The sun., 1919-05-20
CANADA GETS RAIL
WARNING FROM US.
Government Ownership Advo-
Gates Hear Of Experiences
on This Side Of Border.
TAPE KILLS INITIATIVE
McAdOo's Optimistic Predic-
lions Almost Reversed by
Short Trial.
TAPE KILLS INITIATIVE
Speciay coresposds,cs 10 TEE sur

has started here TO combat the tendency
OF the Government OF Canada, which al
ready owns and operates q large part Of
the railway mileage Of the Dominion, to
assume the ownership and MANAGEMENT
or many more miles. 1t Is pointed out
that the prospective results Of its owner
ship and MANAGEMENT Of most of the
railways of the country are regarded
with apprehension by, some people in
Canada and with optimism by others.
Samuel o. Dunn, editor of the Rdthcuy
Age, In q special article In the Montreal
Daily Stor, asserts that the swing Of
sentiment in the United States has
turned to opposition against Government
ownership. with no large class in favor
of making Government operation perma-
nent except the organised employees Of
the railways and those whom their at
titude directly influences.
The effect on Canadian thought OF the
experience of governmental operation in
the United States, where the assertion L.
made In authoritative quarters that "the
touch of Government Is the hand of
DEATH" is being studied with great care
Mr.. Dunn's article is Of especial interest
both to citizens of Canada and the
United States.
U. 8. Operation Of Railroads.
Discussing the Government operation
OF railways In the United States Mr..
Dunn said in part:
Never in the history of the United
States was there q greater change OF
public opinion on any important subject
In so short time. The reasons for the
a.
almost universal disappointment at the
results OF Government operation. The
recent experience Of the United States
with its railways ought to be interesting
and instructive to Canadians at this
critical juncture in the history OF rail-
way affairs In the Dominion.
The advocates Of Government owner
ship always have claimed that under
Government operation large reductions
In operating expenses would be made.
Two weeks before Government opera
ton was adopted an advocate of Gov
eminent ownership In testifying before
Congressional committee at Washing
ton estimated that under Government
operating a saving OF 100000, 900 a
year in expenses would be made.
Three weeks after Government OPP
Grafton actually had been adopted Direc-
tor-General of Railroads MoAdoo in
testifying before q SerNte committee
estimated that he would be able by
unihcation' and other means to effect
economies which would completely off,
set the advances in wages. increases in
prices. &C, which were pending. The
outcome differed widely from these es-
Inmates.
TN 1918, during the first year of Gov
Arm iy.
crease in the operating expenses of the
railways under Government control OF
s1.l4s 900. 900, or 20 per cent. or this.
s5S3. 000o 900 was due to advances in
wages and $566.o00. 900 to other causes,
including increases In the prices OF fuel
and materials. And the end Is not yet in
sight: for all the advances In wages
made under Government control are
now running at an annual rate Of ss00.-
000. 900. while the total increase of ex-
penses is now running at an annual
rate OF $1,000. o0o, 900.
Analysing Increased Costs.
1T would Of course be unfair to
attribute all OF this increase In expenses
TO Government operation. The advo-
Gates OF Government ownership main
tain that II was not due to Government
operation at ell, but to abnormal con-
ditlons created by the war. But, as has
already been pointed out. the conditions
In 1917, with the results OF which COM
parison Is made. also were abnormal
and yet the increase in expenses in 1918,
although the increase in the traffic
handled was less than in 1917, was two
and one-half times as great as In 1917.
That a large increase in expenses would
have occurred even under private op-
Grafton Is beyond question. but that a
large part. IL not most. OF the increase
in 1918 was due to Government opera
ton is. In my opinion. quite certain.
First. the advances in wages under
private operation undoubtedly would
have been smaller.
Second, the advances In the prices
OF fuel and materials probably would
have been smaller. In an effort TO keep
down the prices II paid the Railroad
Administration adopted a highly CEN
leaving the purchase OF fuel and ma
terials in tho hands OF the individual
railways.
The GENERALIZATION Of the purchase OF
coal probably increased it's years fuel
bill by Mt least $4,000 900. 1t adopted
the policy OF centralized purchases of
equipment and materials to insure that
each railway would get its equipment
and materials as cheaply as any other
railway. The result was to force the
railway equipment and supply companies
not only 10 charge rs low prices to each
road as to others but TO charge as h ~
prices to each road as to others; and
the net result probably has been to in
crease rather than reduce the average
prices paid.
Id
ing organization adopted undoubtedly
reduced instead OF increasing the aver
age efficiency OF operation, thereby pre-
venting the effecting OF economies such
as had been effected under private OPP
Grafton and as were NEEDED to Offset part
OF the advances in wages and the in
crease OF prices.
From the day that Mr. McAdoo's
greatly overcentralized organization was
formed the success of Government OPP
Grafton in the United States, from the
economic point Of view. was doomed.
The managers OF the individual lines re-
celved so many orders from Washington
that they were kept busy carrying them
out. They were left neither opportunity
nor incentive to show enterprise and
Initiative in making improvements in
the railroad plants and In operating
omies.
some OF the operating statistics in
dictate that there were increases in
efficiency in certain directions, but as a
whole they demonstrate an actual de-
cline in efficiency. There was an In
crease In the average trainload. but this
was entirely due to an increase in the
average carload, there being a decrease
in the average number OF cars handled
per freight train.