The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-07
EXPERT ASSE R rs.
i Al A N ROADS
ARE MISMANAGED
Railway System Most Striking
Example of Difficulties and
Weakness of State Own
erShip Plan

Iso1N4'., jail p--IofHlIlD uos0t4Ais
Italy's new prime minister. who until
nine years ago Was kne wn as So
cialist- has begun his tenure OF OF
flee by frexnrailB laying the ak to
the roof OF al pEblic service tnsti-
tutanns owned OF managed By the
srats such ms railways, telephones
te9ag1apfs, LETTER. and parcel posts
which show a deficit, and even Soma
others which Are mare or less Sue
ces$fnIly rUn-
The railways in ITALY are perhaps
the most striking example of the DIFF
ficultihs and weaknesses of state
management. During IL years of such
. control declares Professor Ugo An
coma, an expert ON financial ques-
tons. they have ceased to be the
largest prpduc GETS of matt nal profit
and nre today virtually owned by the
railroad men Before the great war
the Railways brought in from 10000
900 to 5nyDDo,oDH 1irs year which
might be taken rs interest on the
five And one-ha1f billion lire which
had been spent on conssru citing them
The deficit In 1871 Was over a bill
lion lire aifhJugh tho price OF tickets
is now three times what il was, and
II is said TINT the deficit for 1923
viii be still greater
In fart says Professor Ancona- the
nnt result or government manage
rnent is disorder ON an lines- defi-
cheney of material. dep1orab Bile con
ditinn OF running stock, service
deterM zted- and discipline entirely
wrecked
Wages rner~axe
~ The number of employees and their
wages have enormously Increased,
the avers sc rate of pay having risen
from 2,o0e lire a year before the war
to over 10000 lire today To this
should be added the greatly increased
number or strikes and the fact that
theffs on the railway. which used to
amount 10 about 100000 lire a
year, have now risen OF over 100000
GEO Five billion and half lire were
spent in 60 years in order to con-
struct the railways, two and a half
billion Ire have been spent during
the II years of state control mercy
to enlarge them
Professor Ancona says further that
these troubles are due in large meas
ure to the fact that the Italian rail-
road lines run through sections of the
country each with widely differing
economic, social and climatic condi-
tons. thus creating a complicated and
difficult system impossible for the
state to manage successfully. Polit-
ical interests have been permitted too
much influence in deciding where
new lines were to be built
Another great drawback to the
prosperity of Italian railways, Pro-
fessor Ancona says, is that the work.
ers nave instead on an eight-hour
day Tor all employees, even for those
whose duty consists in opening and
shutting a gate at a level crossing
once or twice day. This eight
hour question has added 10000 o.
$4,000 to the number of the person
mel. and something like 500. 0O0. 600
lire to the expense of operation. The
only remedy likely to bring in a
reign of economy and efficiency, ac-
cording to this financial expert is
the radical one of gradually ceding
to different private companies the
lines which. as one great whole have
been such a failure in the hands of
the state.