Evening journal., 1923-01-13
RaillUays as '.FaH Game"

The railway problem Is perennial.
Jt is always with us. It was here
forty years ago. II WIFI be here to-
morrow its face altered, its substance
the same. No matter how intense
may be the energy the arrangements
apply TO the operation of their roads,
nor how shrewdly the directors may
( try TO anticipate the needs and the
demands of the future, nor how wise
ly the owners may strive to finance
their lines In the Interest both OF
fair returns and of generous i'm
provements. nor how faithfully the
officials may seek to obey the rules
/ laid down by this board and that
board set over them by action of
Congress. nor how heedfully they
may listen to the expressed desires
Of the public-notwithstandlng all
these things. whenever a train is late,
or a slight accident occurs, or any
thing little or large goes wrong. the
roads will be in for a drubbing.
This always has been true. We
suppose It always viii be true. The
railways are flair game"
The welfare Of the whole people
is intimately connected with rail-
road efficiency. Every person in
the United States is dependent one
way or another on railway opera
tion. Not unless we can go back
10 the pony express and the stage
coach, therefore, can we escape what
we commonly though rather vaguely
call the railway problem. II comes
so close 10 us and means much 10
us that we assert the right of every
! freeborn American, and whenever we
note a mistake on our road we pro-
ceed TO eritise that line, and TO de-
nounce. csstigate, and generally
! lambsste railroads in general. That
Is human nature, we suppose. but It
Is not fair, and we think the average
American. II ne thought the matter
through 20 the end, would take back
most of the things ne permits him
self at times 70 say about these
roads.
Consider FOR instance. a few OF
the facts brought out by Judge An
derson IN his address before the
Storrow committee the other day.
Suppose you had been IN business
half a century, that the war had hit
YOU hard and the federal govern
ment had taken over your business,
and then two years after the term
nation OF the war the United states
had returned your business to you
with a bulky book of new rules
4. T,zaaa.pAvfI
must run your business. And sup
pose you had your boolckeepers do
some figuring over the boosting OF
costs that occurred during the war
time. and they reported these things
to you: That your business between
June 30, 1910, and Dec. ST. 1921,
had shown an increase of 1914 per
cent; that in tho same period your
bill for fuel. or power, had increased
11O.7 per cent: that your payroll
had increased 112.5 per cent, and
that your operating revenue had In
creased-62.S per cent?
That Is, your expert goes over all
your books, and lays on your desk
a simple statement that your bills
for labor and power have more than
doubled in II Ia years. while your
increase in revenues has been only
a little more than half the increase
in these expense bills. That is a
pretty serious showing, as any man
ufacturer, or retail dealer, VIII GER
tify. You reflect long time on
those figures. What shan you do?
Quit business? The American busi-
ness man Is not a gutter, not until
he has made sure that there is no
ofher alternative. Reduce ex-
penses? Where? How2 Increase
charges-h-m. Whenever rail-
road man In the silence OF his inner
most office thinks about increasing
in order to make ends meet,
ne hears in the far distance the