Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-29
GOVERNMENT
AGAIN

Senator Cummins has a bill
which he says he will introduce in
the senate next week, which gives
the president authority to take over
and operate any railroad that fails
to function as a common carrier in
a way consistent with the needs of
the public. President Harding has
not asked congress for any such
legislation as yet. Scientifically,
it is announced that he has not
made up his mind yet as to the de-
STABILITY Of such legislation, but
will make up his mind about it dur
ing the course of a week end trip
in the presidential yacht May
flower which he started on Satur-
day. He expects that when he gets
out to sea the fogs that cluster
round his mind will all be blown
away and he will IN back with
his mind made up as to the desira-
bility of such legislation.
The republican leaders are quot
ed as holding the opinion that the
president can get such powers from
congress if he asks for them, but
not otherwise. They admit that
there would be considerable oppo-
sition at that, even among their
own party. President Wilson re-
ceived such powers from congress
as a war measure and used them.
Government operation of the rail
roads of the country was not very
satisfactory to business men. 1t
could hardly be expected that it
would be, for the railroads were
used by the government. first of all
to win the war, and service to the
public or business was a secondary
consideration. The director gen
erai of railroads wanted to try it
out for five years in times of peace,
but the public and business men
were so thoroughly Disguised with
governmental ownership that they
would not listen to the proposal,
and they turned the railroads back
to private ownership at the first
opportunity.
The readers of these columns
know that we have always consist
emily maintained that eventually
government ownership and opera
ton of railroad properties was
bound to come about, not because
we would get more efficient oper-
alton or cheaper rates in that way.
for we believe the reverse of this
experience would be ours, but be-
cause the public would not permit
investors in railroads to receive
any adequate return in interest on
their investment. Therefore, the
railroads would be unable to keep
pace with the growth of the coun-
try in new railroads built and new
equipment for roads already built
No owners of capital would put up
the money for these things, so the
government would have to put it up
or see the business of the country
strangled by insufficient rail facili-
ties. Then we will have govern
ment ownership of railroads,
whether we like it or not. 1t may
be because we must make a choice
of evils, but we will make such
choice most surely. 1t is easy for
any demagog to persuade the peo-
ple to take a crack at the treasury
of any roadroad, whether it vio-
lates equity and justice or not. II
was illustrated at Helena the other
dav. when the state board of equal
ization tentatively boosted the val
uation of all the principal railroads
operating in this state. They had
to adopt three different methods OF
fixing values to do it, for no single
method applied to all would work
out in the increase desired. So
they adopted one method of finding
the tax value of the Northern Pa
cific, another method of finding the
tax value of the Great Northern
and still another method of finding
the tax value of the Milwaukee
system, boosted them all, though ir
the previous year they were all
paying higher taxes in proportion
to the selling value of their prop.
erty than any other form of prop.
erty in the state. with the possible
exception Of banks. Moreover