Bisbee daily review., 1920-01-30
URGES POOL OF
 EXCESS PROFIT OF RAILROADS
National Association Goes On Record for Military
 Training

LOUISVILLE, Ky, Jan. 29.-Walk- CT D. Hines. director general of rail roads, in an address before the Trans portation club here tonight, urged the necessity of division of excess earnings of railroad corporations above a reasonable return in order to protect the public against excess earnings of very prosperous railroads and in order to insure fair return to all roads.
 Those who oppose this plan seem to assume that it will operate as a discouragem upon private capital" said MT. Hines. "They seem to as sume that if this plan is not adopted there will be no Encouragement Of private capital, but they should re- member the discouragements which have existed heretofore The real question is whether plan shall be adopted which will both protect the public interest and reasonably pro- tect private capital or whether on the other hand a plan shall be adopted which will fail to do either with any degree of satisfaction.
 Mir. Hines declared his belief that unless the railroad problem at the present time is dealt with " in a bold and effective way" the return to pri- management after federal control will be wholly disappointing"
 The director general also urged the compulsory consolidation of the rail road systems of the country into a few large systems and suggested <, ioin nf labor in the management of the roads. q regard it as a very important part of this plan," said Mir Hines, ito leave to the railroad companies a sufficient proportion of the excess earnings to stimulate their efficiency in the public interest, but beyond this point believe the plan of division of earnings which I propose is essential to the due protection both of the pub | lie interest and of all legitimate ele- ments of private interest.
 "I have heard it seriously urged that the old system ought to be kept because we are familiar with it. This would be a good argument if the old 1 system had been satisfactory and had | secured a proper result in the public interest, but since, I believe, the old | system was wholly unsatisfactory and was rapidly becoming progressively more unsatisfactory, I am unable to appreciate the argument. I find no | potency in the suggestion that We l ought to adhere to a failure because we are familiar with it."
 Elaborating his theory that the pub i lie and labor should participate in l operation of railroads the director general said the public in the past had no understanding in advance of ] the necessities of railroads and had no place at the council board of the companies. The result was, he said
 that a campaign of education was necessary to get the public to a state of mind where it would understand
 Tn atsituation he believed would be
 immensely improved by putting rep
 resentatives of the public on the
 board of directors so they would un
 derstand the situation at the outset
 "And from the labor standpoint,
 he continued, "I believe it would be
 an immense forward step and il
 would be a protection of the essen tial part of private management tC
 arrange for labor itself to be repre- scented on the boar dof directors, SC
 that at the outset there could be ar
 understanding as to these matter:
 where there is so much to understand Il 'I believe it will bring about |;
 sense of responsibility for the public
 service on the part of those element:
 which is impossible when you do no
 have any form of participation in tn,
 councils of the railroads companies
 by either of these important ele
 ments."