Milford chronicle., 1958-05-02
CALAMITY JUNCTION

CALAMITY JUNCTION
The Washington Cd. CD Daily News
commissioned top staff man to write a SER
les of articles on the railroad problem. The
gist of his findings are described in one ar
ticles title-"A Dangerous Situation Wait
ing Since Wars End to Explode )" A
paragraph states: "A crushing overlay of
Federal-state regulation, tormenting fnan-
cial losses, subsidy, of competition, wither-
ing business downturn-these are combin-
ing to drive railroads to the wall"
The News ran an editorial on the subject,
entitled Calamity Junction" This said, in
part: "They (the railroads) are losing bus
mess, they are losing money and they are in
serious danger of going smash.
at is pretty sad story for once-great
industry, an industry which won a world of
kudos for really amazing job in World War
Ill.
y And that job is the cue to why the plight
of the rails suddenly has become a matter of
alarm in Congress- In defense emerg ency,
the railroads would be the aorta of the ma
tional transport system"
The editorial also said: ". solutions
which have been proposed are subject to
more heat than light. Moreover, the politi-
clans are unlikely to come anywhere near
reasonable action unless they are prodded by
an educated public opinion"
About all one can say to that is that light
had better replace the heat in hurry. The
railroads must be allowed to make the most
of their inherent advantages, in rate-making
and in other ways. They must be allowed to
discontinue losing passenger services for
which there is no longer any need or demand.
They must be given a chance to meet their
competition on equal terms-which is far
from the case now. They must find ways to
earn fair profit, in order to carry out their
- l~,.
cities, at "a cost of billions. Unless Con-
gress and the states move, a railroad catas-
trophe is inevitable. And that would be
national catastrophe of the worst kind.
SSo&S
COMPULSLON VS.. INCENTIVE
Military plans, needs and programs hold
the headlines. "But our long-term struggle
with communism will take place in the much
less dramatic area of economic growth"
That was said the other day by President
G.. Keith Funston of the New York Stock
Exchange. 1t is truism that bears repeat
ing. Our strength-and the strength of the
free world we are doing so much to support
depends on ever-expanding industrial ca
pacity.
In late year, Mr.. Funston went on, Rus
sia "was able to pour a startling 279o of
her total output into new inveStments!" !" as
against 1870 for the u. S. Russia does that
by dlctation, squeezing capital out of her
people whether they like it or not. Our prob
lem, on the other hand, is "How will free
society attract free funds from free people
i'm order to compete successfully"
There is just one answer to that question.
Adequate incentives must be offered to peo-
pie to encourage them to take risks. To put
it another way, risk capital, like individuals,
must earn living wage, and the tax laws
must encourage such capital to form.
This is an exceedingly important matter.
From now on, Mr.. Funston says, the corpor
ate bill for new plants and equipment alone
should average an estimated $45 billion
year much more than was considered nee
essary a comparatively short time ago. And
something like 81 billion of that should be
raised by the sale of common stocks-more
than two-and-a-half times the level of recent
years.
The challenges of the space age are here.
We must firmly meet them-and in all the all
important area of industrial capacity as well
as armed strength. We cannot have the one
without the other.
THE FRUSTRATION ABSURDITY
1t is a mistake to attribute all criminal
instincts to Illustration over social or eco
nomic status, but it is becoming quite habit
with social workers to explain the criminal
acts of individuals upon the thesis that all
crime originates from some inequality in
the social order
This obviously leads us to the conclusion,
if some sociologists are correct, that the
way to abolish crime is to give everybody
what they want. Make everybody equal, in
social, political and economic status.
This is an absurd thesis. There are GRIM
inas in all levels of human society. Except
ing certain instances of stealing, connected
with the potential status of under-privileged,
the bulk of the criminal acts in this country
are committed by those who are unwilling
to accept the discipline OF an orderly society,