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Show RETURN OF ROADS PLEASES FARMERS Urge Policy to Insure Best Service Serv-ice at Lowest Cost Consistent Consist-ent With Fair Returns. OPPOSE NATIONALIZATION. Representative Agricultural Organization Organiza-tion and Rural Press State Farm- ers' Attitude Toward Railroad-Want Railroad-Want Private Operation. Private ounciMilp of the railroads under a policy of government regulation regula-tion which will Insure the best possible service ut the lowest cost consistent with fair returns on money Invested In them Is fart) red by representative farmer organizations throughout the country. This policy also Is supported generally by agricultural newspapers, which state emphatically that tho fanners are oppo"si not only to kov-eminent kov-eminent ownership of railroads, but hIko to all nationalization plans. In a letter to the members of the United States Senate T. 0. Atkeson, Washington representative of the National Na-tional Grange, which Is said to lie the largest organization of Its kind In the world, representing more thnn 1,000,-000 1,000,-000 farm owners In the United States, states that the agricultural Interests of the country approve of private ownership owner-ship of the railroads and further declares de-clares that persons purporting to hpeitk for the farmers In support of government govern-ment ownership are neither farmers nor representatives of uny connlderu-ble connlderu-ble number of farmers. Favor Private Operation. "The Grange," sny? Mr. Alkenou, , quoting tho olucinl action of his or-I or-I ganlatlon, "approves of the general principles of railroad legislation now pending In Congress to return the l all-roads all-roads to their owners, to bring about the reorganization of the railroad companies com-panies Into strong systems with capitalization capi-talization based on nctual value, and to create a control commlbslon which may enforco the superior Interest of the public to that of any other interest In the operation of rnllrouds as common com-mon carriers ami effectively protect the public against exploitation or injustice." in-justice." Many state aud sectional agricultural agricul-tural organlzatloiiN take a similar stand. Immediately after the National 1 Grange expressed Its attitude toward I the railroad question the American , Farm Huron n, meeting In Chicago, vol- etl for private operation, ami the National Na-tional Farmers' Congress, In session at Hagerstowu, Md., voiced like send- I menlH. The New York State l'edera-I l'edera-I tlon of County Farm Bureau Orgunl-J Orgunl-J rations and the Indiana Federation of Farmeis went beyond thnt nnd Joined I the Grange In repudiating the alleged I fanner representatives In Washington, who said they spoke for an "overwhelming "over-whelming majority of the fanners." Urge Reasonable Returns, The railroad policy favored by the New York State Federation of County Cnrm Bureau Orgunizatlons was stated stat-ed In the following resolution: " liereas, There have been conflicting conflict-ing statements published regarding the attitude of farmers upon the question of the future ownership of railways; therefore he It "Hesohed, Thnt the New York Stat Federation of County Furm Bureau An-soclntlons, An-soclntlons, representing 70,000 members, mem-bers, In annual session at Syracuse, N, Y December 10, 3010, hereby Indorses the acTion of the American Farm Bureau Bu-reau Federation In urging Congress to promptly return the railways to their owners under such conditions as will Insure reasonable returns on Uio value of the property and reasonable rates of transportation throughout tho country." coun-try." Views of Farmer Papers, The American Agriculturist states editorially that tho farmerB are "dead et against" the "scheme to enmesh tho fanners In the web of radicalism." Tho Pennsylvania Farmer, discussing the general demand for prlvnto operation opera-tion of the railroads, says: "It Is especially espe-cially truo of fanners, In spite of the declaration of a few would be leaders to the contrary." The Stockman-Parmer Stockman-Parmer adds: "Farmers almost unanimously np-pron np-pron the return of tho rnllronds and the express companies to their owners, The reason Is that farmers, ns well as other business men, wunt bcrvlco of these Institutions, nnd they cannot get such Bcrvlco under public operation as they can get under tho operation of corporations, which hnvo n direct financial finan-cial Interest In perfonnlug It." |