| Show ORYAN AGAINST OWNERSHIP BY i THE government glosl wands lowlands comm his views on raw railroad control contral competition preferable fed aj regulation should not 5 allowed to exercise of f state authority he r thinks think rail rad ad should represent actual value and nd B stable as government washington william S J arran who startled the country cou try too tea years fean age eo by advocating government owner hip of ef railroads appeared before tho joint committee on go interstate last week in sup suit port of the claim that tha th states should bo be allowed to ta retain authority over the regulation of all willita their bordera mr bayaa explained e that he be had bad long regarded gov COT ownership as a inevitable bat ut only because of f railroad opposition to regulation 1 ow i I 1 catano bay aay that I 1 do sire government ownership bo be explained pla ined because be causo I 1 kepto leap to the individual idea rather than to the colle collective ideal id that is I 1 believe that gov BOT froment ouma ownership ship la Is degi desirable rable only dav where competition la Is impossible alfred P thom counsel to chenau the railway executives advisory committee Commit tm previously had bd pre before the tha of the aba newlands as one of his hid rea reasons for urging a better balanced and am more systematic regulation of railroads the argument that this Is the tha only alternative to government me n t ownership calling Call laa atten attention tio a to the tha restrict restrictions ioni imposed upon the tb transportation lines by conflicting s state late lawa and regulations to the i practical taral cessation of new e ons cons t ruction and to the impossibility under existing conditions of at securing the new no capital misled tor for extensions and betterments betti ments of elway allway he ha warned io 00 cn congressmen ce samen that unless they provided a air and reasonable system of refutation that would would enable the mil railroads roads to meet the gro growing tur needs of tho the couite ashe the t would be compelled to tako take overt bo hd owner chip of the all the tha iks drus nt at w u upon such a system pr of or bryno on the other hand band holds that the further farther extension of federal authority over the railroads rall would be a step in a the direction of government ownership lie he advanced the view that the centralization of cent control in the hands bands of the national government would impose too great a burden upon the regulating body would sarong railroads to interfere Inter tore in politics and would the efa general toward centralization ot of power la in the federal government at the abo expense expanse of the states elates ile H said that he be did not object to consolidations of railroad lines so long as they did not destroy competition that he be know of no complaint against great reff railway iway systems because of their s sa BJ a and that he be believed that the preservation of competition was the test to be applied to all consolidations relation altion Re of f securities mr bryan declared himself in infarct of national of railway stock and bond issues but added addea that he be saw no reason why that should exclude the tb states from acting on the same famo subject as ai to state corporations 1 I would liko to see bee the stock of a railroad as long as it Is in private bands made as substantial and as unvarying as the tb value of a government bond be b asserted he suggested Bues ested that railroad capitalization cattone zat tone be readjusted to equalize it with actual valuation of the property represented making due allowance for equities and that when this was waa done the roads roada should bo be allowed to earn flent income to keep their stock block at par and to create a surplus the latter he be tentatively proposed might be allowed to amount to 20 per cent of f the capital hilley caminas lw w this railroad capitalization and the amount of railroad received further attention from the committee during its recent sessions in answer to questions by senator commins Comm lna mr thom submitted figurea showing tha nt not earnings of the roads in recent years these figures show that during doln the alte yara from 1003 the average net at earnt earnings were per centon the net capitalization lefor years from lolo 1010 th U 1013 1915 the average w was only aw ao 40 per cent the total earnings on OB the stock computed by lulng adding to the net operating income th income from the tb securities curi ties owned aud na deducting bondan bond in geresti were for 1010 1910 7 dd per cent for or 1911 percent per cent 1912 per tent cent tor for IDIS percenia per cent ceni tor for ISA percent per cent roria laiti iC per cent cant thus showing sn almose contin crease throughout tide this tit sir X year herud it was announced that hal ford foid erickson Kricki ion formerly chairman of the railroad Hall road Corni mission wo would 1 more rom complete information in on tins this subject to the committee of 1 uter date |
