Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1922-03-29
OBSERVATIONS
(By the Cornfeld Philosopher)

80 +. w
WHY GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP.
Editor Tribune will briefly state.
why the government ownership and
operation of the railroads appear to
me so desirable. l.@
1. The railroads today, are con-
fessedly operated on the theory or
plan Of securing the largest possible
revenue from the business regardless
Of the service rendered. To this end
all articles of merchandise are -arbi-f
trarily classified and charged different
rates for the same Identical service,
based not on the cost Of the service
but rather on the ability of the ship.
per to pay on che margin. Of profit. If
the reader don't believe this let him
go to a freight agent and find the
cost of shipping, say a carload. same
weight. of hay and carload of butter,
between identical points,
Uncle Sam wouldn't care whether
the shipment was butter, hay or saw.
logs, the charge would be the same for
equal service. :, Under such system,
Minnesota would save many millions
of dollars on her creamery and dairy
products. "% :.
2. Everybody would be-. treated
alike and no discrimination produced
between localities and individuals.
This is mighty big item and worthy
OF great consideration. Railway fav-
oritism has been most prolific source
of the big fortunes that now menace
our peace and safety. Rockefeller got
his start by this method and could
not have gotten it in any other way in
the oil refining business. Suppose
farmers have an equal show in trans
portation with the big packing plants.
Having full control of the raw mater
ial, through cooperation, packing hou-
ses and selling agencies, why could
they not reach the ultimate consumer
with their finished meat products?
| And through jointly owned grain
elevators and Touring mills could they
not get the. full market. Of their corn
and wheat? =
Experts tell us that today approx
mately two-thirds of the value Of what
| farmers produce is absorbed by mid
dlemen who stand between the tiller
of the soil and his market which Of
|course is the final consumer, and prac-
tically fix their own price on the SER
vice they render. The biggest and
most important of these middlemen is
the railroad. So. 4 IS. IS 8.
3. Under government management,
the cost Of operation could be very
largely reduced. In the first place all
the net profits amounting to some
thing like a billion Of dollars annual
tly would be eliminated and freight
and passenger rates correspondingly
! reduced. Then the salaries Of thou
sands of higher ups in thesmanage-
ment ranging from $4,000 to, more
than 100000, could be cut at. least
three-fourths.
An army of lawyers and lobbyists
4 now drawing princely salaries would
be useless and could be discharged.
Let us take Henry Ford's expert
i ence as an object lesson He. bought
an ordinarily managed railroad about
400 miles in length that was costing
4 Silt on every dollar collected to op
crate the line. Ford materially in
Z creased the wages of all real neces
/ sary employees. But by dispensing
\ with the services Of some hundreds so1
1 attorneys and putting the road under
7 efficient and economical Management
he made The remarkable reduction il
operating expenses Of sixty four cent.
J, on the dollar cole cted: He proposed
!! to make a 50 per cent decrease IN hi
& freightsrates, but Uncle Sam steppet
/ in and ordered him not to do this 4,
4 all competing lines would have t.
J. follow suit which they could not 81
8 ford. So Henry Ford IS seemingl.
3 compelled BY. law to pocket 20 cent
]. out of every dollar ne cctosllect iron
u his patrons.
And the kept press has carefuu
Erefrained from pub fishing Is line q
s 8 j Renee. Is nducfing araI
road sl.ls E