The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-10-07
sent at Carbury.
Shock threshing will be completed
this week if weather conditions are
favorable. III

In LaFollette's Magazine for Aug
ust is a splendid article on the Esch-
Cummins R. r. Bill which we wish
that we had space to print in full. He
says among other things-"Falsehood
won in Congress when the Esch-C Cum
minis Railroad bill was passed. The
men and women Of Wisconsin and the
nation are to decide by their ballots
whether Truth or Falsehood will win
at the coming election. The apologists
for the Esch-C ummins Act, returning
the railroads to private hands, with a
guaranty Of profits, are busy saying
the act contains no guaranty Of prof
it's to the private owners. They bubble
with words. They seek to confuse and
mislead. They strive to suppress the
truth. In Wisconsin, Lenroot, Esch,
Monahan, Randall and Nelson have
been busy explaining their votes on
the bill. Senators and Congressman in
other states are doing the same thing.
So it is we'll that the public should
know the truth. There are two guar
antics to the railroad owners made in
specific terms Of the law. The first
guaranty is in Section 209 of the law
Of surplus words this Sec
ton insures to the railroads from
March LIST to September 1st 1920, the
same excessive profits Of $75, 1000, 1000
a month which was paid to the own
ers las rental) during the period Of
government control. The second guar
antee is found buried in a mass of YER
biage, in Section 422. This is not a
guarantee of a lump sum but a guar
antee Of profits. By it's terms the pri-
vate owners are to receive a net prof.
it of five and one half per cent or in
the option Of the Commission, a net
of six per cent on the aggre-
gate value Of the railroads. This adj
mits of no doubt as to it's pledging
the government to pay the railroad
swag. The bill states: The Commission
shall take a sum equal to 5h per cent
of such aggregate value but may in
its discretion add thereto half of 1
per cent Of such aggregate value.
Mark the language, Shall ri a net
income of 5k or 6 per cent Of the ag-
gregate value.' Could anything be
more diabolical than that? Congress
thus recognizes the aggregate value
Of the fair or reasonable val
ue as a basis for rate making, and
railroad securities, soap bubbles and
all have been negotiated and passed
from hand to hand as the true value.
All this vast increase could have been
avoided. The government had been
making a profit for several months
and members Of the Railroad Admin
istration and the Interstate Commerce
Commission were strong in their as
surances that if government operation
we're continued no increase in rates
be necessary and the govern
ment would show a profit at the end
of every year. But the railroads in
fluence was too strong in Congress
and the Esch-C ummins bill was
Freight has been at a stand
still for months. The railroad owners
have no incentive to serve the public.
Coal may lie at the mines, grain may
rot in the fields, the private owners
are sure of their money whether they
turn a wheel or not. There Ire many
pages in the record Of past
but impartial history will
make the page that records the Esch-
Cummins Act the darkest written in
peace time legislation. If representa-
tive government is to survive, the vo-
ters in every state should retire the
men from public acts aided in writ
ing the Esch-C ummins bills into law"
The Courant merely wishes to remind
you that George M. Young of this dis