The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1920-08-18

ma that Industry, character and In
telligence are a golden security to the
peoples banker, the government Of
the United States. Multiply our home
owners, and you will make the way Of
the seditious agitator more difficult.
Railroads and Waterways.
"Any discussion Of the question Of
food supply leads very quickly to the
closely related matter Of transporta-
ton. There is no one thing which
brings us so internationally to critical
conditions than the insufliciency 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
quatQ The pstsic had not given In
my fDr service sufficient revenues on
which credit could be allowed by the
banks. Moral assistance was withheld
because Of railroad policies that did
not bring approval. Many Of these
corporations had made themselves q
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 of every mile of track
and terminal and every car and en-
CINE into co-ordinated plan of OPP
eration,. enabled the government to
transport troops and supplies, at the
same time affording, under great
INDUSTRIES. 1t should be remembered
in this connection that except for the
motor truck which supplemented
transportation by rail, and except for
the great pipe lines which conveyed
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 1t 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 discouraging conditions of
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 only
safeguard to the public, but as
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.
st 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 n 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 a 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 q guar
antee 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.
II am convinced after considerable
study of the subject that the expense
Of the government cap, without loss
of efficiency, be reduced to maximum
of four billion dollars, including sink
ing fund and interest on the national
debt. When we enter the League of
Nations, we should mt the same time
diminish our cost for armament To
continue expenditures In either the
war or the navy departments on a vast
scale, once our membership in the
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