Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-08-06

ference will be held tomorrow.
 Business Against U. $. Control.
 Business men of the country as represented in the chamber of com merce of the United States favor prl- vate ownership of the railroads.
 Based on a referendum of the cham ber's 67OOOO members, this announce ment was made tonight following publication of the demands of or ganized labor for elimination of prl- vate capital from railroad ownership and operation. The position of busl- ness a!so was made known in the midst of what is officially admitted to be the most serious situation faced by American transportation agen- cies.
 Announcement of the vote of 99 per cent of the business men against government ownership was accom- panied by the following explanation of the reasons actuatlng the decls- ion:
 "One-Under government owner ship the development of railroad ta- cilities would depend upon congress ional appropriations which would pre- vent the anticipation of the trans portation needs of the country. Ap- propriations would not be made In the amount and at the time needed to insure adequate developments ot the railroads. Political consldera- tions might also control the amount of appropriations and the objects for which they were made.
 Burden Too Great.
 "Two.-To acquire the railroads the government would have to pledge it's credit for IS to 20 billions of dol lars at a time, when other large fin anciering must be done. It would be the government to dispose of the se- curities required to purchase the railroads, and it would be necessary for the government to secure from 500 million to one billion dollars of new capital each year. If the gov ernment were to assume the burden of financing the railroads at the present time when the war debt is so large, it's interest rate would neces- sarily be as high as, if not higher than the rate at which corporations would secure capital.
 "Three-Governme operation IS seldom, if ever, as efficient as corpor- ate management. Competition, the incentive to efficiency and. progress ! in private enterprises, is absent from ! the government administration of af- fairs. Individual initiative is less, bureaucratic methods are more characteristic, and the services rem dered are less progressively efficient.
 "Four-While the government would presumably select officers and employees by means of efficiency tests, political influences would almost cer- tainly be given weight in selecting men for official positions.
 Charges Would Increase.
 "Five-Unless the government adopted the policy of fixing low rates and fares with the intention that any resulting deficit from opera tions should be placed as an increas. ed burden of taxes upon the general public, rates and fares would be high CT under government than under prl- vate operation. Under government operation expenses rise in relation tc income and the charges imposed by the government, if deficit is to be avoided, must be higher than those which it would be necessary to per init railroad corporations to make.
 "Six-The political effect of gov ernment ownership and operation o1 railroads in the United States might be serious. There are now about 50O.' 900 civil employees of the government An addition to the public service o1 2OOO,OOO railroad employees, the ma. jority of whom are voters, woulo constitute force of about 2,50O, ,OOO, 900 government employees interested in controlling the policy of the gov ernment as regards wages, hours and conditions of service. Such body of employees might easily exer else a controlling influence upor istate and national politics" l."
 Consider Wage Demands.
 The senate commerce committee referred to sub- committee thu question whether an investigation should be made of the new wage de Qs