Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-01-02
 |BUT NOT COY.
 OWNERSHIP
:. s. Lovett Believes Com, petition in Railroad Rates Unwise and Impractical.
New York, Jan. 1.-Opposition to

New York, Jan. 1.-Opposit,oa to
 Avernment ownership of railroads,
 the ground that competition in
 rvice and facilities, bus not in
 tes, should be preserved, WIS
 biced in statement issued hy RoD-
 f S. Lovett. when his resi- snation
 Director of the division of capital
 kpenditures of the railroad admin
 tration became effective today.
 After asserting that ''the.e is
 bthing so essential to r'a financial
 eace and the commercial and indus |ial welfare of this country, as a
 efinite governmental railroad rcli-
 '" Mr. Lovett declared that the
 ecessity for exclusive national con- Fol as against state regulation, Was
 Cw too obvious for discussion and hat "tha only debatabie question is fhether such control shall he trough government ownership or exclusive federal regulation cf rivata ownership"
 q believe in thorough regulation the national government of all ompensation in service and facili-
 les, with power to check it where
 amCunts to an evil" he said "I hould permit consultations, subject D government appS0va'. where the Sublic benefit would plainly le 1ro- noted, particularly in the absorption If financially weak lines of minor importance where by so doing the Eommunities dependent thereon |culd be betted served. But I would |teadily preserve competition 'he- Tween the large systems and pursue policy of widening the competitive kreas between such large systems wherever practicable"
 In giving his reasons for opposing government ownership, MT Lovctt (sserted that eff we carefully an- blyze the relative merits of effcien- Fy from unification and the advan- |ages from competition in service facilities, believe we will find tEat he letter will be very much better Is national poicy."
 He added that he also objected to government ownership because he opportunity it would offer flor p"n- noting political ambitions wc
 ] perpetual national scandal a pose the government to ser'c .l- 1ancial burdens"
 Expressing the fear that the rail- road pork barrel would in time make the other pork Barrels appear ill comparison" MT. Lovett said.
 "EyHry politician wou'l be almost compelled to exert aHy political in- ,luencn possessed by him to provide oaces for his supporters or improve nents and facilities or rata adjust nents desired by .heln. Each cor. sressman would be pressed by all the ambitious towns ip hls district TOT the ornate pasaenser stations 3r other improvements, as he is now pressed for postoffices, couri houses ana other public buildings, for ad- aitlcnal and unnecessary trains to please particular communities, and TOT the construction of new rail- roads, extensions and branches"
 Mir. Lovett also declared tha1 there are other objections to gov. ernment ownership, such as the po- lltlcal power of the employees to or sanlze and control the railroads, and me probable deterioration in .the ability and efficiency of execdtiv; and administrative officers under the scale Of government salaries il competition with private business. ', Consideration of any solution o the problem involves the fundamen tal question of whether there shal or shall not be competition" sait Mir. Lovett.
 All will agree, I believe, tha competition in railroad rates is un wlse and practically impossible competition in rates cannot exis Without rebates, secret rates am otner Kindred evils that make it in lolerable. But competition in ser wee slVEss.-aIe and facilities always existed un
 'continued on page five)