The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-04-13
RAILROADS, POWER COMPANIES AND
POLITICIANS

FULL lSlANS
Twenty-Five to thirty years ago, the most
popular pastime of the politicians was
bounding the railroads. Scores OF men
were elected to office on platforms of OPP
position to the railroads A little more
than % years ago North Carolina elected
a Legislature that was known as an anti
railroad Legislature. The fight on the
roads was disguised as railroad control"
and the politicians pleaded with tears in
their eyes and pathOs in their tones that
the sole basis of the fight was their inter
est in the welfare of the deer peepul."
As a result Of this era of railroad 'con-
troll" and regulation" coupled with their
experiences with government operation
during the World War, the carriers were
in a badly depleted and anemc condition
when a new form of competition, motor
driven vehicles, came along to plague
them.
The country is familiar with what hap
pened Some railroad lines have been
compelled to go out of business and the
entire railroad system of the country has
been on the verge of bankruptcy some Of
the country's leading systems being at
them unable to pay bond interest or divi-
dends, and many of them saved from COM
plete wreck in the past.year or two only
by the dangerous Socialistic expedient OF
borrowing from the federal government.
1t is we'll known, of course, that the
railroads would not have been forced to
the wall as they have been, If motor bus
and automobile competition had not de-
veloped in the past two decades. II the
conditions of % years ago had continued
to the present time, the condition of the
roads at present would have been much
better, financially and in every other way,
for the very simple reason that they would
have continued to be the chief carriers Of
passengers and freight throughout the
country; but, after this is admitted as be-
ing the cause of a large part of the trouble
of the roads, it is now clear that the car
riers were over-regulated and unreason-
ably controlled as a result Of the war
waged on them by the politicians and
Observation-Disclosures populace during
the first decade of the present century.
Now, what was the sum total of the re-
suits secured by this politically created
and manipulated fight on the railroads?
Did the people of the country benefit by
it? We believe it can be stated without
fear of successful refutation, that the coun-
try as a whole did not profit to the extent
of a dollar by the insane fight that was
made on the railroads for political reasons,
solely in order that certain candidates
might get themselves elected to offices. In
fact the country as a whole was injured
by their campaign to pillory the roads. All
of public benefit that was realized from
this fight could have been secured by fair
dealing with the roads and by reasonable
regulation of the public carriers, without
stirring up prejudice and hatred against
vast business enterprise that has made
monumental contribution to the develop
ment and upbuilding of this country.
This being true, why was the nasty
fight on the railroads waged % years ago?
For the sole reason that politicians saw
the opportunity to capitalize for their own
profit and advancement, and to serve their
own selfish ends, condition of the public
mind, as well as economic and general
business conditions existing at the time