The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-07-29
RAILROAD CONSOLIDATION.


fcient traffic away from rivals to become pros
porous These roads are not so vital to the COM
munity because the competing roads afford the
transportation required.
Other roads are weak as result Of mistakes
| in policy, unsound financing, or bad manage
mont: and many because building, in the first
instance mover was justified by the traffic OBJ
ltanable.
All weak roads, however, are put in the
same category in the discussion seeking relief
for them, regardless of the cause of their con-
dition or the public necessity for more service
than they are now performing.
There is insistence by some authorities on
railroad affairs that all the railroads of the
country should be consolidated into a few large
lsystems-from twelve to twenty-five In number
lin order that the weak may be supported by
the strong.
| By merging the poor roads with the prosper
Gus in large traffic territory, it is said that
rates could be made which would yield fair
return on the property whole, which, with
out such consolidation, would impoverish some
and enrich others.
The advocates Of consolidation however, fail
to point out how their plan will accomplish this
object For example, it is not apparent how the
credit of the New York Central, or the Pennsyl-
vania or the Chicago and Northwestern, or
the Burlington, or the Union Pacific, or the At
Ilantic Coast line would be improved by merging
| them with their poor and Improbable neighbors
and rivals
Instead of improving the credit Of the weak
road the only effect of the project would be to
impair the credit of the strong road The in
evitable effect would be to reduce the average
of the credit of all the railroads, is the concus
ion of President Lovett.
| Mr.. Lovett's argument against consolidation
is sound sense and mi ght we'll be needed by con-
gress in it's consideration of the plight of the
railroads.
The federal electric railways commission ap
pointed by President Wilson to investigate the
street railway situation and to recommend
measures of relief, has begun its hearings at
i Washington. So far the testimony given has
been in behalf of the railway companies. It has
been largely plea to the public to regard the
Iproblem impartially, the belief being that a
recognition of the simple facts must inevitably
support the contention that increased fares are
necessary While the cost Of service has been
advancing steadily during the last few years,
the public has refused to accept an increased
fare A persistence of this attitude it is held,
will bring ruin to owners Of the properties, dis
charge of employees, and deterioration Of service
to the public The tendency toward bankruptcy
is already well defined and the specter Of mu-
nicipal ownership has arisen. The street rail
way men hold that in addition to other diff
culties they have been forced to endure the con-
sequences of government control, but that they
are not permitted to make such readJustments
of rates as the results of this control impel them
toward The commission has no authority to
enforce it's recommendations, but it is believed
it's findings will have great influence upon
public opinion.
With the evident view of justifying the ac-
ton Of the president in urging Henry Ford to
become a candidate for senator, the New York
World attempts to break the effect of the dis
closure of his intellectual limitations by pointing
out that the oss-examining lawyers would
have found him we'll informed about ignition
sparks and other things a motor vehicle re-
qrlires. This may be so, or it may be that Mr.
Ford buys his technical knowledge of these mat
tiers of experts who have it for sale. But in any
event it is not such knowledge that qualities
citizen to be senator of the United States or
to set up as publicst or molder of public opin-
ion. A man who is mechanician and nothing
more would be ridiculously out of place in law
making body or in a pulpit or on bench Mr.
Ford as senator would have been joke, and
Michigan and the whole country know it now.
| Jack Dempsey says that he is going to be a
fighting champion He wasn't doing much
fighting about this time last year, when the
/ IL