Evening star., 1932-04-17

still have reached no ultimate solution
! of the problem.
The real answer is elimination
! through consolidation Thirty per cent
of the rail mileage of the United States
! brings in a bare per cent Of the gross
revenues. The answer 10 that should
be obvious There are towns. whole
| communities. whole States that quite
naturally will resent the tearing up Of
tracks and the abandonment of rail-
/ road lines. Politics will come into it.
Yet elimination is the very thing that
must be done-in fact, it already has
| started to be done The Boston &
Maine and the New Haven have COM
| pletely abandoned a considerable mil
! cage in New England. and much more
| has been partly abandoned. The
| Colorado Midland, reaching West from
| Colorado Springs to GlenWood Springs,
is now a thing Of memory; It's long
| tunnel under the Divide is used by
motorists when Winter SHOWS cover
TIE pass above
| Che might 20 on at le,eth in dis
/ cusSng possibilities for the ta0re eco
/ nomicai ana battcred operation nf our
J American railroad system But IN the
| long run ii ell comes to the one thing
| the bringing of all the roads under
! fewer heads Of control. This, OF
course, means more rapid progress in
consolidation.
One of the arguments raised against
! consolidation is that 1t viii make II
! Just so much easier for the Federal
Government. should it wish to take
over and absorb the entire railroad
structure. That may be So But
good many men are already OF the
opinion that our roads are now headed
toward Government ownership and
operation anyhow. that 1t is the only
salvation OF their securities holders.
Involves Many Questions.
Not eyerv one subscribes to this view,
however. 1t would raise many practical
quest ions as well as economic one. II
Unce Sam did finally take over all the
roads and operate them ss his own,
how about the $3.50, ,220, 1872 in taxes that
they paid State and county and munich
pal governments III 1880? More than
one American community. more than
one State government would be deeply
in the red If this revenue from railroad
taxes were to be discontinued. This is
one of the strongest arguments against
State ownership of railroads in America.
1t might be answered by the creation Of
a private corporation in which Uncle
Sam would be the chief and probably
the only stockholder and which might
continue to pay State, city and county
taxes-but 1t is quite certain that the
responsible fiscal authorities Of these
communities you'd not rest very easy at
any time with the volatile Uncle Sam
as their chief taxpayer.
The real answer to all Of this would
seem to be, first. further definite and
undelayed progress in rail consolidation.
and then, elimination of trackage, con-
solidation of terminals. pooling of trains
and other rolling stock facilities. This
would result in a more closely co-ordi-
mated system of national rail transport
ito which can be co-ordinated, in part
at least. and upon similar terms OF
regulation. air and water and highway
transport efficiently operated and well
sold to It's potential patrons.
In such a platform lies not only the
best but almost the only possible future
for the American railroads Any other
policy inevitably spells Government
ownership and operation of our rails
nothing less.