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Show See Where the Money Goes. We do not believe in Government ownership of railways, but the more we think o it the more we believe that it would be a good thing if the Government owned 33 1-3 per cent in all the main railroads of the country with full representation in the directorate; the Government directors to be changed at not too long intervals. We believe these changes would be good, for the men appointed ap-pointed by the Government would be no more honest than the outside directors, and they should not remain on one road long enough to malce combinations which might if continued work disadvantages dis-advantages to the Government or patrons ofthe road, or fix up deals on the stocks. Added to the rest, when it was necessary for a road to sell bonds for a legitimate purpose, the Government should get behind the bonds so that their interest would bo very low, and so that a great foreign indebtedness would never be piled up against our gold reserve. I The interest-bearing debt of the railroads of I tho United States is now over 6,000 millions of I dollars. That means that the railroads of the I United States pay in interest $300,000,000 annual- I ly and the greater portion of that goes out in I gold, or Its equivalent, to foreign countries. And I these roads have been paying that interest from I fifteen to forty years. Every fifteen years that I amounts to a sum equal to all the gold in the I world amounts to at this time. I The manufacturers of the country owe almost I as much as the roads. Those two items alone I show that an amount is sent away equal to four times what our precious metal annual yield I would, be were silver remonotized at the ratio of I 10 to 1. Now it is a clear caae that with this In-I In-I terest drain, with the. tourist drain and with the I freight which our country pays to foreign ship I owners on exports and imports, a panic like the one the country is just emerging from is liable I to smite the United States at any time. If tho I manufactories and tho roads owed all this indebt- edness in our own country, it would not be so I bad. If they .paid out tho awful sum of $550,000,- 000 annually on our own soil, it would enter at I one again into the general circulation, and it I would be merely a transfer from the head of a I corporation into the hands of the people. As it is, I what we are doing, so far as our country is con cerned, is the taking of a mighty share of the year's earnings and tossing it into tho sea. The drain is so tremendous that we believe it would of itself alone justify -the establishment of one mighty central bank with an endowment great enough to call in the foreign interest-bearing indebtedness which is owed abroad by American Amer-ican corporations. Such a bank could pay 3 per cent on deposits and charge 4 per cent to incorporations. incor-porations. It and the crops would take up that foreign indebtedness in three years and this drain which amounts to tho wealth o a groat empire every ten years, would Stop. Then by restoring re-storing the American merchant marine another drain of $200,000,000 ' per annum would be stopped and then men would cease asking: "How Is it that wo have a great panic about so often, while England and France never have any panics?" pan-ics?" We would not havo them because tho money would be here to avoid them and thero would not always be an excess in tho coffers of England and France to loan to us. We are told Uiat Franco Is a good deal worried lost the hard times in the United States may seriously curtail, for this year, her annual plucking of the American Amer-ican tourist goose. What would France think if she were obliged to send to foreign countries annually an-nually in interest a sum in the proportion to her total wealth- corresponding with what the United States sends away? We havo been blessed beyond be-yond all lands during tho past ten years. The balance sheet shows that our national profits have amounted to quite 5,000 millions of dollars. Where is that vast profit? Most of it has gone In three directions. In interest, in freights and faros to foreign ships, and in the money spent by Americans abroad. This last will have to go on, but Congress should in tho next thirty days provide pro-vide to havo tho .other two groat drains stoppod- If wo suppose the above interest account is but half due to foreign countries, still nearly $300,000,000 goes abroad on that account, as does tho passage money and freight money to foreJ-ships, foreJ-ships, which is quite as much- more, and is enough to account for the fact that so soon as an unusual call for money was mado in the world of speculation, thero was a collapse. This awful and ceaseless drain ought to be brought sharply homo to Congress, for those are annual amounts that must be met. Then It must not bo forgotten that the shrewdest railroad managers declare that In the coming five years a like amount is needed yearly to enable tho railroads of the country to keep up with the demands upon them. This money should not only be provided In this country, coun-try, but the average Interest should bo roducsd materially that tho roads may not only meet their accumulated obligations, but do it without material increase in charges. It is almoat impossible im-possible to conceive of the roads obtaining this needed money except through some form of Government Gov-ernment help. The necessity is as groat as though a war was on which was draining the country of $100,000,000 per month. What would bo done In that case? There would again be a resort to greenbacks or some form of interest-bearing interest-bearing notes, or the issuing of great blocks of bonds. Perhaps a great central national bank would bo agreed to with a capital of $500,000,000 or twice that amount. With tho national banks v M as branchos, all paying a low Interest to depos- Ji itors and loaning money at only a little higher m rate, where vast amounts with good security 1 were wanted. The two great thoughts should bo ' M that the money needed In this country should bo M supplied' by this country, that tho Interest col- t looted might when' paid be paid at home and go fc back into the country's circulation. v If new greenbacks could be Issued to Increase M 4xo per capita to what It is In France it would fel not be too much. j In considering these gigantic figures it seems M to us that tho remonetlzatlon of silver ought to bo gfc, determined upon In an hour. What possible roa- :1 son can any man urgo against it now? M Tho money paid annually in ocean fares and f, freights by our countrymen, if placed at Interest . If-' at five per cant would amount to certainly $10,- V 000,000. If by paying tlmt Interest in subsidies ! wo could retain tho principal at home would not I that be a gain worth striving for? ?j These are days when Congress should be busy, sure enough. F li: |