by Robert s. Lovett, when his resignation as director of the d. vision of capital expenditures of the railroad administration became effec- tive today.
 After asserting that there is nothing so essential to the financial peace and commercial and industrial welfaer of this country as a definite govern mental railroad policy" MT. Lovett de- clared that the necessity for exclusive national control, as against state reg ulati0n, was too obvious for discus sion, and that the only debatable question is whether such control shall be through government ownership or by exclusive federal regulation of pri- vate ownership"
 l believe in thorough regulation by the national government of all compe- tition in service and facilities, with power to check it where it amounts to an evil" he said. T should permit consultations subject to government approval, where the public benefit would plainly be promoted. particu- larly in the absorption of financially weak lines of minor importance, where by so doing the communities dependent thereon could be better served. But I would steadily preserve competition between large systems and pursue a policy of widening the competitive areas between such large systems wherever practicable"
 Competition Is Better,
 In giving his reasons for opposing government ownership, MT. Lovett as- serted that If we carefully analyze the relative merits of efficiency from unification, and the advantages from competition in service facilities, I be- lieve we will find that the latter will be very much better as a national policy He added that he also ob- jected to government ownership be- cause of the opportunity it would offer 'for promoting political ambitions would be a perpetual national scandal and expose the government to serious financial burdens"
 Expressing the fear that "the rail- road pork barrel" would in time make the other pork barrels" appear insig- nificant in comparison, MT. Lovett said:
 Every politician would be almost compelled to exert any power he pos sessed to provide places for his sup porters or improvements and facilities or rate adjustments desired by them Each congressman would be pressed by all tPe ambitious towns in his district for ato passenger stations, or other impr tements, as he is now pressed for posto1fices court houses and other public buildings; for additional and unnecessary trains to please particu- lar communities, and for the construc- ton of new railroads, extensions and branches"
 > Too Much Politics
 MT. Lovett also declared that there are other objections to government ownership, such as the political power of the employees to organize and con- trol the railroads, and the probable de- terioration in the ability and efficiency of executive and administrative off, cers under the scale of government salaries, in competition with private business"
 Consideration of any solution of the railroad problem involpes the funda- mental question of whether there shall or shall not be competition" said MT. Lovett.
 "All will agree, I beliepe, that con- petition in railroad rates is unwise and practically impossible Competition in rates cannot exist without rebates, secret rates and other kindred evils that make it intolerable. But compe- tition in service and facilities always existed until the beginning of federal control, and has really been responsi- ble for the great advance in the quality of railroad service in this country par ticularly in recent years. Its elimina- tion would mean comparative stagna- ton.
 Would Be Less Waste
 Much is said of the waste of rail- road competition. Nearly everything thus characterized is for the benefit of the public. Undoubtedly there is some actual waste, but the amount of ex-
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