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Show f'i WHO ARE THE RAILROADS? K (By B. L. Winchell.) He who attempts to array class against class Is no moro a demagogue than the man who attempts to bring about strife between tho people and tho creations of tholr own Industry, tho vested Interests they hold In clvl-R clvl-R llzatlon. Tho cartoonist who, to fur- H thor an idea, depicts a suppositious m' battle between tho people and tho railroads as human conflict with a j fearsomo and soulless crcaturo of B I iron, smoke and fire, lacks that fine HI quality of imagination which points Baj oven In prophecy always to tho truth. HV Ills which may arise In the admlnls- fl' tration of that lntcrgral part of a na- t , tlon's llfo, transportation, can not bo M treated as an external plague of for- M' elgn and hostile origin. Thoy are Hi symptoms of internal and not oxternal disorder. To urgo tho pcoplo to war H; upon tho railroads of tho country is equivalent to telling them that by de-Hj'' de-Hj'' stroylug their own property, created by themselves, they can right fancied Hi' ( wrongs. To burn tho houso that it Bj may be cleansed Is not an American BB method of reform. BH The People and the Railroads. HI Tho railroads aro tho people and the pcoplo aro tho railroads. Of no other HJ great industry can this so truly be said, for nono enters into tho warp and woof of national, local and indl-vldual indl-vldual life with such intensity, such completeness and such barometric sensitiveness to Its environment. To build a singlo milo of track In any ono stato stirs the energies ot hundreds of pcoplo in a score of others. Of land, timber, mineral and labor, nil taken from tho stores of tho nation, is tho milo of commercial highway constructed. First, tho pco-pie pco-pie glvo their consent; then capital, that surplus derived from other in-dustrles in-dustrles and seeking now employment, is scattered broadcast among the la-borers la-borers of tho land that rails may bo laid, no occupation failing to rccelvo its quota. Tho building of railroads in tho west and south has dono moro to equalize commercial power throughout tho United States than any other force at work in tho upbuilding and solldlfica-tlon solldlfica-tlon of this nation of people, scattered as thoy aro over wldo and unlike areas. Tho building of these roads has overcomo tho tendency toward centralization of power in any ono section. The near motivo for the building Is tho hope of a surplus over tho cost c operation to repay thoso who furnish of their savings that the work may bo dono. Tho ultlmato effect is far-rcack-Ing, however, for when a new railroad is built, conditions of llfo throughout tho country can bo readjusted for tho better, In that another outlet Is pro-vlded pro-vlded for labor, homcseokers and tho surplus products of older communl-ties, communl-ties, to say nothing of tho now stores of natural wealth placed within reach. Tho center of population has been pulled hither and thither, though ever with a southwestern tendency, as rail-roads rail-roads havo appeared upon tho face of' the land and sot a new paco for the growth of the nation. Value of American Railroad Property. Nearly fifteen billion dollars repre- sents tho actual commercial value of railroad property in tho United States today, an increaso in forty years of over one thousand per cent. It is 1 1 largely, if not entirely, duo to this in- creaso In transportation facilities that during tho same period of time tho resources of national, state, private and savings banks havo increased four hundred fold, and the material wealth of tho American people has increased to tho extent of oighty 1)11-H, 1)11-H, lion dollars. H. With all this Interdependence of. tho railroads upon tho people and the people upon tho railroads, It might oven still bo possible for tho latter to bo owned by alien interests wcro it not for tho fact that no single interest separated from tho interests of the pcoplo themselves could or would havo brought about tho tremendous development of tho past fifty years. Every milo of railroad which is built in tho United States Is a monument to hopes, aspirations and energies, and a tangiblo response to the needs and desires of a community. Thus it represents far moro than a mere expenditure ex-penditure and tho details of construction. construc-tion. Thero Is overwhelming testimony to the effect that this interest of the pcoplo in tho railroads goes beyond tho mero fact of securing transportation transporta-tion facilities; that it continues in the form of subsequent ownership of the same through wldo diffusion of certificates cer-tificates which represent title to tho right of way and equipment. The Investment of money in tho construction con-struction of railroads is finally certified certi-fied to by tho issuo of stocks, bonds, and mortgages. Tho people who own theso securities ar6 tho owners of the actual railroad property. The ownership owner-ship is not absolute, however, in thai there aro now many laws, national and state, which regulate railroad conduct; and public opinion is always a formidable factor In railroad man-igemcnt. man-igemcnt. Even actual railroad ownership own-ership is, thereforo, a public trust rather than autocratic control. The Extent of Railway Interests. This trust lies In tho hands of the people themselves for the simple reason rea-son that railroad ownership Is so divided di-vided among tho individuals who constitute con-stitute tho American nation that there Is no bank, no trust company, no college, col-lege, no savings institution, no organization organ-ization holding accumulated money for investment or endowment and not a singlo life or flro insurance company com-pany but which now owns and regards as safe collateral some form of railroad rail-road bond. Every stockholder, Depositor Depos-itor or patron of ono of thoso institutions, institu-tions, and they include or touch upon practically every activity of tho American Amer-ican people, Is either a direct or ?a::-rect ?a::-rect owner of railroads to tho full ox-tent ox-tent of his Interests in tho institution or institutions of which ho is a part or which he may patronize. In nddltion to this direct Interest in railroad ownership tho capitalist, large or small, whoso returns upon savings or Investments aro based upon railroad rail-road values, shares with every other individual in tho country an indirect Interest in and ownership If tho railroads rail-roads In that