The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1922-02-01
SAYS RAILROADS
BACK To OWNERS
IN BETTER SHAPE
VIM. @. McAdoo Tells Senate Com
mittee Roads Better OF When
Returned Than When Gov
ernment Seized Them.
DEFENDS GOVERNMENT
CONTROL OF PROPERTY
Declares II inesfloleney Existed. Was
Caused by Same Executives Who
Now Raise Cry; Threatened
Officers.
BY HERBERT w. WALKER
Omitted Press staff Correspondent

by fftfNbfitl W. W AshEh
UNITED Press staff Correspondent
Washington, Feb. THE railroads
were returned 10 their owners after
governmental control In better con.
dltion than when The government
seized them, VIM. q. McAdoo. form.
er director general OF railroads as.
serted before the senate interstate
commerce committee today.
McAdoo vigorously defended gov
ernmental control and sharply as
sailed leading railroad EXECUTIVES
who are attributing the present
crippled condition Of the lines TO
lack OF maintenance during war
time operation. lie cited long lists
Of figures to prove his contertiJns.
II there was any inefficiency n
railroad operation during the war
McAdoo said. the responsibility must
be placed squarely up to the same
railroad executives, who are now
crying that their lines were under
maintained. These executives were
managing their lines during govern
mental operation. McAdoo revealed
that shortly after governmental op-
Grafton began, he wrote letters TO
Samuel Rea, president Of the Penn.
sylvania; Daniel Willard. president
OF the Baltimore and Ohio; A. T.
Dice, of the Reading and w. G.
Bessler of the Central of New Jer-
sey, threatening to remove them
from their offices unless inefficiency
on their lines was not Immediately
eliminated.
Seizure of the roads, McAdoo said,
was caused because the congested
roads under private operation had
become a menace to the safety OF
the nation and the allied cause.
Charges of inefficiency in the
manaP ment of the railroads during
federal control have from time to
time. been made and published with
a recklessness for which for In
stance, design for selfish purpose
alone can account McAdoo said.
"In the year 1918, after paying
rental to the railroad corporations
of 100000 there was deficit
Of railroad operation of $216,OOO,OOO.
people urge this deficit
as conclusive evidence of the failure
Of the railroad administration.
at was part of the war cost and
like all war costs, 1t was an ex'
penditure for which there is no COM
but victory.
when we consider the imminent
peril which faced the country be-
cause of the breakdown Of the rail-
road under private control in 1916
and 1917, and reflect that the as
sertion of federal control alone over
came that peril and transformed the
into tremendous and ef-
fective war machine, and that the
total cost of transportation for the
war purpose during the rs months
Of federal control was only $714O00,-
600, it is infinitesimal as compared
with the total expenditure made by
the American people to win the war.
"The collapse of the railroads under
the burden of war traffic had al
most cut the line Of communication
between the American army at the
front and its base of supplies Nc
Adoo charged in arguing that it was
necessary to take over the lines. He
then declared as false the state
mont, now being made by railroad
executives that when the govern
ment took the roads over the lines
were ga well equipped machine"
Quoting a statement Of Samuel
Rea. Hale Holden, Fairfax Harrison,
julius Kruttschnitt and other rail
road heads, few days before the
roads were seized, McAdoo said:
'By their own confessions the
railroads needed in order to be "a
well equipped machine 1902 loco
motives and 192,S57 freight cars.
During federal control, 4,426 loco
motives and 159,O56 freight cars
were supplied to the railroads"
He stated that the number of loco
motives in good condition the lines
at the beginning of federal control
was $500 and $500 at the end.
The percentage Of bad order cars
was 5.S of the total at the beginning
of federal control; 81 at the end.
Meade praised the work of rail-
road labor during the war saying
enginemen alone saved the govern
ment s5O,OOO.OOO a year by agreeing
to work longer hours.