Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-03-09
RAILROADS UNDER
COVE EMINENT NOT
EFF |C|ENT; VAST
LABOR INCREASE.
On the Pennsylvania Railroad
Alone Nearly 10000 More
Employees in 1918 Than inI
1917 Less Business,
EXPENSES MUST BE CUT
TO PREVENT DISASTER
President Elliott of Northern
Pacific FaVorS Secretary of
Transportation to Supervise
Traffic Lines,

10y MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED w'Rsl
Chicago. March S.-The early re-
turn of the railroads to operation by
the companies which own them and
the passage of constructive legisla-
ton to enable private operation to be
made successful, were advocated by
Howard Elliott, chairman and pres
ident of the Northern Pacific rail-
way, in an address before the Com
mercial club of Chicago at a dinner
here tonight.
MIR. Elliott presented some data
which brought out contrasts between
the situation of the railways under
private and under government opera
ton.
THE Pennsylvania system" he
said, furnished 1872 per cent of the
total ton mileage and II IL per cent
of the total passenger mileage of the
steam roads of this country. On De-
cember 81, 1917, that system had
233,600 employees. and on December
81, 1918, it had 273,101 employees. AL
though the ton mileage handled in
1918 was less than in 1917 (the rail-
ways being in the year 1917 under
private controD, nearly 10000 more
employees were required to handle
the smaller volume of business
Costs More: Does less.
These statements are not made in
criticism of the railroad hdministra-
ton or of members of It, but simply
to emphasize the point that the sys-
tenn of government operation is not
productive of the best results With
the same railroads little better
equipped in 1918 than in 1917, and
the same officers and men but with
different organization and direction,
and with the head men working as
hard as human beings could work,
and with vast war power and free
dom from restrictive laws, govern
ment control had the effect of reduc-
ing that tireless energy and individual
initiative so important to the success
of any enterprise, and the total out
put of the railroads was less than in
1917 and was very much more costly
to the country.
The railway executives do not be-
lieve in the so-called regional plan
under which all of the railroads in a
given territory are to be merged into
one system. They believe that our
geographical. economic and social
| conditions are so different from those
existing in foreign countries that we
must solve our problem in our own
way and not adopt a plan because
some other nation may have experi-
mented with it.
Must Absorb Weak Lines.
Small, unsuccessful and so-called
weak lines that are depending upon
their connections with the great trunk
lines, must gradually tbe absorbed
and become part of the larger sys-
TENS; just as has been done in the
past.
Regulated competition, especially
as to service, should be continued be-
tween the great systems.
! What is called the labor question,
| is of course, one of the most serious
and difficult confronting the whole
world, the railroads in particular, and
there must be a broad view of it and
a spirit of give and take by all classes
| OF people. All good citizens desire
TO see wages and living conditions
improve but there is limit to what
commerce and industry can pay and
survive. 1t is surely better to have
! reasonable wages and continuous en-
! ployment rather than to force wages
SO high that industry languishes, for
| then the. wage earners themselves will
suffer most of all.
AN effective transportation ma
chine is vital to the interests of the
! nation in war and peace. It's i'm
! portance justifies having a man in
the cabinet to confer on an equality
with other cabinet officers dealing
/ with great national questions and re-
| sources, and to present the transpor-
tation needs of the nation directly to
the president and his advisers. He
VIII not manage and operate the
| railroads any more than the secretary
of agriculture manages and operates
the farms of the country.
Would Reduce Initiative.
Some have suggested that the gov
eminent guarantee a fixed return
upon railroad property The railway
executives believe that a guarantee
would tend to reduce initiative and re-
tard efficiency management, and they
/ do not ask for it, They believe with
| adequate rates, reasonable liberty to
/ act, and good management, roads that
have been wisely planned, honestly fl
| nanced, and well managed can sustain
| themselves Poorly located or unwise-
| ~ promoted or badly financed roads
| tn nj I,