Newark post., 1920-03-10
RETURN OF ROADS
PLEASES FkRMERS
Urge Policy to Insure Best Serv-
ice at Lowest Cost Consist
ent With Fair Returns.
OPPOSE NATURALIZATION.
representative Agricultural Crganza-
tIons and Rural Press State Farm
ers' Attitude Toward Railroads.
Want Private Operation.

Private ownership of the railroads
under a policy of government regula-
tion which will insure the best possible
service at the lowest cost consistent
with fair returns on money invested in
them is favored by representative
farmer organizations throughout the
country. This policy also is supported
generally by agricultural newspapers,
which state emphatically that the
farmers are opposed not only to gov
ernment ownership of railroads, but
also to all naturalization plans.
In a letter to the members of the
United States Senate I. c. AtkesOn,
Washington representative of the Ma
.ional Grange, which is said to be the
argest organization of its kind in the
world, representing more than 1,OOO,-
900 farm owners in the United States
states that the agricultural interests Of
the country approve of private owner
ship of the railroads and further de-
1icl' liltil lNL SollS l'bI l'i liil- w SEN''iN
for the farmers in support Of govern
ment ownership are neither farmers
nor representatives of any considera-
BILE number of farmers.
Favor Private Operation.
THE Grange" says Mr. Atkeson,
quoting the official action of his or
ganization, "approvos of the general
principles of railroad legislation now
pending in Congress to return the rail
the reorganization Of the RAILROAD com
panieS into strong systems with capi-
| talizatiOn based on actual value. and
! to create a control commission which
may enforce the superior interest of
the public to that of any other interest
! in the operation Of railroads as com.
mon carriers and effectively protect
the public against exploitation or in,
| JUSTICE
Many state and sectional agricul
| tural organizations take similar
stand. Immediately after the National
! Grange expressed its attitude toward
! the railroad question the American
| Farm Bureau, meeting in Chicago, vot
! ed for private operation, and the Ma
! tiOnal Farmers Congress, in session n
HagerstOwn, Nd, voiced like sent
ments. The New York State Fedora
| ton of County Farm Bureau Organi
cations and the Indiana Federation OF
Farmers went beyond that and jotnet
| the Grange in regulating the alleged
| farmer representatives in Washington
who said they spoke for an over
whelming majority of the farmers"
Urge Reasonable Returns.
The railroad policy favored by the
New York State Federation of County
Farm Bureau Organizations was stat
ed in the following resolution:
'WhercaS, There have been conflict
ing statements published regarding thu
attitude of farmers upon the question
of the future ownership of railways
therefore be it
'ReSolved. That the New York State
Federation of County Farm Bureau AS
sociatiOnS, representing 20 COO mem
bers, in annual session at Syracuse. \
Y, December 10, 1919, hereby indOrse.
the action of the American Farm Bu
reau Federation in urging Congress t,
promptly return the railways to thei
owners under such conditions as viii
insure reasonable returns on the valu,
Of the property and reasonable rates o
transportation throughout, the coun
try"
Views Of Farmer Papers.
The American Agriculturist state
editOrially that the farmers are "deat
set against" the "scheme to enmeSh III,
farmers in the web of radicaliSm.
The Pennsylvania Farmer, discussin;
| the general demand for private opera
ton of the railroads, says "It is espe
cially true of farmers, in spite of tn,
declaration of few would be leader
to the contrary" The Stockman
Farmer adds:
Farmers almost unanimously ap
prove the return of the railroads ant
the express companies to their owners
The reason is that farmers, as well a
other business men, want service o
these institutions, and they cannot &c
such service under public operation a
they can get under the operation o
corporations, which have a direct finan
cial interest in performing it,"