The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1920-07-01

per cent, some 6 per cent, some
cent, few more than per cent ar
a few less than .. And in orde.
guard against excessive incomes an.
railroad earning in any year more
than . per cent upon the value OF IL,
property must pay one ha ( OF M
| excess above per cent to the Cove IL
ment, creating fund from which tho
commission may make loans to "a.
road companies upon proper securit
for the purpose purchasing the equir
ment and facilities Of which the coun-
try is in such dire need.
Ignorance and malice have con.
spired TO misrepresent this part OF
the law. The people are being told
that Congress has guaranteed a re
turn of 51a per cent to the railroads
| Including all their watered stock. This
| statement is wickedly false. Ths
| provision is not a guaranty in any
| sense. II creates no obligation upon
| the part of the Government, and nc
one penny can be paid under it frosl
| the Treasury. furthermore, il is not
| . guarantee, because, in fixing rates.
I the commission must estimate the vol
! ume OF the traffic for .he ensuing
year, and that estimate may, OF course
| be above or below the traffic actually
moved. Moreover the commission
must estimate the cost of maintain.
| ance and operation for a future per-
iod, and it is manifest that this can
| not be reduced to certainty.
The Constitution forbids rates
which will yield. taken the country
| over, less than fair return; and in
| these days il will not be insisted BY
any fair minded man that. 5% pc
cent is an excessive return. Nor does
| the provision permit the commission
| to consiuer water and worthless stocks
and bonds, or stocks and bonds Of an
kind. The commission is TO consider
only the real value of the railroad
property actually used in the service
of transportation. The basis of 5Ih
per cent is a temporary measure to
| mete an acknowledged emergency.
1T has been said by some superb.
cial or malicious critics that under
| this provision railroad companies can
expend recklessly and unnecessarily
| large sums for maintenance and op,
Grafton. There is not the least foun-
| dation for this criticism. The act
specifically provides that the commits
sion must take into account honest.
efficient and economical management
( Of existing transportation facilities
| and further il gives the commission
| authority to make rules controlling eI.
penditures for maintenance. The
| Railroad Labor Board adjudicates dis
putes respecting wages, so the public
1 is protected at every point"
The oii-leasing Bill
The people OF what are commonly
known as the public-land States have
always been opposed to what has been
called the leasing permit system as
applied to the resources of the West
| lying within such States. Some five
or six years ago. however, those who
| were best advised came TO the conclu-
sion that the thickly populated States
| in which there were no public lands.
| having the preponderance OF the vote
| in both Houses of Congress, were de
| termined to force upon the people of
| the West such system, and that un-
| less the West accepted such system
| their resources would continue to be
as they had been since about 1909 or
1910, tied UP by withdrawal orders re.
! moving from exploitation and develop,
nent great areas in practically all Of
the Western States.
| To gain relief from this situation
he representatives of the public-iand
| States in Congress and many agencies
| outside of Congress endeayored to
i nave Idobtt NlldN ilds bt"H commonly
| called the oil-leasing bill covering the
coal, phosphate, oil. oil-shale. gas and
| sodium lands on the public domain.
| Democratic Congresses struggled with
| the question for at least six years with
| out being able TO write upon the stat
| ute books any law which would per
| NIT Of the development of such lands.
| 1t is to the credit of the present Con
| eress that at least such a bill has
f., been passed and become a part of the
law of the land, and under its provi.
| isons there will be afforded an op-
portunity to develop tine resources OF
the West which has been practically
! denied for a number of years past
The bill, while not being all that
| the West could wish or all TO which
IL is entitled, is more liberal in its
i terms than the one which failed in the
last Congress and should bring about
an orderly development of our re
| sources, which will be for the benefi'
of the whole country. and at the same
time will place in the reclamation
| fund and in the treasures Of the dif
! ferent States in which the lands d..
seloped are situated a fair proportion
OF the money arising from the royal
ties which are to be paid
/ The Water rover Bill
! Practically the same situation Ahinl
has existed on the lands above re
ferred 10 has applied 10 the grea'
water powers of the Western states
n reference 70 their deyc opme1t. ano
/ With this subject Congress has neer
struggling for the last six or sever
years. This Congress has now passe"
and the President has signed a com.
! prehensivo bill authorizing the deve
orment OF all Of the water powers OF
the country under commission coz.