The Ocala evening star., 1920-08-07

ly diffused. Never before has the
great mass of the people shared in the
blessings of plenty There is much to
be done, however, in multiplying our
home owners. Nothing will bring
more golden return TO the welfare Of
the republic.
Common produce would suggest
that we increase to our utmost, our
area of tillable land. The race be-
tween increased consumption and add
ed acreage has been an unequal one
Modern methods of soil treatment
have been helpful. but. they have their
limitations. There are still vast en-
pires in extent, in our country, per-
forming no service to humanity. They
require only the applied genius of
men, TO cover them with the bloom
government should turn its best engi-
neering talent to the task of irriga-
tion projects. Every dollar spent will
yield compensating results.
Any discussion of the question of
food supply leads very quickly to the
closely related matter of transporta-
6tion. There is no one thing which
brings us so intermittently to critical
conditions than the insufficiency of our
transportation facilities. Both the
railroads and the public are to blame
There has been no material addition
to the total mileage in the last ten
years, and the increase in terminals
has been much less than required. At
the beginning of the war, the rolling
stock was sadly reduced and made
quate. The public had not given in
pay for service, sufficient revenues on
which credit could be allowed by the
banks. Moral assistance was with
held because of railroad policies that
did not bring approval. Many of these
corporations had made themselves a
part of political activities. local, state
and national. Then there were more
or less sporadic instances of stock
watering operations, and the explcl-
tation of utility properties for per-
sonal gain. Abuses were not general,
but they were sufficient to bring the
entire railroad systems of the country
in disrepute. The good suffered with
the evil. When the transportation
lines were taken over by the govern
ment, they were barely able to limp
through the task of the day. Unity IN
operation, the elimination of the long
haul, and the merging of every mile
of track and terminal and every car
and engine into co-ordinated plan
of government to transport troops
and supplies, at the same time afford
ing, under great stress, satisfactory
outlet for our industries. 1t should be
remembered in this connection that
except for the motor truck which sup
plemented transportation by rail,
and except for the great pipe lines
which conveyed oil for commercial
purposes, we should not, in all prob
ability, have been able to throw ont
deciding strength into the balance
and win the war. Any attempt to
discredit the federal operation of rail-
roads during the years of grave em-
ergency is unfair. In the case of
those who knew the facts it is insin-
cere. Too much cannot be said in
praise of those who directed this
work, nor of the men who physically
operated the lines under the discour-
aging conditions of poor equipment.
But all of this is water over the
wheel The problem of the railroads
is still with u.s. The government and
the public should render every CO.
operation in the utmost good faith,
to give thorough test to private own
ership The railroads have had their
lesson. Government regulation is ac-
cepted now as not only safeguard
to the public, but as conserving
process to the utility. Financial credit
is necessary to physical rehabilitation
and it should be sufficient for the per-
iods of maximum demand. We should
not lose sight. however of the vast
possibilities of supplementary service
by water The Great Lakes and st.
Lawrence navigation project, partic-
ularly, should claim the interest of
the government. About one-third of
our states would be supplied with an
outlet for every ton of their exports.
The opportunity to make of the lake
harbors great ocean ports of entry is
W III vA@C
crop-moving period, the call on the
railroads is staggering. Grain piles
up in the elevators. With stagnation
more or less general, the farmer sells
his product under the most unfavor-
able conditions. The trackage aud
the terminals in middle states partic-
ularly, are clogged with this traffic
and interference with local move
ments of freight is inevitable. The
solution would be simplified by
utilizing the waterways. Aside from
this, the accruing gain from every
crop would be consideration for the
reason that the price of grain in this
country is made by the Chicago mar
ket and it is determined by the Lon>
don quotations. The price in the
British metropolis is a stated figure
less the cost of transportation. The
routing of these commodities by wa
Il 4 e