The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1920-04-09

cialist who will vote to socialize the
railways, the telegraph and telephone
systems, or most any old thing that
seems to les votes for the poor old
democracy. These are the men who
have the ear of the president, and
these r the kind of men from whom
the president seeks advice. Can any
one doubt that the big issue in 1920
will be public ownership? Public
ownership is only another name for
state socialism, and state socialism
if carried far enough, means bankrupt
cy.
If the nations of Europe can own
and operate their railways, telegraph
and telephone systems, coal mines, gas
and electric plants, and a hundred
other industries, why can't this big
nation of ours likewise own and OPP
crate these great industries? If the
United States a own and operate
the postoffice, which does an annual
business of between $500, 900 900 and
$500, 200, 900, why can't Uncle Sam
also run the railways, or anything
else? These are the questions most
often fired at those who oppose state
socialism. In the first place the rail-
ways of Europe are poorly managed;
they are politically managed, with the
result that they do not pay. They
are characterized by poor and ineffi-
cient service, by freight rates that
average double the cost in this nation
and by wages that average less than
half the wage rate paid here. The tel
egraph and telephone systems are no
better. They, too, lose large sums,
give miserable service and pay low
wages. Take the case of the Italian
railways: Under private ownership
these lines gave good service to the
people, paid some millions in taxes
to help support the government and
did not NEEDLE in politics. Under pri-
vate ownership they employed $4,000
hands. Note the change that has ia
ken place in ten years: Under pub
lie ownership those lines pay nc taxes,
they give very poor service, their
freight rates are more than double
the cost in this country, they lose
from s35, 900 900 to $4,000 900 a year
and they have added more than $4,000
men to the staff.
Can't Make Both Ends Meet.
The Austrian railways present the
same appalling losses with the same
inefficient service.
There is not a socialisric telegraph
or telephone system on earth that is
able to make both ends meet and the
service almost everywhere is absolute
ly rotten.
On the 1,20 miles Of state-owned
railways of Denmark we find that
wages are less than one-third the rate
in this nation; that freight rates are
almost three times as high as in this
country and yet, or those few miles
of line the nation loses a million and
a quarter dollars annually. 1t is the
same story everywhere.
Some time ago the Hearst organs
published an editorial running in all
of their papers from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, in which they stated that
the German railways paid such large
profits that the empire secured fifty
per cent of its expenses from the
transportation lines alone. Now, the
fact is that the German empire never
received a penny from any of the So
cialistic railways of Germany. In the
first place the railways were never
owned by the nation; they are owned
by the several states, with the one
exception of some 1000 miles in AL
sace-Lorraine which Germany took in
1871, but which has never paid any,
thing; indeed, it has always been op-
Grated at a loss. Moreover, ever the
states do not make anything.
The only railway system in all of Ger
many that has been able to make both
ends meet financially is the Prussian-
Hesse system, owned by the two
states of Prussia and Hesse. And this
line has an operating revenue that
exceeds the operating expenses by only
5000, 900 900 a year. They secure this
result by paying an average wage Tin
1879 of $4O8.97 a year, escaping all
taxation and charging 80 per cent
higher freight rates than we pay. TAX
ing these facts together we find that