Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1923-05-05

from our western ranch to the Chlca-
go market. The distance is 1000
miles. The run should have been made
in seven days: It required twelve.
The losses and shrinkage were heavy
and I was mad.
A railroad is an impersonal corpo-
rationbut when you hear repeatedly
that particular railroad which ap-
pears to have done you an injury is
owned mostly by a man down near
Wall street, the grievance is harder
to control. had heard so often that
this man and that man owned this
road and that road that foolishly
made the assertion myself and my &C.
curacy was challenged.
I Investigated. I was wrong. For
instead of that gentleman owning or
any gentleman owning all or half or
even a quarter Of that particular road,
he didn't own enough stock to elect
himself director, unless quite few
of the other SO, 246 stockholders voted
for him.
1t will be a surprise to many peo-
pie as it was to me to learn that we
have already achieved in rather recent
years public ownership of our rail
roads. With very little effort I GOULD
ascertain the present number Of stock
holders. All I know at the moment
is that ten years ago there were more
than 100000. At that time the Penn
sylvania Railroad had $4,000, and
more than half Of them women and
minor children. Today the Pennsyl-
vania has $4,000 individual stock
holders. Since its lines constitute
nearly one-tenth Of the country's to-
tai mileage, it is possible that ten
times $4,000 or 100000 stockhold-
ers are the actual owners Of our A
mercan Railways.
But I said, as many others are say
ing, "Well, I don't own any of it,
Possibly you don't! But who owns
the bonds, about nine billion dollars
worth? Very largely the Banks in
which you and are carrying de.
post or a loan. We don't wish oul
bank to lose out, for then we may lose
our deposit or may have to pay oul
loan before it is convenient to do So
The life and fire insurance companies
also own lot Of Railway securities
and all Of US carry some insurance
Perhaps some Of us have a life saw
ings involved. So I kept thinking
and the longer reflected the more
became convinced that I was very
much interested in Railroads. and be-
gan to think of their problems more
sympathetically.
To study problem sympathetically
is to study it with understanding. To
approach it with hostile prejudice is
to blind the eyes with ignorance in
advance. So I took the pains to trace
as far as possible the causes for poor
service on my shipment of sheep.
I found there was, first a shortage
of cars, which delayed the loading;
second engines in poor repair; third,
track in many places out of condition;
fourth, cars from weaker foreign
roads in bad order, a draw-bar pulled
out of one, brake-beam fell down on
another and almost ditched the train.
There are dozen causes, major
and MINOR, and for everyone of them
was as much to blame as the Presi-
dent Of that railroad because I had
been doing too little to combat the
unreasoning and unintelligent and I'M
fair hectoring and hampering of the
railroad industry, for ten or fifteen
years past, while every responsible Of
fetal on that particular line has
sweat and struggled to keep, the line
open and trains on time and give
service to the public while they were
giving not one cent to the $4,000
stockholders, little and big, who own
ed that road.
I am thinking of this question pure
ly in my character and occupation Of
a farmer and this is what I think
I think that the farming business
and the railroad business are so ut
terly dependent upon each other, their
interests are so identical that the man
who drives a wedge between them is
either crazy or he is crook.
Perhaps he is neither, but just am
bilious to capture leadership among
farmers and, to entice them, he is will
ling to deceive them to their great in
jury.
The railroads collect about billion
dollare each year from the farmer and
his family for freight going and COM
ing to and from the farm. That's a
heap of money. Is it too much? l
don't know, but I do know that the