The Washington times., 1920-08-02
Today
Workers, $500, 1000.
Owners, $l,500,000,00
No Workers Guarantee.
Six Per Cent for Owners.
By ARTHUR BRISBANE.

lEby ARTHUR BRISBANE
Copyright. lsasJ
Which would you rather be,
railroad stock owner or railroad
workman
The other day you read that q
generous Government had decided
to give six hundred millions more
per year TO the railroad workers.
Today you learn that fifteen hun
dred millions increased fares and
freight rates are handed to the
railroad owners.
That is not all. The railroad
worker gets his pay, and it is
his business to get along on IL. Ii
food costs more, children are i'll,
rents increase, that Us his business.
The Government must not be
bothered about such details. "Here's
your pay. make it do; some one
else will take your job II you leave
it."
No such cruel words for the
railroad owner. He must buy coal,
rails, ties, cars, etc, as the work
man must buy meat, bread, shoes.
But Government does not say to
the owners of railroads, at is
your business to make your roads
pay. / have fixed your rates,
now 20 ahead and run your roads
or the Government will take them
oveE."
Nothing OF that kind. The Gov
nntnrnnl WhaTA
dividends, not human beings, are
concerned. will see the railroad
owners through their troubles OF
all kinds, all the way through.
right out to the other side, where
lie the pleasant fields OF sure proft
over and above everything. The
Government guarantees the rail-
roads that-they shall earn at least
6 per cent, and whatever 1t Is
necessary for the public to pay.
the public will have to pay until
>. the railroads have enough to pay
for everything and have per cent
profit besides.
Government does not say to the
railroad workmen: You shall have
enough to pay all your living costs
bread, meat. rent, etc.-and over
and above that you shall have
clear and free nice savings to lay
aside every year. I'll make the
public pay enough to guarantee
you that much at least"
Nothing of that sort for the
workman. 1t is one dish for him,
quite another for the gentleman
who never did a days work on
railroads and knows OF :ailroading
only that it ought to pay him good
dividends.
These differences should not sur
prise you and should by no means
surprise the workmen. Dividends,
and all else that the heart desires,
go to intelligence that under
stands its business. The railroad
owners are intelligent and under
stand their business, all except the
business of running RAILROADS. eff
ficiently and economically. Their
real business. as you know, is
working the Government and the
public.
The railroads taught the Gov
ernment and the people lesson
recently, when trains stopped run
ming, cars were lacking, coal was
not delivered, factories were shut
down. The lesson was: Give us
what we want, or you get no rail-
road service.
The workers and the public have
not the vaguest idea how to teach
lessons to Government. They
grumble, but grumbling produces
no result.
The Democratic Administration
has certainly given the railroads
their hearts desire, and a little
more. And the beautiful part Of
it. from the railroad owners view
point, is this:
The only thing the people can do
now, by way of rebuke, is to turn
out the Democrats and put in the
Republicans, in which case, dear
ly beloved, the Republicans would
look carefully around, anxious to
give the railroads just little more.
The railroads own two big parties,
the people don't own either; medi-
tate on that.
Six hundred millions for work.
ers, then fifteen hundred millions,
as a starter, for railroads. Then
q guarantee that the roads, no
matter how inefficiently, stupidity
or dishonesty managed, no matter
what stealing was done in building
up charges against them, shall
have whatever it takes to run them,
with a guarantee Of at least 6 per
cent profit.
And the public pays the entire
bill!
A wise man said, Each people
has as good government as it
deserves" He was right.