Milford chronicle., 1946-03-01

forgotten
Nowhere is this better. eXemplified than
in the case of the railroads. During four
years of war, they had to take on every load
an devely passenger that they were rightfully
eXpecte dtO haul, and in addition, every load
and every passenger that other means of
transportation, which included ships, trucks
buses an dairplaneS were unable to haul.
This is all past history. The railroads
handled the load. But now they are taking
cusslng from a lot of folks who wouldn't have
gotten wherever it was they We're going if it
hadn't been for the railroads. The public for
gets the railroads were denied needed cars
and engines before the war ended, and since
1t ended they have been blocked in getting
them, by strikes. To most people the war is
over, but the railroads still have to clean up
the aftermath of war.
When planes East and West were ground
ed by bad weather for several days in Janu-
airy, there was Indignation on the part of
some passengers who had to resort to rail
travel, because the railroads could not take
care Of them in the way they would have lik
ed to be handled, but apparently there was
no resentment toward the airlineS for not
handling them at ALL A prominent cOlumnSt
recently disseminated savage comment upon
the deficiencies of train service, without even
mentioning mitigating circumstances. When
bus transportation was tied up for weeks
throughout the nation, the people just took
the matter for granted and showed the extra
load onto the railroads. Try to get space on
an ocean-golng ship and see how well you fare
today. The traveller seems to excuse all means
of transportation disrupted by the war, eX-
cept the railroads, even though, through all
the transportation difficulties, the railroads
were in there pitching all the time and get
ting the traveller and the freight through in
some manner.
1t is not necessary to blame other trans
portatlOn for failures But it is unfair to
blame the railroads for conditions thrust
upon them beyond their control.
~~oA~
1T HAS BEEN POPULAR of late to COM
pare the Well-being and comfort of the Amer
lean people with the deStituton in other
lands, as if there is something reprehensibe
about our situation. No one can deny that it
is great tragedy that the peoples of other
lands must undergo inhuman suffering But
that is no reason for citiciSm of this country
What we have we have produced ourselves
Nothing has been given to us on a silver plat
ter. Countries that are starving at this mo-
men were highly civilized nations when we
were nothing but a wilderness. We starved
and frOze to make a nation while they lived
in comfort. They could not make it easy for
us then, any more than we can make it easy
for them now.
Statistics of American industry explain
our abundance. A news report in the New
4Ork Times on the coal industry is typical !:
"DeSpite a continued shortage of manpoWer
which reduced the working force of miners
close to a fOrty-tWO-year low, more bitum:n-
Gus coal was mined during 1915 in this coun-
try than in all the rest of the world cOmbn-
ed The industry will end the year with a
production of about 570,000,OOO tons
Doo1I
more than 2,2OO000,000 tons of bituminous
coal were produced 100000 tons work
ing day twice that of all the other Allies
combined. This was made possible .. .. be-
cause OF increased mechaniZatiOn and i'm
proved efficiency
Other countries that are freezing TODAY
have plenty of cOal-in the ground. One of
the reasons it is not being gotten out in
greater quantities is the lack of opportunity
for individual enterprisers In every starv-
ing nation, government is the overload Each
day headlines tell Of what this or that gov
ernment is doing; nothing about what the
people are doing on their own initiative. No
wonder Europe lives in want.
Instead OF us copying the cOlectiviZatiOn
schemes of the old world, the old world should
begin copying some of the capitalistic
scheme of the new world
GEN ERAL EISENHOWER, Army Chief
of Staff, told group Of veterans being dis
charged from the Army few days ago that
they had an investment in the United States,
and that the Star Spanged Banner means a
lot more to them now. 1t is very good
thought, which has its lessons for all of us.
The war veterans have made tremend-
Gus Investment in the United States. They
have given it long period of their precious
time. Millions of them have served through
the arduOuS life and hardships of military
campaigns, and the terrors Of battle. All
veterans have given it their hopes and devo-
ton.
All of our people who have given loyal
service to the war effort have also made a
heaVy investment in the country. They have
devoted many hours to various labors con-
nected with the war. They have suffered
deprlVatlons patiently. The families who had
men exposed to any danger in the service
have given constant anxiety for their safety