Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1925-02-27

the railroads 10r doing lar more
difficult work. Do you shrink from
stamping out such rottennessg /
say take sledge hammer to themI
Third, your cry about the extra
help during the war. Do you realize
that private utilities were so corrupt
and so scandalously inefficient and
withal so devilish quarrelsome among
themselves that they were unable to
deliver the goods. This forced the
government to save itself at a bad
time, cost or no cost. It did this and
then the scoundrels played |. W. W.
sabotage-treason in hampering the
government.
Fourth, About the government be-
ing unable to act quickly. You may
as we'll say that the post Office de-
partment is failure. Suppose you
just try out this phase of it's bust
ness and rob a post Office or two.
am thinking you will get rather con-
vincing action. All matters of gov
eminent will readily be put under
proper departments in any other util-
tiles.
Surely, as a fifth point, Govern
ment ownership is a direct concern
of the farmers. But it is private
ownership that has come to be a di-
rect concern of the farmers. It is
private ownership that has sapped
the wealth of the lands of nations,
Mr.. French, not government owner
ship, and we are, in these United
States, precisely on the road to des-
truction in this respect. Is it pos
sible that you would say that the
farmers of any country do not pay
that country's privately owned util-
tiles, railroads or what not, the cost
of operating the utility plus profit
which the government never wants
or needs? Then that profit! What
is it? 1t is a sum beyond the bounds
of the corruptionists themselves to
name. Lookl The Standard oil prof
its! The steel, the coal, the iron
profits and on and on. Would a gov
eminent have extorted these fabulous
sums from people or would it have
striven to have left them in the
peoples pockets where they ought
to be?
Sixth, the world is not appraised
of the choking of civilization by its
folly of capitalism.
Seventh, it is a repetition of words
to say that the farmer, he pays the
freight. Under private ownership he
pays the freight and enough more
that his government would not con-
fiscate out of him, to pile mp billions
of dollars, exactly as / have mention
ed.
Eighth, You ask, shall the rail
roads be unloaded? The answer is
they shall, when the people get wiser
to them and that is q wisdom that is
growing. To start with they will
unload their over capitalization gar
bage that they have programmed the,
farmer on for all these past years,
and then they will take what their
real frame work is worth or the peo- \
pie will build a few roads at what
an honest cost is. Then, you will
see the railroads" tumble over them
selves to unload.
This they will do at an honest
price.
Ninth, 1t matters not an iota what
the railroads are worth or any other
property that the people decide that
the government should take over, the
correct value of such property can be
determined and paid for. If any pub
lie utility is acquired at proper value,
or even at value that pluses to such
value, because of an injustice that
may arise due to our national error
in not retaining these civilization,
choking utilities at the beginning, the
same as we did the post office utility,
which of course is already included
in what the roads are claimed to be
worth, and which the nation is al
ready paying roundly an income up
on, the people can well even pay the
price, and, in thereabout ten years
pay for the roads out of the incomes
now exacted by the roads There
after the roads would be operated
by the government at rates income
off.
Tenth, the short period of time
that the government operated the
roads under war conditions, with in
experienced help, excessive strain of
carrying and hampering by officials
named above, is not a proper exam
pie or criterion to prove government
operation a failure. But the success
full operation of the post Office utility
or that of the Panama canal stands
more fair assurance.
Eleventh, It is useless, as has been
shown above, to state that a govern
ment cannot secure supplies for any
purpose as cheaply as any private
corporation. It is already so doing
when it calls for bids for coal, steel,
or farm supplies. For farm sup
plies, it always pays barely the
wholesale price, as any farmer who
cares to look into the matter can
learn.
Twelfth, The point you seek to
make about taxes is grOundless, be-
cause no corporation exists without
it charges its users, those who "pay
~ 4 Il.