The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-02
THE RAILROAD QUESTION

The wonderful expansion of the
 business of the railroad companies in the United States in forty years is
 without parallel in any other country. The ton miles for all our railroads in 1883 amounted to 44,923,445. In 1923
 the total ton miles were 430,O00, ,000,-
 900, or approximately ten times as
 great. It is no wonder that the rail-
 roads have been hard put to it to pro-
 vide equipment fast enough to care
 for this growing tonnage. Indeed, the
 business has expanded 50 enormously
 that inefficiencies in management
 which were hardly perceptible forty years ago now constitute drain upon the revenues which is extremely mo- ticeable. Accordingly, railway admin istration has now come to developing it's capacity intensivelye to . degree greateg than formerly it sought to ex- pand extensively. Ii. is probable that there are yet possible economies in ad- ministration and operation of the roads which would expand their present an- nual capacity by the equivalent of all the haulage of forty years ago. The already greatly increased average mile- age per car is indication of what may be done. l.
 1.-The railroads are appealing to public sentiment in support of their demand for less goSernment interference. The public should not be nisled into think ing that government regulation is nec- essarily interference. Nor should the people believe that all our transporta- tion expansion of the future must lie with the railroads. The railroads have their indispensable part to play, but it is a coordinate part, the other two factors of which have been denied their corresponding opportunity to de- velop. With the expansion of the rail roads must come 3 proportionately greater expansion of public highways and inland waterways, for these two arms of transportation have to make up lot of lost ground.
 In the figures given to show the earnings of the railroads of three and a third per cent. in 1921, four and a sixth per cent. in 1922 and five per cent. in 19235 it must be remembered that this is based not on final, but on tentative valuation of railroads. If the tentative valuation is too high, as many able men believe, then the earnings for the past three years on that valuation are actually representa- tive of better showing than the per centages indicate. If the final valua- ton should be reduction over the tentative valuation, then the percent ages will be correspondingly higher. The demand for reduction in freight rates is quite widespread. It shows that the public is convinced that the tentative valuation is too high, as we'll as that the policy of imposing upon the public an obligation to guarantee the railroads minimum earning pre- supposes a most accurate and con- servative valuation of utility property.
 Congress will be called upon during the present session to consider the question of the railroads. The rail- roads are preparing their case with the utmost skill, and are appealing to. public sympathy as vital factor in their strength with Congress. Those who are elected to serve the people of this country in congress must rally all their faculties and all their intelli- gence to protect the public welfare, while at the same time rendering full justice to the railroads. It is believed that in the past three years the welfare of the railroads has been better pro- tected than the public welfare. Con- gress has the opportunity to rectify any injustices. Failure to do this may be nationally injurious, and in any event will be neglect of public duty.