The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-10-27
Mr.. Stone and
The Stone Age

NNs = AAANAh'
The railroad executives can settle
the dispute or tho United States Eoy-
ernment can prevent a strike" says
warren s stone. chief or the Broth
orhood % Locomotive Engineer.
Tn railroad executives can avert
the strike hy captivating: the gov
eminent BY taking over the railroads.
O~therwirc prepare for famine.
Thus she handsome alternatives Of
waEsa lSi per cent az or public own
erahlp are offered. Concerning oper-
Ito nothing Is said. II the SHEDS of
private control that remain are cx-
tinguished the brotherhoods. ramem-
boring their success during the Nc
Adoo-Hines period. apparently ox-
poet 10 encounter no great difficulty
IN hrowbeatinE the government
In either event the public Is to pay.
There o. the public treasury. BuriuE
tho McAdoo-iiines days IFS contents
were ishtcued "a billion or more. Per-
haps another billion can be- soraped
out ~ % duly distributed.
The poepings Of a new Matching Of
the Plumb plan are heard. Brother
hood committees stlll are ready 70
tssume railway management provided
they are not asked 10 carry any RISK.
u wages emu De stabilized at Il level
~ per cent up and guarantees estab-
Aahcd against any lowering railway
employee VIII, naturally. not be uverso
% getting haii OF any furthc. profits
thnt accrue.
But where WI, the owners OF the
railroads sct off2 Ia the ditch. OF
COURSE. They may console Themselves
1y pnuernE their miry dugouts with
handsomely engraved securities which
huvD turned out 90 De i-nsccIrltlcs.
The railroad owner mas been hard
cuUd hy ndNe.aitlca-ls uuieaCgnt AS
spoTtHmen Of Cleveland and Wash
lngton shoot him sitting In 1915
the rate OF return on railroad invest
mont. USING the low estimate OF the
Interstate Commerce commission as
70 basis. WA Slb per cent. In 1917
10 was 6.26 pcr cent, In 1913 3.51 per
cent. In 1913 Z46 per cent and in
1890 U.82 per cent How a. grew
beautifully less! During the years
named other Industries greatly pros
percd and accumulated. surplusoa
against lines OF adversely. Hut with
railroad income dried 20 D vanish
Ing point. Mt Stone holds that the
railroads can be squeezed more. His
proper business b. not railroading,
but extracting blood f-om turnips.
Tho public. which OF necessity
would pas ~ the rHilroHd executives
should cnptulat'. would pay. and pay
more. should the choice fan on public
Ownership. individuals with personal
earnings dependent On personal lab
urH are industrious, productive and
economical; "a public administration,
with personal earnings not dependent
on treasury rhidlnE, 81 wnstcful and
uus tho taxpayers into debt. when
f. political group exploits "a utility rs
/ profit Boz at the expense Of consumers.
IL there is q deficit It Be- at the expense
Of tho t~lNpuNrrH. In either event Il
minority is favored. to the robbery of
the majority.
should there he public ownership
| OF railroads, Hs oon as the skin and
capacity developed under private
ownership disappear with time tho
| cost Of railroad service probably
would double. Conditions under pub
lie ownership would De oven worse
than with tho present railroad wage
scale pcrpetuntod ana the law maxi
Ing II "a capital offonse TO diHturb h..
The alternatives on Mr.. Stone thus
n.c in the direction Of "a return 10
\ the stone agr. whom title TO property
was derived from the weight uf % club
and an ability TO WELD %. The Rcloc-
lion of oithe- option would Doe no I'M
mixed "a calamity that 10 the cud
railroad employees would suffer from
10 as much as others.
You will find It In our Classi
fed Columns.