Evening star., 1923-09-12
GANADIAN-ONNED
RAILROADS PRAISED
Government Operation Be-
coming Steadily More Ef-
ficient, Says Executive.
BY EDWARD PRICE BELL.

Special Dispatch to The Star and the Chicago
Daily News.
OTTAWA, Ont, September IA
Gradual Improvement of the financial
condition of the Canadian National
railways. according to President Sir
Henry Thornton, warrants the pre-
diction of complete ultimate success
for "the greatest government-owned
railroad system in the world"
Sir Henry will speak on this subject
during the present week at the
Toronto conference OF the. Public
Ownership League of North America
Our great experiment." said Sir
Henry to the writer, should be con-
sidered as an effort to get all the ad-
Vantages of public ownership with as
few as possible of the disadvantages
of public operation. Canadian citizens
own this system of nearly $4,000 miles
of track.
Profits to Nation.
"Whatever profits there may be go
to the nation as the sole stockholders.
Politics, of. course, Is the enemy
that always must be fought in such
undertakings. Politics, so far as 1t
can interfere with the management,
involves waste, incompetence and dis
aster. 1t is my duty as president to
guard this great national property
against political meddling. and / am
doing my utmost, with the sincere
co-operaton of the government, to
(ulfill this obligation. y
81 am acting precisely as 1 should
act IL private investors instead OF
public owned these railroads and In
trusted me with their operation. Ones
Incentive in such position is dual
the urge of conscience and the ambi-
tion TO achieve success, with Its popu-
lar benefit and it's personal glory in
circumstances almost universally re-
IL - 4
Needless Expense Cut.
I'VE are at one and the same time
topping off needless expenditure and
increasing our earnings Evils Of
costly competition we can eliminate,
for there is no demand in our system
for duplicatory services. 1t Is true
that Canada has overbuilt her rail-
road needs-haS a greater mileage of
railways than her population and
trade require.
1T is true. also, that some parts
of the country have had surplusage
of train service, too many trains to
be profitable, however economical and
skiIful the operating methods. Such
excesses, one need not say, are not
easy to remove where their removal
may involve political penalties. But
the Canadians are a public spirited
people and we are confident of carry
ing their approval in all prudent
measures of railroad REFORM"
Equal confidence in the outcome of
the Canadian experiment in railway
operation is expressed by Thomas A.
Low, minister of trade and commerce.
I'VE are at least" said Low, "go-
ing to give the Canadian National
Railways a fair trial. If they are
not uccessful-contrary to our ex-
Dectation-it will be necessary to
turn TO something else: We are OPP
Grating successfully as g. public own
srship enterprise one of the largest
hydro power systems in the world,
and if we can do this we see no rea-
son to doubt our ability. by the use
# like principles and practices, to
make the National Railways a
profitable proposition"
On the other hand, Lord Atholston,
publisher and editor-in-chief of the
rticles entitled The Whisper of
aath," calls for a reduction of rail-
ly services from a population basis
twenty-five millions to popula-
IN basis of eight or ten millions.
jrd Atholston demands new blood" ;"
charges the present government
nth "straddling across the bottom
less abyss between the conservatism
of protection and the radical social
ism of government ownership" and
declares that only men conscripted
from the ranks of business, agri-
culture, labor and industry can steer
a straight course toward balanced
budgets and a salvaged dominion"
DOWNRIGHT 1923