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Show AS TO GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP. President Ripley of the Santa Fe railroad says Government ownership of the railroads would mean the downfall of the Republic. Then he declared that in a business way the Government has never done anything well or economically, and, cited the fact that the postoffice revenues run behind millions annually an-nually and added "nothing would please me more than to be allowed to organize a syndicate to operate oper-ate that department." It is true, when we think of it, that the work done by the postoffice department could be done by a private firm with a saving of probably 33 per cent under the present cost. And yet it is all simple work. It requires neither great intellectual nor mechanical skill ; it is routine work, the same yesterday, today and forever; no emergencies to meet; no machinery to provide or keep in order, no anxiety about pay day; no abstruse problems to solve; the highest genius needed is that of a bookkeeper. Still it costs half as much again as it would in private hands. Then, it is now used as a political power. What would it be were the roads with their millions of employees em-ployees turned over and made a political machine f Suppose some Napoleon were to reach the Presidency with that force, at his command. We believe that President Ripley is a good deal more than half right. |