Milford chronicle., 1921-08-12
A HARMONIOUS AGREEMENT

When one considers the difficulties
involved, it is much to the credit of
the Harding Administration and to the
railroad managers that they were able
/ to reach a basis of agreement and set
tlement which would enable the gov
ernment to make payments and en-
able the railroads to proceed with re-
establishment of pre-war standards of
equipment and operation. In some re-
spects it was practicable to Iigure
with approximate accuracy what was
due from the government to the rail-
roads or from the railroads to the
government, but a reading of the tes-
timony in the recent hearings before
the Cummins Committee will indicate
some particulars in which even an ap-
Proclamation would be difficult.
For example, when Howard Elliott,
Chairman of the Northern Pacific Rail-
road Company, was addressing the
committee, he told of the inability of
the roads and the government direc-
tor to agree upon the matter of un-
dermaintenance. AS everybody knows,
the government agreed, as was its
duty, 10 maintain the roads and equip
ment IN substantially as good cOndi- /
tion as when the ROADS were taken ov- |
er. Eut railroad property is of such /
varied character and widely scattered
hat il WoL'd be impos ;ib,c to prove,
after tho lapse of two years, how
much better or worse its condition
might be. AS Mr.. Elliott said:
THE sticking point was the in
ability of the Northern Pacific or the
Director General to prove in detail I
the damage to equipment. We claim |
ed our equipment was undermain-
tanned around $5,,SOO,O00, 1 think.
The Director General had claim
against us alleging Overmainte- \
nance. Our lawyers all stated that =
it was going to be extremely diff
cult, if we went into court Oh that e
subject, to prove, say, that car num- +
Der 6O750 was undermaintained to
the extent of 500; that we could a
not make the proof The cars were b.
scattered when turned over TO the
Director General, and no actual de-
tailed inventory of the condition of cl
each car was made" i nI
1t would have been impossible to =
axe an inventory and record the
of each car, for, as Il mat fl, M
OF fact, many of the cars were on ST
e lines of other railroads, some of Ii
EN- on distant branch lines, some of :
EN- IN Canada. Having no definite pli
cord OF the condition of the euuip q
ent at the time of taking over, there ES
uld be no definite proof of the I'M =
T or OVer-maintenance at the time
return. That being true, it is cause s%i e1G
conSratulation that the Harding. nu
and the railroad rep II.
'entatives were able to reach an 7
reement which avoids long Iitiga- on
n. Mi
n this connection, it is also cause iISye
congratulation that Congress re- =
ed to accede to the McAdoo pro- +
sal that the roads be retained in ma ma
'ernment operation for an addition mil
period of five years. If the settle wy
Mt was difficult at the end of two +
rs, how much more difficult II goo
lld have been at the end of seven er,
rs. No one will ever know to what 1g NJ
snt the various railroads and their a12.
ckholders lost by reason of gov =,
ment operation. Possibly some of half
N have prOfited so far as mainte- star
ce is concerned. But if there were pull
Qualities, as there must have been, * s
-he advantage of the roads or of -
government, in two years of gov F(
nent operation, these inequalities an 5ne
Id have been immensely multiplied LAX
i've years more of government man hom
nent. J29-t
0ngress displayed wisdom by re- FC
ing the McAdoo proposal. Clut