Baxter Springs news., 1919-05-30
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP

The experiment Of Government own
ership has been tried and found want
ing. The necessities Of the war AZ
forded an opportunity for the trial Of
Government ownership Of our rail
roads and telegraph lines such n
might not have been furnished by q
hundred years Of propaganda by those
who believe in the Federal operation
of public utilities. In a speech deliv-
cred in New York recently, Secre-
tary Of Commerce William C. Red
field expressed himself as follows on
the subject.
ut is, ! think, germane to suggest
that out of the helpful experience the
nation has had during the war and the
readjustment period with Government
operation of our great system Of in
accommodation, whether on sea,
land, or by wire, q fact has clearly
emerged which has peculiar interest
for this assembly and which points q
finger of warning to the whole cOun-
try. l do not recall that this special
phase of Government control Of COM
munication Of all kinds was seriously
discussed prior to the war, yet to my
mind it is of basic importance.
ut has by itself settled my own
judgment adversely to Government
operation, in a country as large as
this, of the great enterprises involved
in our railways, our merchant marine,
and our telegraph and telephone sys-
TENS. have called our experience
helpful because, through the work OF
the able and conscientious men who
have handled all these activities, more
was learned of the essential factors Of
the problems than was possible by
pure theorizing. Nor is there in the
background Of my thought the slight
est element Of controversy"
During the course Of his speech the
Secretary said that the chief fault to
be found with Government ownership
is "the necessary combination Of so
large a part-a controlling part-Of
the purchasing power Of the country
into q few hands or, regarding the
as a unit, into one COM
pact control. The various transporta-
ton elements named include as ! have
said q controlling purchasing power
over our industries and through them
over our labor and producers Of raw
material.
By refusing to buy or delaying buy
ing at a critical period, the Secretary
pointed out, it would lie in the power
Of this single unit to crush or cripple
industry. Should the Government be-
come a vast sOcialistic machine, con-
trolling the great transportation sys-
TENS, the telephones, the telegraphs,
The merchant marine, etc., with the
purchasing power involved
by this control, the fate Of the coun-'
try would rest in the hands Of the few
men exercising this power, and it
might cOnceivably provide a short cut
TO Imperialism.
There are many other objections to
ownership, including the
political manipulation that would in
evitably creep in, the impairment of
standards of efficiency, and the almost
imitless opportunities for "graft."
It may perhaps be claimed that the |
trial was not a fair one because pre-
,ipitated by war on an unprepared
governmental organization; and the
claim might seem reasonable were it
not for the fact that we have long had
many other glaring examples Of Gov
inefficiency in business
management, such as the failure to in
stall any budget system these many |
years; the senseless multiplicity, in
he different Government departments |
If bureaus and divisions engaged on
similar activities; the great variance |
# the business methods, or lack Of
method, Of the various departments;
he placing and continuing Of ineffi-
,ient people in responsible positions
'Or purely political reasons; and
thousand other evidences Of business
which show conclusively |
hat the best interests Of the country
lemand that the Government shall re-
luce rather than increase the scope Of
Is actual management Of purely busi-
less enterprises.