Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-03-03

CudHCe 10 DIiuS uiFeISIHS HlliuS W
gether. Conference may not perfectly
succeed, but conference can never
wholly fall"
Government Ownership a Failure
Government control of the rail sys-
TENS during the war period, Senator
Pepper said, was a happy one in two
contrasted ways.
"Uniication of the transportation
systems" he declared, made possible
the winning of the war. But the finan-
cial consequences both to railroads
and public furnished an eloquent ans
wer to the apostles of permanent gov
eminent ownership. Our own expe-
rience has thus c~orroborated the gem
eral proposition that government own
ership of railroads has failed to justify
itself wherever in the world it has
been tried"
Even the newest Senator can n
the problems that lie ahead of the
railroad industry. Senator Pepper
said, adding that through the mist he
sees rates at the highest point in mod
ern railroad history, and the roads
themselves failing tt earn anything
like 6 per cent on the property valu-
atoms, in spite of heavy cuts in main
tenance and operating expenses"
"He sees, or seems to see," the Sen
ator continued, conditions under
which the free development of great
men in the railroad world is likely to
be checked, for an era of regulation
does not stimulate the Imagination as
did romance or even ruthlessness of
the past"
Senator Pepper said no one knows
more about the railroad than the rail-
road man-and they concede they can
not make their business pay" He
suggested, therefore, that perhaps the
solution of the whole problem would
be to "hand the railroads W. to the
government and let the Senate run
Them for he felt, he said, that there
are several members who would be
handy at opening the throttle and sim
ply great with the air brakes and
whistle
Senator Enlivens Speech With Wit
Senator Peppers address was a de-
lightful mixture of sense and wit. At
the outset he confided that he was
daily being compelled to make a very
little knowledge go along way" He
was reminded, he said, of the story
about a versatile Englishman whose
elevation to the Lord Chancellorship
caused a witty Irishman to remark:
IF the new Lord Chancellor only
knew a little law he would know a
little of everything"
81 am glad that the Irishman did
not feel called upon to comment upon
the equipment of a newly appointed
Senator" said Mr.. Pepper. Banking
and currency, the tariff, military and
naval affairs, agricultural problems
all these and a dozen more are things
about which l know a very, very little.
If l know a little about transportation
should know a little of every
thing. But a Senator who is afraid to
talk about what he does not under
stand would be untrue to an ancient
tradition.
Vanderbilt Enterprise Recalled
whatever the future may have in
store for the railroads of the United
States, they certainly have a dramatic
past.
mot the least dramatic incident oc-
Cured just before the Civil War
when Commodore Vanderbilt, at the
age of sc, turned his attention to
transportation by rail and became a
pioneer in the enterprise of railway
combination. He startled the world
with a capitalization of $685. 0O 900;
and when his system included 800
miles he seemed to have girdled the
universe.
THAT was the era of government
subsidy and of almost entire freedom
from government regulation. 1t was
the age of romance-when deserts
were crossed, great floods spanned and
mountains made low. Congress fell
gladly for grants of 100000 acres of
land and more than go, 900, 600 in sub
sidy bonds. In days when construction
gangs had to be intrepid Indian fight
6rs probably nobody saw the time
when Congressman would appear in
war paint and when the United States
Senators would brandish tomahawk
and scalping knife at the very men
ton of combination or consolidation.
Golden Age Ends
"About 1879 the Golden Age came
to an end. 1t began to be whispered
that the railroads were making a great
deal of money, but keeping their books
and issuing their securities in such a
way as to evade payments due on sub
sidiary accounts. Slowly but surely
public suspicion and dissatisfaction
began to express itself in legislation.
THE ensuing struggle between the
railroads and the public is a matter of
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