Evening journal., 1919-08-09
Reaching After an Ell by
the Men Who Got an Inch
Why Broherhoods Think They Can Have the Railroads Turned
Over o Them
From the Philadelphia Evening Ledser.)

It Is not government ownership oi
railroads which IS proposed by Tho
"Big Four" brothcrhoods in the Sims
bill introduced in the House OF Repre-
sentatives last Saturday.
1t Is railroad ownership by the rail-
road brotherhOOds for The benefit oi
the railroad brotherhood.
Government bonds would be issued
IL is true, to buy the roads, but the
government would not control them
They would be in the hands Of a
hoard OF fifteen directors. Represent
ing The public? No. Representing the
operators.
Five OF the directors would be APP
pointed by the President, five by the
operating officers and five by the en-
ployes. Ten OF the fifteen would be
men paid out OF the receipts OF the
roads and, unless we misunderstand
the purposes OF the brotherhOOds, every
one of the ten would be a creature OF
the employees. They would insist that
the general superintendent, the di-
vision superintendenis, the freight and
passenger agents, the superintendents
OF mechanical equipment and the like
should ultimately be appointed from
the ranks OF the engineers and con-
ductors and at the nomination OF these
employees.
This. they tell US, Is the democrati-
zstion OF industry.
II may be, but it is not operation OF
the railroads in the interests Of the
users OF them. lt is not government
ownership as that term is understood
anywhere in the world at the present
time.
The plan OF purchase is that govern
ment bonds are Go be issued TO pay for
every honest dollar" put in the roads.
The courts are 20 decide what dollars
represent the honest investment and
what do not. This leaves the sum re-
duired in grave uncertainty The out
standing stock and funded debt OF the
railroads amounts 20 more than St,-
oOoO0oOO0 and about sS50,0O0,0OO a year
is paid in interest and dividends on the
bonds and stock. The average dividends
In normal years earned on more than
half OF the stock are between 6 and z
per cent.
To force the holders OF these Sc
curities 10 exchange them for 4 per
cent. government bonds would be a
form Of cOnflscation. Only a madman
thinks that the government could float
siO,OO0.OOOOOO worth of bonds at any
time in the near future with which TO
20 into the open market and buy the
securities al what they are worth. But
the proponents OF the plan would have
the government size the roads and COM
pei the owners or the securities TO ac-
cept what it chooses TO give.
They want 10 get hold OF the prop
erty SO that they can get hold OF the
surplus earnings; for their plan pro-
yides for an "euaql division" Of this
surplus after fixed charges and oper-
ating costs are met between the en-
ploycs and the public, with an ''autO-
matic reduction Of rates" when the
share OF the employees in the surplus is
more than ) per cent. OF the gross
operating revenues. On the basis OF
The latest available figures, this would
he when the share Of the employees was
greater than sis0,OO0OOO a year
Does any one believe that there would
ever be any automatic reduction in
rates. The railroad men are now ask
ing for higher wages. When they con-
trolled ten OF the fifteen directors under
their plan there would be so little that
there would be little TO divide and none
TO reduce rates.
Under the present system Of owner
ship the men have had their pay in