The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-14
RAIL RATES SHOULD DECLINE

RAIL RATES SHOULD DECLINE
There is some propaganda being
spread to the effect that the railroads
cannot undergo decrease in rates
in the face of the equipment they
must have in order properly to serve
/ the public. Indeed, when Mr.. Samuel
Vauclain of the Baldwin Locomotive
Works was South, he remarked that
he was amazed to hear that President
Harding will advocate lower rates and
that he would do better to speak for
higher rates. 1t is not surprising that
railroad men should speak for rates as
high as they can possibly squeeze
from an unwilling public, for such is
their history and training. People,
therefore, would do we'll to turn deaf
ear to such self-seeking appeal.
Everybody knows that high freight
rates are potent factor in keeping
everything else high, whether food,
building materials, clothing or minor
necessities. The time has come for
rates to come down. The plea that
the roads require the revenue for buy
ing equipment is not valid, for rail
roads may not expect to obtain from
current revenues the capital for adj
ditional investment. Such equipment
lasts for many years and the revenue
to pay for it should be distributed
over period of years. Whatever i'm
mediate capital is needed for invest
ment should be borrowed or raised
by the sale of securities, as is COM
mon business policy and just as many
roads are doing.
The welfare of the railroads is not
the primary consideration of the gov
eminent, but the welfare of the pub
lie served by the railroads. Were it
not for the public the railroads would
not be needed at all. High freight
rates are a drag on industry which
is not severely felt in this period of
peak production, but which was felt
during the depression and which will
again be felt when production slows
up. Indeed, it is not improbable that
the burden of high rates made the de-
preston heavier and that the same
burden will tend to put brake on
production earlier than would other
wise be the case. The railroads should
have square deal for the sake of the
general welfare, but they must spread
the lean with the fat just as every
body else has to do.
Furthermore, it has never been con-
clusively and convincingly denied that
reduction in rates would so stimu-
late traffic as to make up for any
such reduction. 1t is believed by i'm
partial students of rates and railways
that the earnings for the first quarter
of the current year have been around
seven per cent, which is good earn
ing indeed. Shall the people heed this
appeal of Mr.. Vauclain: "Stop cry
ing for lower rates. AS matter of
fact your rates should be left to the
railway traffic men; they know more
about them; if they had charge of rate
making they would lower some and
raise some; certainly make them more
equitable?" Or shall the people re-
member what the railroads did do
when they had the rate making in
hand? 1t is true that they lowered
some rates and raised others. Pain
fully true! They lowered rates in
competitive territory and raised them
in non-competitive territory, thus
making an unprotected public pay the
cost of their fights for business and
for the divisional losses thus encoun-
tered. They made the rates more
equitable! For the railroads! But it
was at the public expense. When
President Harding expresses the opin-
ion that rail rates should come down,
the public may take it for granted
that the president has been we'll ad-
vised.