An Awful Mix-up

1920

By W. D. Boyce (W. D. Boyce's Talks)

Two years ago, when the United States was in the middle of our active part of the European war, the railroads of the United States became so disorganized and inefficient and the service so rotten that the Government had to take them over in order to save the day. Now, when things are getting back to normal again, it is stated that the railroads will be returned to their owners about March 1. Prior to the Government taking them over, the railroads had to do their own financing and prepare for the payment of interest on bonds and dividends on stocks as well as provide for the upkeep, repairs and new equipment. The facts are that they paid out all they took in during the year in interest on bonds and dividends on stock in order to keep up the fictitious values of bonds and stocks. As a result they let the railroads run down so much they were in no condition to supply the needs of the country at the time that the Government took them over.

Now the Government has spent a billion dollars or more on the railroads and has increased freight rates 50 per cent and the railroad officials, if not the stockholders, are glad to get them back. Some of the railroads, however, seem to be disturbed concerning their return and predict they will not get back the same baby that they turned in to the Government hospital. This the cartoonist for The Saturday Blade has tried to show on page 1 this week.

It is a very serious question whether the railroads should be owned by the Government or be restored to private ownership. Private owners have had the chance to demonstrate in times of peace what they could do with the railroads. They had the same opportunity in times of war and made an absolute failure of it. Now they will get the roads back in times of peace, but with a dividend guarantee which will require another big boost in freight and passenger rates. The public will have another chance to watch the operation of railroads by private owners in times of peace, and, unless I miss my guess, after a thoro trial they will insist that the Government take over the roads permanently.

No doubt many things which the railroads should have done under Government operation they did not do. Remember that the Government was obliged to keep at the head of the road those officials who had been at the head of them under private ownership. There is more than a suspicion that many of them did not care to do their best in operating them because they wanted the roads returned to private ownership and if a good showing was made they never would be handed back. Now we will be in the position of Finnegan and it may be a case of "On again, off again, on again, strike again."

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 6.