The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-08-20

telligence are golden security to the
peoples banker, the government of
the United States. Multiply our home
owners, and you will make the way of
the sedltious agitator more difficult.
Railroads and Waterways.
"Any discussion ci the question Of
food supply leads very quickly to the
closely related matter of transporta-
ton. There is no one thing which
brings us 80 internationally 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
! banks. Moral assistance was withheld
because of railroad policies that did
not bring approval. Many of these
corporations had made themselves
part of political activities, local, state
and national. Then there were more
or less sporadic instances of stock wa
/ tering operations, and the exploitation
Of utility properties for personal gain.
abuses were not general, but they
were sufficient to bring the entire rail-
road systems Of the country In dis
repute. The good suffered with the
evil. When the transportation lines
were taken over by the government,
they were barely able to limp through
the task of the day. Unity In opera
| ton, the elimination of the long haul,
| and the merging ofsevery mile Of track
and terminal and every car and en-
/ CINE into a co-ordinated plan of OPP
Grafton, enabled the government to
! transport troops and supplies, at the
same time affordng, under great
| stress, satisfactory outlet for our
/ Industries. 1t should be remembered
! in this connection that except for the
motor truck which supplemented
transportation by rail. and except for
oil for commercial purposes, we
| should not. in all probability have
! been able to throw our deciding
| strength into the balance and win the
| war. Any attempt to discredit the
| federal operation Of railroads during
| the years of grave emergency is I'M
! fair. In the case of those who know
the facts It is insincere. Too much
cannot be said in praise of those who
directed this work, nor of the men
who physically operated the lines I'M
der the dlScouraging conditions of
poor equipment. But oil of this Is
! water over the wheel. The problem
of the railroads Is still with us. The
| government and the public should
! render every cooperation in the ut
most good faith. to give thorough test
to private ownership. The railroads
| have had their lesson. Government
| regulation Is accepted now as not emily
safeguard to the public, but as
q conserving process to the utility.
Financial credit Is necessary to ply
steal rehabilitation and 1t should be
sufficient for the periods of maximum
demand. We should not lose sight,
however, Of the vast possibilities of
supplementary service by water. The
Great Lakes and st. Lawrence navi-
CATION project, particularly, should
claim the interest of the government.
Federal Reserve System.
at is almost unnecessary to speak
of the Federal Reserve system In con-
nectiOn with the winning Of the war,
as, next to the conservation of our
manhood and womanhoOd itself, the
greatest factor was the marshalling
into one unit through the Federal Re.
serve banks of the stupendous wealth
of America. To those of vision who
look out beyond our shores into that
commercial domain where we are SO
| justly entitled to enter In time OF
| peace, latent power OF the Federal Re-
serve system can he seen promoting In
| every quarter OF the globe an ever
widening flow OF American commerce.
We will soon have merchant marine
! fleet Of 100000 tons aggregate, every
ship flying the American flag and
carrying in American bottoms the pro-
ducts Of mill and mine and factory and
| farm. This would seem to be guar.
fhtee Of continued prosperity. Our
facilities for exchange and credit, how
ever in foreign parts. should be en-
larged and under the federal reserve
| system, banks should be established In
important trading centers.
Reduction Of Armament.
a am convinced after considerable
| study of the subject that the expense
| of the government can, without loss
of efficiency. be reduced TO maximum
of four billion dollars, including sink
ing fund md interest on the national
| debt. When we enter the League Of
| Nations. we SHOULD at the same time
| diminish our cost for armament To
continue expenditures In either the
war or the navy departments on vast