thoy bring to him and ho brings to them opportunity for growth and prosperity. So much for thoso who feel their share of railroad ownership through tholr personal interests in-terests in tho value of these railroads when expressed In printed certificates carrying with them I03S03 or dividends. divi-dends. The Revenue of the Railroads. How nbout tho men who pay the freight, tho men who furnish tho supplies, sup-plies, tho men who operate tho railway rail-way system and man tho right of way. Hero Is whero tho railroads enter Into tho dally life of the American peoplo to nn extent seldom realized. Whence comes the vast aggregations of money included under tho head of gross in-como? in-como? Where go tho millions upon millions chocked off under tho head of gross expenditure? The groat merchant, mer-chant, as he pays his daily freight hill of thousands of dollars; tho wealthy tourist, who contracts for tho transportation of his private car across tho continent, theso men can tell you no moro truly or directly from whence comes the' revenue of the rail roads than tha peddler who ships his modest pack by freight from ono town to another, or the Invalid, who is expending ex-pending tho last of hard-oarned dol-Inrs dol-Inrs In an nttompt to escape to sun-shlno sun-shlno and health by way of tho iron rail. It is a personal matter to each and every contributor. Stop tho first man you meet on the street and ask him what tho railroads do with tho money thoy get. Tho chances aro a hundred to ono that he will tell you of what ho knows, or, In other words, of the quota that comes his way. What do tho railroads d with tho $1,200,000,000 thoy receive from service and investment each twelve months? Tho cartoonist, with Ills pencil tilted against the vested Interests of the peoplo of the natjon would picturo this vast amount flowing flow-ing into tho pockets of a favored fow. Tho truth of the maCter is that but a little over eight per cent of this amount went last year to the -50,noQ or moro registered owners of stock. To tho millions of peoplo who own in common tho stocks, bonds and mortgages held as securities by institutions in-stitutions in which these peoplo aro Insured, where they havo their savings sav-ings on deposit, or in which they are stockholders, went fourteen per cent. Even this twenty-two per cent paid to thoso directly Interested through investments in railroad securities is diffused throughout tho county, the peoplo of no stato falling to secure their sharo and each individual receiving re-ceiving in this form Interest upon his contribution to railroad prosperty. Wages of Railway Employes. And what about the remaining seventy-eight per cent of this vast income.? in-come.? Tho 1,300,000 railroad employes em-ployes who drew $77G,000,000 from this sum in wages could account for about forty per cent. The coal miners who furnished fuel could tell of another an-other $150,000,000. State and city and county treasurers could show credits amounting to $60,000,000 paid in taxes, $50,000,000 went for permanent Improvements, Im-provements, $380,000,000 went into operating op-erating expense and miscellaneous Items other than wages, and tho balance bal-ance was all paid out for labor, material ma-terial or service necessary to tho conduct con-duct of tho roads. Theso millions gave employment directly and indirectly indi-rectly to thousands of men and women wo-men whoso names aro not upon the regular pay roll. Certain prosperous communities in the West aro commonly spoken of as "railroad towns." This means that railroad Interests, railroad employes, and railroad work aro most In evidence evi-dence in the dally llfo of these communities. com-munities. The "railroad towns" of several years ago are now cities in their own right. Tho "railroad towns" of today will bo the proud cities of tomorrow. These new cities are lusty In their civic strength, replete with evidences of healthy activity, and are apparently sufficiently resourceful to meet any form of disaster with composure. com-posure. This is true with ono exception: excep-tion: deprive them of their railroad outlet and they would become as the sparsely inhabited outposts of civilization civili-zation in earlier days. Despite their apparent multiplicity of Interests, thoy are still "railroad towns" and always will be. Every American city is a "railroad town." Take the railroads from Now York and that metropolis becomes once moro a Dutch trading post. Railroads Practically Operated at Cost. As tho peoplo prosper so do the railroads, and tho latter in turn give back of their surplus to their owners, the peoplo. It Is not too much to say that under the present system of wide diffusion of railroad ownership tho railroads of tho country, aro practlcal-y practlcal-y operated at cost, for surplus earnings earn-ings como back to those who con-trlbuto con-trlbuto to the gross income and, by a natural law, in proportion to tho contribution. con-tribution. Tho man who buys life or fire Insurance In-surance finds that his premium money s invested in railroad secur) and tho interest return thereupon brings him cheaper insurance. He is in fact, a railroad owner sharing In the profits of operation and there are nearly twenty million holders of life insurance policies alone. The man, woman or child who deposits carefully hoarded pennies In a savings bank soon learns that theso pennies are Invested In-vested In railroad securities. That man, woman or child has become a railroad owner and there are nearly seven million on this list. The People Own the American Railroads. Go where you will, ask whom you may, and you will find that the American Ameri-can people own the American railroads. rail-roads. No man Is so humble and none so great but what ho has directly or 1 Indirectly an interest and a voice In the management of this fifteen billion dollars' worth of property which has grown to what It is because of what it stands for. Tho railroads rest for their support upon tho peoplo as a whole. Tho peoplo Individually and collectively, recognizing the valuo of their own, buy as they may of what represents ownership. In other words, tho railroads are the peoplo and tho people aro tho railroads. rail-roads. Strike down tho earning power pow-er or curtail tho enterprise of American Ameri-can railroad management and a blow is dealt which affects adversely tho earning power or tho income of practically prac-tically every American citizen. Maxwell's Max-well's Talisman. |