The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1919-09-19

respect 10 Jhe aggregate property
investment account as submitted by
the railroads.
1t is upon this fraudulent invest
ment account which the United
States Chamber of Commerce and
the financial interests behind ID
ask Congress to compel the Amer4
lean people to pay over 6 per cent
in yearly returns.
We charge that wherever the
Valuation Division of the Interstats
Commrece Commission has found
the investment account, as stated
by the carrier, equal to its estimate
ed cost Of reproduction, new. it is
due to surplus and excessive earu4
ings after ample dividends have
been declared to stockholders and
bondholders. and that these exces-
sive earnings extorted from the
public have been ploughed into tho
property and made the basis for
corresponding and unwarranted
transportation charges.
We demand investigation Of tho
statement made by President Un-
derwood, of the Erie Railroad
and, since these charges were madej
reaffirmed by him-that the rails
road employment payrolls have
been padded under Government
control in order to build a political
machine We charge that if it is
found that the payrolls have been.
so padded, the railway managers
have padded them to make the ex-
pense account under Government
control seem extravagant and
wasteful.
We charge that when the Cow
ernment took control it found the
railroads Systematically starved in
the interest of the financial groups
named. 1t found their roadbeds and
rolling stock depleted. 1t spent
hundreds Of millions of dollars to
put them in condition. We charge
that managers under the control
of these financial groups have di-
verted vast sums of the Govern
ments money for upkeep and sup
plies, not only for present needs,
but anticipating the long future
after the railroads should be re-
turned to their private looters and
dospoilers. They have piled up
these supplies for a long period Of
operation ahead, paid for out of the
peoples money at eXorbitant war
prices.
We charge that the Interstate
Commerce Commission was six
years ago directed by Congress in
the provisions Of the Valuation Act
to find and report upon the value Of
all aids, gifts, and grants made to
railway corporations, the value Of
those grants at the time made, and
the value Of the portions of the
grants still in the possession Of the
carriers at the time of valuation.
This work has not been done.
We charge that an area of land
larger than the combined areas Of
the New England States, New
York, Delaware, New Jersey, Penn
sylvania, Maryland. Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois has been given by the
United States and by State Govern
ments to the railroads without
CONDENSATION and in order to help
them build the nations highways.
We charge that Of these grants,
making all allowance for the 49,
0OO. 900 acres patented and the 35,-
600, 900 acres forfeited prior to
June 80. 1910, the greater part Of
over 4O,00O,O00 acres remains
available. The values of these
grants have been sequestered by
railway promoters or capitalized as
part of the book values Of the rail-
way properties on which the rail-
road corporations directed by the fl
nancial groups, named herein, now
ask Congress TO permit them to ex-
tort fraudulent returns from the
public
We charge that the property in
vestment accounts Of the railroads
have been fraudulently doubled
above their estimated cost Of re-
production, new, by such means as
these: the s25O,OoO.O0O in bonus
es given away to their stockholders
from 1900 TO 1910 by the Chicago.
Burlington & Quincy Railroad; by
the Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul;
the Chicago Northwestern; the
Great Northern; the Illinois Cen
tral, and the Southern Pacific. On
this s250,OO0,0 ,000 Of excess capital.
in 1913 alone, the public was COM
(CopffUnad on Tpapa EourA