The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-08-19

3 neral lQftiu& DOWNWARD OF n fNtr
/ structure viii mencly further lsapsif
.sheereait Of shs railroads render Inn
prcscmcnss ~impo.slbia and .ns.rr1
/ The soivency Of the whole enterprise.
Tier II one thinr you dan be ntsv-
iutciT sure II. chd that u lint bank
fapt falifoads would Inevitably man
Door acrslcs, atlii HIGHER rates. and In
al ucobabiiity ms total abandonment
rasiees rnilrpai sypteris >shirn sEnn.t
be made 20 pay their way.
II Freight Rates Low
"FrciEht rates III this country are
lstlil low compared with the rest OF
the world, and 30 are passenger rates
| when the chagaffcr Of the service ~
taken Into consideration. I have re-
cergN reeclvcd some figures from =
ffiesd who u abroad. which show
that on The uermau railroads the
seusfni level OF fright rates h now
t11 per sent OF what Il was prior TO
the war. hui the Germans r going
ahead AID spendins vast sumu in tbs
improvement OF their railroads, real
lzipg clearly that adequacy OF trans
| ppffation comes firtt. and the fatc pes
/ ton per mile second. II would be a
\ pity 10 We, IN his country, allowed
a dsfeAfsd nation to map cut a policy
OF economic reconstruction soundcr
and more far-seelng than u own.
insvsad OF s~stitatips for lower
freight rates otr business men would
be on surer ground II tbsy united in
urFisB n earliest practicable repeal
Of the transportation tax. There is
fobsc uncertainty ~ TO what this tax
amounts 10. for the country as Il
whole, but VS. do know that tho
PennsyiSRnia railroad system for the
fiscal year ending June 30, last, col
lected n paid over 10 tho govern
mcnt more than $4,000. 600 II taxes
on freight shipped and passengers
carried over ls lines. This 10 consid-
orab.y more than s. required I pay
4 whole years dividend on the capital
stock Of the Pennsylvania railroad at
thcp rcsent rate OF 4 per cent ana
wouid come pretty close to paying a
fun year at the former rate Of 8 per
cent which our road maintained for
such a long period OF time. II the
TAX collected By other Dad a. In pro-.
portion TO that collected on ours. IL
must have amounted, for the whole
country. 20 s25e 100000 or sgoO. o00,-
O00, for the last fiscal year.
"ia bringing pressure for "a repeal
OF the transportation tax. business
men will not only be working for a
- 80 &NA"tN = HtNNA 1aHt ~
slbly be effected at the present time
In freight rates. bat will also throw
the weight OF their influence on the
OF "A general scaling down OF the
cnst OF government with the prospect
OF an Ultimate lowering OF the tax
burdens IN other directions ALSO.
Reimbursement Necessary
do not suppose from what ! have
said hat the railroads are opposed
= A. - a.
Ing structure OF freight rates. That
cede that establishments will be re-
qgired from time 20 time TO meet
competitive and commercial conditions
and. as a matter or fact. such read
jnstments are constantly being made.
A case In point h the recent material
towering IN export freight rates on
grain from Interior points 20 the sea
board. This Is intended TO give the
farmers a chance To sell their surplus
wheat abroad TO better advantage IL
remains 20 be seen 20 what extent
thsy win take advantage Of n.
In concluding, there Is one
thought which l would like TO leave
with you. Most OF our troubles in the
past have had their lasis In the
fundamentally wrong belief that tho
interests Of the railrods and Of their
patrons were antagonistic and hostile.
Nothing could be further from the
truth. Production and dist ribution
20 hand In hsnd. one supplements
the other In rounding out the econo-
mic life Of the people. Railroads are
simply h physical mediums by
which, for the most part, distribution
OF our products-whcther Of manu-
factDro or OF the soils effected.
We CANNOT successfully favor one at
tho expense OF the other. Both must
be developed side by side. Once this
truth Is thoroughly grasped and ap-
preciated BY all groups OF our great
people. crchants, manufacturers
and farmers alike. the difficulties
which are economy grouped together
under the heading Of the "Rallroad
Problem Will be In procesu OF easy
and complete solution. The infiu-
cnec and assistance OF bodies 81 in
teiligcnt and progressive business
men, such a. yours, viii be OF inval-
liable aid In achieving that result"