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Show 1ES URGES NEED OF Dill PROFITS Would Protect Public Against Excess Earnings and Issue - Fair Returns to Roads D. Hines, director general of railroads, ! In an address before the Transportation Transporta-tion club here, urged the necessity o a division of excess earning of. railroad I corporations above a rcnsnnnhlo re. turn in order to protect the public against excess earning of very prosperous pros-perous railroads and in order to" Insure a fair return to all roads. "Those who oppose this plan seem to assume- that it will operate as a discouragement dis-couragement upon private capital," said Mr. Hines. "They seem to assume as-sume that if this plan is not adopted J there will be no discouragement of 'private capital, but they should re-i re-i member the discouragements which have existed heretofore. The real question is whether a plan shall be ! adopted which will both protect the I public interest and reasonably protect private capital or whether on tho other hand, a plan shall be adopted which will fail to do either with any degree of satisfaction. Must Solve Problem Mr. Hines declared his belief that unless the railroad problem at the prosent time is dealt with "in a bold and effective way," the return to prlv-ate prlv-ate management after federal control I "will be wholly disappointing." t The director general also urged the compulsory consolidation of the railroad rail-road systems of ihe country into a few large systems and suggested tho participation parti-cipation of the public and labor in the j management of the railroads. Elaborating his theory that the pub-'lie pub-'lie and labor should participate in operation of railroads, the director general said the public in tho past had no understanding in advance of the necessities of railroads and had no place at tho council board of the com-paines com-paines The result was, he said, that a campaign of education was necessary neces-sary to get Ihe public to a state of mind where It would understand. That situation he believed "would be immensely improved by putting representatives repre-sentatives of the public on the board of directors; they would understand the situation at the outset. Immenoe Forward Step "And from the labor standpoint," he continued,"I believe It would be an Immense forward step and it would be a protection of the essential part of the the labor itself to be represented private management to arrange for on the board of directors, so that at the outset there could be an understanding under-standing to these matters where there iB so much to understand. "I believe you will bring about a nense of responsibility for the public service on the part of these elements which Is impossible when you do not have any form of participation In thc-councils thc-councils of the railroad companv bv either of these important elements." " i- fin |
