The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-10
Director-Gencfal Illness Fight for
the Bill Paying Public.

0luCSb Etkut tUf
the Bill Paying Public.
No man in this country is striving
to do better public service than the
DirectorGeneral Of Railroads when
he resists the power of Government
pressure to drive the coseof American
transportation higher.
The railroads are not earning now,
BY hundreds Of millions Of dollars a
year. the nero rental which the Gov
eminent must pay for them. This
means deficiency taxes on the public
to make up the shortage-defciency
taxes on top Of Mr.. MoADoo's increased
freight and passenger charges approx
imating billion dollarsAa year.
Yet the Government itself, having
taken part in fixing prices. wants the
railroads to pay more for steel than
the steel is worth to them as bust
ness proposition. The Government It.
self wants the roads to pay more for
coal than the coal is worth to them as
a business proposition. The Govern
ment itself wants the roads to pay
more for labor than the labor is worth
to them as a business proposition.
See what the single item Of coal
means to the American people who
must foot the bills. In 1917 the coal
bills of the railroads were S150,0O0,-
900 more than in 1915. But the
Bureau of Railway News and Stats
tics is authority for the announcement
that in December, 1918, coal was
costing the Railroad Administration
approximately "a per cent. more than
in December, 1917. Its estimate is.
IL the prices Of December, 1918, are
maintained throughout 1919, that the
coal bills of the railroads will go up
another $75,000,0o0 to $4,000, 900
this year.
After the hundreds OF millions of
dollars of wage increases on the rail-
roads there are still being negotiated
new scales which will add TO the pay
rolls somewhere between $50, 900
and S1o5,OoO,OOO more a year. And
thus the bills run up and up while the
ability of the roads TO meet them falls
lower and lower.
Director-G General HINES knows, as
practical railway operator. as a
business man, as man of common
sense, that when the roads are al.
ready hundreds of millions OF dollars
behind the net earnings required to
pay the mere rentals they cannot
take on hundreds of millions more OF
operating expenses, in wages, in coal
prices, in costs of other material
without utter financial wreck. They
cannot earn the rentals, they cannot
earn fixed charges-if things keep or
going from bad to worse as they have
gone ever since the Government begar
to operate them the roads cannot
even be sure of meeting their pay rolls
without still higher freight rates and
still higher passenger rates.
There cannot be increases of traff1C
charges without higher costs goinl
into every article that is shipped from
producer to consumer-and thai
means everything the American peo
pie eat, everything they wear, every
thing they otherwise use.
The American people are alread!
paying a penalty for Government rail
road operation of some two billions
of dollars a year. Are they not TO b.
permitted to escape paying in thu
near future a penalty of possible
three billions of dollars year? i
Government railroad operation, in II
last development, going to cost TIT
American people more than It cos
them to fight and win the war?