The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-11-10

n. See. -. Twp. 4 g., n. 81 East, Monfa1
that American railroads shall main.
tain their high rank among the trans.
portatiOn agencies Of the world. I be.
lieve them worthy OF the public trust
The growth Of public regulation has
placed the railroads literally at the
mercy Of the public. The railroads are
controlled through governmental agen.
cies in the service they shall give. the
rates they shall charge. the wages they
shall pay ana the conditions under
which their employees shall work
while to management is given the
power OF directing operations within
these limitations. But 1 hold for man.
agcment greater task, that of I'M
pressing upon public opinion the need
Of constructive policies. and Of out
lining what those policies should be-
Railway management IL the trustee OF
vast properties valued at near 49,.
000.000,0e0, and 1t would be derelict to
duty II It did not exert it's utmost ef-
fort toward construction as against
destruction. toward progress as against
retrogression.
When we are i'll we call upon men
tarined In the diagnosis and treatment
Of human ailments to effect a cure;
when questions Of Jurisprudence arise
we consult the best legal minds at our
disposal to guide our actions: in rail-
way matters men trained in that sci
ence should be our advisers. In the
consideration Of every public question
there always is proposed a plethora of
untried remedies. fake cures. quack
panaceas; these have exercised. in the
past, too great an influence upon pub
lie thought in railway matters.
The first principle Of railway prog
ress 10 the necessity of placing at the
disposal Of the railroads a net income
which will be sufficient to pay obliga-
lions and attract the savings Of in
vestors in order that extensions. Inn
provements and betterments may be
carried out. The only source Of this
revenue IL in the rates charged for
transportation service. ''what the
traffic can bear" IL the misnomer. The
movement Of traffic can be more seri-
ously hampered by physical inability
to handle it than by rates which seem
high as compared with those Of an
other period. Rates. Of course, should
be SO distributed as to allow for an
easy f1of of products from producer to
consumer. but the imporantce of Iro-
tecting the railroads against rates
which will impair service is too easily
lost sight of in our desre to protect
other industry from rates which might
upset the scale of price adjustments.
Another important element in assur-
ing railway progress is the need for
curtailing oppressive regulations which
increase the cost Of producing trans
portation without increasing the ca
pacity for transportation. In one Of
the states in which the Illinois Central
operates bills were introduced and
passed for passage in the recent ses-
sion of the legislature which. If they
had been passed and approved. would
have increased the expenditures of the
railroads of that state more than $780,
100000 annually without in any way
increasing their efficiency. Practically
the same situation has existed in the
regular sessions of every state legis-
lature Of the forty-eight states for
years past. Fortunately for the rail-
roads and for the public. which must
underwrite the railroads bills, the
measures to which I nave referred
failed. but that has not been the his
tory Of such legislation. Too often the
Ill advised burden has been placed.
The cumulative effect of this short
sightedness has been to place the rail-
Grads under great handicaps and to In
crease unnecessarily the cost of trans
portation.
The hope of the railroads lies in the
establishment and maintenance Of
wholesome public sentiment toward
them. The public shonld bear in mind
that whatever hurts the railroads
hurt the public. Anything that at
fects railway service and rates letri-
mentally is opposed to the public well
fare. for anything that Increases the
cost of transportation without a COM
parable betterment Of service has
bearing upon rates. The welfare of
the railroads and the public welfare
are SO unterwoven that it is impos-
sible to separate them. That the pub
lie has not been inclined to accept this
viewpoint is unfortunate: that the ,ub-
lie is now more favorablv minded to-
ward the railroads augers well. 8
On the Illinois Central System we
are eXerting our hes. efforts to &C.
quaint our patrons with railway prob
lens and the best methods of their So
luton, and are asking their confrue-
tive criticism and suggestions. We are
being rewarded by the cooperation of
the public served by our line In a de-
gree hitherto unknown.
We have passed through trying
times and our lesson in railway econ
omies has been hard one. If we have
profited by it, 1t is well. believe we
have.
HEAD OF WORLDS GRgcATESr SAD.