The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1919-06-11
new RAIL PLANS
ON SOUND
Congress Determined to Make
Certain Future Growth Of
Transportation Facilities.
PLANS AGREE ON PRINCIPLES.
Return Of Roads to Owners With
Assurance Of Adequate
Revenues.

l
ting the railroads back on peace
basis. These 100000 miles Of steel
highways were taken over by the Gov
eminent as an indispensable arm Of
the national defense; but now that
their war service Is over, there Is a
countrywide demand that the Gov
eminent restore them to their owners
to be operated on normal American
business standards Of efficiency.
But, as has been pointed out by
President Wilson as well as by many
men In public life who have given
this subject years Of careful study,
1t is not enough simply to say to the
railroad companies, take these rail-
roads and give the country the best
transportation service that money and
brains can provlde.p
Old Laws obstruet Growth.
The President recently said that It
would be a serious mistake to return
| to the old conditions Of railroad regu-
lation without reforming the anti
quated laws that were Obstructing the
free development Of transportation fa-
cilities. The Director General Of Rail.
roads has recently made an inspection
trip from coast to coast, and he has
been telling the people that the time
has now come to put the railroads on
a sound foundation.
The plans for better system Of
national control Of railroads are as
varied as were the plans for banking
and currency reform when Congress
received a mandate from the people
to provide insurance against financial
panics. The public now demands in
surance against breakdown Of rail-
road transportation, and the new Con-
gress is undertaking this work as Sec
ondary only to insurance against In
ternational warfare Congress solved
the banking problem seven years ago
as a non-partisan issue, In which all
the people had common interest, and
Congress evidently Is tackling the
railroad problem with the same spirit.
While the many plans that have
been proposed differ in the methods
to be adopted in reaching the desired
goal, 1t has been pointed out by Sena-
tor Cummins Of Iowa that all these
plans have really very much in COM
mon-so much so that he Is confident
that Congress will have little difficulty
in framing a bill that will meet with
popular approval, and that will take
the railroad question out of politics
for many years to come.
Many Plans With One Aim.
The Iowa Senator has q command
ing position in this Congress because he
is the ranking member Of the Interstate
Commerce Committee Of the United
States Senate, and 1t Is In this COM
mlttee that the new railroad bill will
take final form. In an address before
a national meeting Of business men
at st. Louis Senator Cummins stated
that since the close of the war fully
thirty complete plans for new railroad
legislation had been submitted to him
by business men, economists, bankers,
railroad officials and owners, Govern.
ment officials, railroad workers and
just plain citizens.
The basic principles upon which all
of these plans, with one exception
agree are as follows:
I. Private operation 10 more effl.
Client and more economical than
Government operation, and the
public interest will therefore be
served by return Of the roads to
private management.
2. To make certain that new
capital will be attracted to the
expansion Of railroad facilities,
there ought to be greater certain.
ty that a fair return will be earn.
ed on the investment.
| 3. The merging Of weak and
strong roads into large competing
systems should be encouraged.
The making Of a formula to pro.
vide fair return on railroad capital
seems likely to be the phase Of the
problem most thoroughly debated in
Congress. The Director General has
been urging that the Government
ought to guarantee a certain return
and share In any excess earnings
Leading bankers, especially some OF
the international bankers In Wall
street, who have in the past marketed
many hundreds Of millions of railroad
securities, also look favorably on the
suggestion Of Government guaran.
tee, which will make 1t easier to sell
new securities, ana will also stabilize
the market for the old bonds and
stocks.
- Government Guarantee Opposed.
But the proposal that the Govern
ment shall guarantee the interest and
dividends on private capital invested
In railroads will undoubtedly meet
with very vigorous opposition In many
quarters. Even railroad executives
who might be supposed to take kindly
to the Idea Of Government guarantee
against failure, have frankly stated
that they do not want 1t, because they
believe 1t is un-Amerlcan In principle
would tend to lessen efficiency. ant
would involve the roads In a Govern
ment partnership that would lnevita
bly, lead to Government ownership.