South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-01-30
URGES DIVISION
OF RAIL FUNDS
Director Hines Advocates
Plan To Divide Excess
Earnings of Railroads.

BY Associated Press:
LOUISVILLE. Ky, Jan. 29.-
Walker D. Hines, director general of
railroads, In an address before the
transportation club Thursday night
urged the necessity of a division of
excess earnings of railroad corpora
tions above a reasonable return In
order to protect the public against
excess earnings and prosperous
railroads and in order to insure a
fair return TO all railroads.
Those who oppose this plan
seem to assume that it will operate
as a encouragement upon private
capital" said Mr.. Hines. They
seem to assume that if this plan is
not adopted there will be no dis
coura agement on private caIital, but
they should remember the discour-
agements which have existed here
tofore. The real question is wheth-
er a plan shall be adopted which
will both protect the public interest
and reasonably protect private cap
itaI or whether on the other hand a
plan shall be adopted which VIII
fail to do either with any degree of
satisfaction"
Fears Disappointment.
Mr.. Hines declared his belief that
unless the railroad problem at the
present time is dealt with "in bold
and effective way" the return TO pri-
vate management after federal CON
troll will be wholly disaI pointing
The director general also urged
the compulsory consolidation of the
railroad systems of the country into
a few large systems and suggested
the participation of the public and
labor in the management of the
railroads. Mai. Gen. Leonard Wood.
who is visiting Louisville on an in
spection trip, was another speaker at
the banquet
Discusses Rate Question.
In his discussion of the railroad
rate question and the reorganization
Of the railroads which he believes
necessary after government control
Mr. Hines said:
con the basis Of my 26 years eX-
perience with railroad regulation the
last two years OF the period being
in the public service. 7 wish 20 OK
press my views as 70 some of the
fundamentals necessary to q sue
cessfuI solution.
.1.... fr,rr nE
greatly aided by recalling the Con-
ditions Of railroad regulation as they
existed i'm 1917. and as they VIII
again exist under private control un-
less fundamentally changed by new
legislation.
Executives Discouraged.
"Tn 1917 railroad executives were
profoundly discouraged as 20 the
conditions OF railroad regulation
They found extreme dimculty in
proving TO the public satisfaction
what they regarded as their abso-
lutte necessities in the way Of ln-
creased rates and they had no sat-
lsfactory method of dealing with la-
bor problems which were constantly
'v becoming more pressing. Eotn
rates and service We're being regl-
lated by the eed- and state legis-
Iativc bodies and commissioner
Common action was much easier for
the labor organizations than DO was
for the railroads The result was
that so-called private management
OF the railroads was 2 Earded bT -he
executives themselves as largely fE-
urative because they felt thai 20 "a
great extent the manag meut was
virtually taken out ci their hands
Results OF study.
THE question now is. shall the
railroads Doe returned to substantial
lv the same regulation which had
proved SO discouragiug iu 1917 or
shall changes be made sufficiently
fundamental 10 remove the dit-
cllties upon this question wish
20 oner the results OF my own study
of the problem"