Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-08-08

III hIIN'lItli Ulf. hptA'lii .lAlNtttOuA
of soil treatment have been helpful,
but they have their limitations.
There are still vast empires in eX-
tent, in our country, performing no
service to humanity. They require
only the applied genius of men, to
cover them with the bloom and
harvest of human necessities. The
government should turn its best
engineering talent to the task of
irrigation projects. Every dollar
spent viii yield compensating re-
suits.
Transportation.
Any discussion of the question of
food supply leads very quickly TO
the closely related matter of trans
portatiou. There is no one thing
which brings us so internationally
TO criucise conditions than the in
sufficiency Of our transportation
facilities. Both the railroads ana
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 mas
been much less than required. Al
the beginning OF tho war the roll
ing stock was sadly reduced and
INADEQUATE. The public had not
given in pay for service, sufficient
revenues on which credit could be
allowed by the banks. Moral as
slstance was withheld because of
railroad policies that did not bring
approval. Many of these corpora
tions had made themselves a part
of political activities, local, state
and national. Then there We're
more or less sporadic instances of
stock watering operations, and the
exploitation of utility properties Tor
personal gain. Abuses We're not
general, but they were sufficient
TO bring the entire railroad systems
of the country in disrepute. the
good suffered with the evil. When
the transportation lines were taken
over by the government, they We're
barely able to limp through the
task of the day. Unity in operation,
the elimination of the long maui,
and the merging of every mile OF
track and terminal and every car
and engine into q co-ordinated plan
of operation enabled the government
to transport troops and supplies,
at the same time affording, under
great stress, a satisfactory outlet
for our industries. 1T should be re-
nnembered ir~this connection that
except for the motor truck when
supplemented transportation by ran
and except for the great plp5
lines which conveyed oil Tor COM
mercial 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 dlscredlt
the federal operation of railroads
during the years of grave emer-
gency is unfair. In the case or
those who know the facts it is M
sincere. Too much cannot be SAID
in praise of those who directed TINS
work. nor of the men who physlc-
ally operated the lines under the
discouraging conditions OF poor
eouiDment. But all of this is water
over the wheel. The problem OF
the railroads is still with US. The
and the publlc shouiu
render every cooperation In the
utmost good faith, to give thorough
test to private ownership Inc
railroads have had their lesson
regulation Is ac-
cepted now as not not only
to the public, but as a
process to the utillty,
Financial credit is necessary TO
physical rehabilitation and IT
should be sufficient for the periods
of maximum demand. We should
nf the WASH
of supplementary SerN-
ice by water. The Great Lakes ana
st. Lawrence navigation PROJECT
should claim the m
terest, of the government. ABOUT
one-third of our states would De
supplied with an outlet Tor every
ton of their exports. the oppof-
tunitv to make of the lakes mar
bors great ocean ports OF entry Is
inspiring to contemplate. In the
crop moving periods, the call on
the railroads is staggering. TRAIN
piles up in the elevators. Wlth
more or less geherai'
the farmer sells his product under
the most unfavorable conditions.
The trackage and the terminals IN
middle states particularly, are
with this traffic and IN
reference with local movements
of freight is inevitable. The soiu-
ton would be simpiified by utlllz-
ing the waterways. ASIDE from
this, the accruing gain from every
CROP would be "a consideration for
the reason that the price OF grain
in this country is made by the
Chicago market and it is deter
mined by the London quotations.
The price in the British metropoiis
is stated figure less the cost OF
The routing OF
these commodities by water would
effect a saving of approximately
eight cents a bushel, which means
hat American grain would net just
that much more.
Banking System.
For more than forty years be,
fore woodrow Wilson was erected
IN 1919 rafOrm or our