The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-02-17

party. Inc CoIHLlcTCldl interests or
North and South America have beer
reaching toward n another in efforts
TO get together for many years. Mr..
Colby doubtless felt that during his
brief tenure in office he could be
spared from Washington to help pro.
mote better feeling between the peo-
pies of the western hemisphere, and
he therefore organized a junket that
travelled fast enough to get him before
any positive announcement was made
as to who would be his successor.
The best minds in Washington are
agreed that the development Of an
American merchant marine furnishes
the only solution that can be brought
TO bear in solving this great problem
of our foreign trade. A big start was
made during the war. but the emer
gencies that came with fighting left the
same raj of waste in the story of
shipping that is found in every phase
Of war activities. The result is that
the shipping board has become a sort
of football, and everyone that has
wanted to start something, take a kick
at it; whereas there is doubtless no
peace-time agency that could absorb
more permanent benefits if given con
structiye help, than the shipping
board. Just what the fate of this gov
eminent bureau will be is hard to de-
termine. But given pa )per support
our merchant marine doubtless solves
all of our problems of foreign trade.
Postmaster General Burleson admit
his unpopularity. Il believe it to b.
true that | have more enemies and
have been more generally denounced
than any Of the others" he says. "If
has not, however, robbed me of my
serenity of mind or spoiled either my
disposition or my appetite. You see
| know who my enemies are, how /
made them, and why, and the reasons
are satisfactory to me- In the list
Of these enemies Mr.. Burleson places
the express companies, the railroad
and the newspapers and magazines.
In his mind they are a bad lot, and
eve though it may be a fact that they
all reciproCate the kind Of sentiment
hat Mr.. BurlesOn expresses and are
as nonlovable as the Texas politician,
still the reasons for the difference
may be entirely distinct. Mr.. Burleson
asserts that mail is now being deliy-
cred to six million more people in the
country and five million more in the
cities than eight years ago, and that
there is less waste, less fraud and
less politics now han ever before
Mr., Burleson's proud enemies assert
that in taking over the wire lines Of
the country, after the war was over,
he did SO for the sole purpose Of foist-
ing government ownership on the
United States, because it vas a pet
hobby of his, and not a national ne
cessity. Students of the parcel posi-
system say that in the matter of the
carriage of small packages that the
express companies still have the most
profitable end of the business while
Burleson absorbed the improbable
end. Just what solace the most up
popular man" finds in his attempts TO
hold up the newspapers and magazines
of the country, and make their publish
ers pay unnecessarily high rates, he
does not explain.
After all, Mr.. Burleson's principal
~unpopularity is doubtless due to the
fact that he cared more to create a
surplus in earnings for the postoffice
department than he did to promote
the welfare of the thousands of men
whose wage he sought to keep below
the actual cost of living. He failed in
both instances.
The referendum just concluded by
the Chamber Of Commerce of the
United States covering the question of
local transportation throughout the
country has produced 1859 votes, cast
by local chambers of commerce and
boards of trade throughout the coun-
try in the affirmative, on the question:
Existing traction facilities should be
conserved" There are 10 negative
votes. The same results attends the
vote on the following question: The
attitude now taken towards street
railway problems should be based up
on the present and future needs of the
community" Private ownership with
regulation that will promptly follow
changes in the situation" with pro.
vision against unfair competition, as
we'll as relief from "all burdens I'M
related to the service are over
whelmingly favored. The referendum
also declared in favor of definite Off
cial responsibility for the "applica-
tion of regulation" as we'll as for the
availability to the public at all times
of 1.-The facts as to the results of op-
Grafton" and for resident responsible
executives wholly conversant with
local requirements.
These referendums, IN which the
trade bodies Of the country have-been
M rticipatipo ara iptaraStipp ipaS-