| OCR Text |
Show The Blight of Government j liy CUS W. DYEK I Professor of Economics and Sociology, V underbill University i The Arperican constitutional theory the-ory is that It is not a proper function of government to direct the economic processes of business. The direction 1" ', ",r "T'l of business is f uDdamenlalb' an eco nomlc (unction, and can be performed per-formed successfully success-fully only by specialists In the field of business. bus-iness. Bui It is a proper end an essential function func-tion of government govern-ment to regulate regu-late business. FtegulaKon Is a Judicial f u n c -Lion and prop- li ing the economic processes ot the rail- i road business. Fixing wages, hours of labor and general conditions of ser- vice are purely economic functions, 1 and are outside of constitutional Ju- " dicial regulation. But these and many j other economic functions have been taken away rom the owners of the J railroads and assumed by the government gov-ernment 1 When the railroads were prosperous In 1916. they paid 157 million dollars In taxes, and the average amount paid to employes was $892 a year. Undor governmental direction, with practically practi-cally one-third of the railroads In bankruptcy, they are required by th government to pay over 325 million dollars a year In taxes, and the aver-ago aver-ago wages of employes have been raised to $1780 a year. Under governmental direction a large number ol locomotive engineers moke (heir monthly mileage by work- j ing from ten to twenty riys, for which i they receive from $2r0 to $:J5(I a month. Ad engineer on a Southern road takes a train 85 miles In two hours and twenty-six minutes, This Is counted as a day's work- An engineer engi-neer on a Western road take3 a trnln 76 miles In one hour and 54 mlnu'.R. He is on duty less than thre hour, but Is paid for a full day's work On an Kastern road a conductor it on duty nine hours and ten mlnulps day for 13 days In the month Th1 is considered e month'a work fr which the conductor receives $2J)1.P2. The brakeman on this run alw work 13 davs In the month for which he It paid $213.06. On June 1, 1038, ninety-seven mil-roads mil-roads were In bankruptcy. In the first three months of 1938. railroads nitrating nitr-ating over 87 per cent of the tntl railroad mileage did not earn enough to pny the Interest and rpnts for leased roads, and the deficit of all the railroads rail-roads taken together was $1 0B.0no.flO0. Yet the mllroads undor governmental governmen-tal direction are f.irced to pay the highest wages In their history, and carry a tax burden of over 32H mil-linn mil-linn dollars a year, Railroad employe are a power in polilics! Gre.it Is th. government aj a business busi-ness director! erly belongs to government. Under the philosophy of freedom, i as expressed In the Constitution, it Is the functioD and duty of the government gov-ernment to regulate all activities tn human society In the Interest of freedom. Justice and fair play. It Is j the duty of the government to reg- j ulate the practice of medicine, the j practice of law, marriage and di-, vorce, social institutions and even religious institutions os well as bust-' ness in the Interest of equal rlghl." to all and special privileges to none But it is not a proper function of government gov-ernment to direct the activities of men "In the pursuit of happiness" in any Beld. Under constitutional regulation business In this country has made marvelous progress. Who enn point to e single example of real progress in business under governmental direc- I tion? Under governmental regulation, the railroads in this country were successful suc-cessful and prosperous. Under governmental gov-ernmental direction the railroads are In a desperate condition today. In 1U16, the railroads were prosper-I prosper-I ous and had made the whole country coun-try prosperous. It was aboul 'his time that the government abanr.ned Its constitutional function of regulation , nil assumed the function of direct- j |
