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The Commoner
Business Men Oppose
Rail Ownership
A Washington dispatch, dated
August 5, says: Formal announce
ment was mauo umigiu 01 mu mn , , .. t t did not
tabulations In tno rererenoum con-; arQ Presjdent Wilson's onun-
ductecl among business men by the-J Inclple of self-determination,
"ASK WILSON" LANSING SAYS TO
SENATE OP COVENANT
A Washington, D. C dispatch,
dated August 6, says: Secretary
Lansing, beforo the senate foreign
relations committee today expressed
the opinion that the Shantung provi-
Chamber of Commerce of the United
States on tho question of govern
ment ownership of railroads. More
than 99 per cent of the vote, the
official announcement said, was
against it.
Announcement of the vote was ac
companied by the following explana
tion of tho reasons actuating the de
cision: "1, Under government ownership
tho development of railroad facilities
would dopend upon congressional ap
propriations, which would prevent
the anticipation of tho transporta
tion needs of tho country. Appro
priation would not be made in the
amount and at tho time needed to
insuro adequate development of thoi
but maintained that tho treaty as a
whole carried out "substantially" tho
President's 14 points.
Declaring his unfamiliarity with
many details of tho peace negotia
tions, and of the treaty itself, tho
secretary told tho committee he waa
unable to answer many of its ques
tions and reminded senators in an
swering others that he merely was
expressing his own personal views.
"Ask the President," the secretary
said when pressed for details of tho
Shantung and League of Nations
negotiations. On three of the points
raised lie asked permission to refresh
his memory and make a statement to
Itho committee later, and when he
railroads. Political consideration r.TT "" " w""w"
might also control the amount of M uf labor and reparations clauses
nrwl li ntifonfa fnr HO IMUtUOWUU UIUI IIU LUUIU llUb UU
Im.no.s
appropriations
which they wero made.
FINANCIAL OBJECTION
"2. To acqulro tho railroads tho
government would have to pledge its
crodit for 18 to 20 billions of dol
lars at a time when other, large
financing for the government to dis
pose of tho securities required to
purchaso tho railroads and it would
bo' necessary for the government to
secure from 500 million to oi)e bi)
Hon dollars of now capital each year,
If tho government wore to assume
tho burden of financing the railroads
at tho prosont time when tho war
debt is so largo, its interest rate
would necessarily be as high as, i
not higher than, tho rate at which
corporations could secure capital.
"3. Government operation is sel
dom, if ever, as efficient as corporate
management. Competition, the, in
centive to oillciency and progress in
private enterprises, is absent from
tho government administration of af
fairs. Individual initiative is less,
bureaucratic methods are more char
acteristic and Wo services rendered
are loss progressively efficient.
POLITICAL- INFLUENCES
"4. While tho government would
presumably select, officers and em
. ploycs by means of efficiency tests,
political Influences would almost cer
tainly be given weight in selecting
men for official positions.
"5. Unless tho government adopted
tho policy of fixing low rates and
1 faros with the intention that any
resulting deficit from operations
should bo placed as an increased
burden of taxes upon the general
public, rates and faros would be
expected to carry the minutia of an
80,000 word document In tils mind,
and reminded the committee, it was
much, easier to "ask queitirins pre
pured beforehand", than to answer
them offhand.
"CANNOT TRY KAISER
As tiis own . personal opinion, Mr.
Lansing said that Japan would prob
ably have signed the treaty without
the Shantung provision; that the
TTnirnrl Stittos nit mil rl' nnlr tin Ytnrf- n
.. - .. ..w J..V,. - . . , . . . . ., .
German reparation; that the kaiser v i wmen ne sam:
could not be legally tried; and that Ireland's salvation lies
mier Lloyd George announced in a
long awaited statement that the
British, rule of force in Ireland must
end.
Tho primo 'minister was cheered
tumultuously when in answering Sir
Donald MacLean's demand for a
clear cut statement on, the .govern
ment's policy, he promised a definite
ptogram regarding Ireland's -fate at
tne earnest opportunity and declared
tho government would not shirk its
responsibility. - '',-;
. "It is the business of the govern
ment," said ho, "to frame a policy
and submit it to the commons.
Eery political party in Ireland con
demns, the London Times.' scheme,
and all outside, as . well as in the
house, may depend that we shall' do
our duty and take the risks." .'
, The utmost importance is attached
to a speech by Lord Robert Cecil at
closed session of the new Center
wm have a settlomGnf wn, ..
prospects of finality." '
nt.3ithr re2r? t0 th0 industrial
crisis, Lord Robert said:
"Industrial peace in England can
only be secured by giving labor a
voice in the management. National.
ization is only a substitute for prir.
ate employers and insufficient."
"THE FOUR DOCTRINES"
Swcdcnborjr's went work as to tho Doctrine con.
T?r.iinfr.th0. 0r V10 Sncrc(1 Scrlpturci, Life and
In!tr. Contains WO pners. onlv 20 ccnL Dorfnid
PASTOR LANDENBERGER, WINDSOR PUcf ST. 10$ &
VV dlllLU lUUib wanted. ffjOOMOOInprtai
oHcrcd (or Inventions. tencUkPlchforfreeoploioa
nt patentability. Our lour books fcntlrco.
Victor J. KvaiiB & Co.t7229th,WnslilDKt0D,D.C
the mutual guarantee of territorial
integrity from external aggression,
as contained in Article 10 of the
league covenant imposed a moral
obligation but not a legal one.
The secretary said it was true that
the 14 points had not been discussed,
to his knowledge,, in the preparatory
Stages of the peace negotiations;
that the American draft of the
League of Nations never was
"pressed" beforo the conference;
that the President had asked the
peace conference not to Say before
the French senate tho record of dis
cussions of the league; and that the
United States did not know of secret
treaties between the allies and Japan
ruguruiug oiunuung wnen tms coun
try, by tbe Lansing-Ishii agreement,
recognized Japan's "special interest"
in China.
It was no.t true, Secretary-Lansing
said, that he. and other members of
tho American delegation "protested",
against the Shantung settlement;
that Great Britain "refused to per
mit" discussl.on of the freedom of tho
seas by the. peace conference; or that
in real
selt-determination. We must ro as
far as we can in the direction of the
wishes of the Irish themselves. We
must not desert "Ulster but trive the
Test of. Ireland what it wants the
largest measure of independence possible.
"You will have to make financial
adjustments between Ulster and the
rest of Ireland. Ask the' people of
Ulster, county by county, if they wish
to join tho rest of Ireland; then you
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higher under government than under K SLS 1?erIoan ePert advisers
7..t r Tt-i .. . had resigned because thv riffln.franii
private operation. Under government
operation expensos rise in relation to
income, and the charges imposed by
tho government, if a deficit is to be
avoided, must be higher than those
which it would be necessary to per
mit railroad corporations to make,
. EFFECT WOULD BE SERIOUS
"G. Tho political effect of govern
ment ownership, and operation of
railroads in tho United States might
be serious. There are now about
500,000 civil employos of the govern
ment. The addition to the public
services of 2,000,000 railroad em
ployos, the majority of whom' are
voters, would constitute a force of
about 2,500,000 government em
ployes interested in controlling the
. policy" o'f tho government as regards
wages, hours and conditions of sor
iVce. Such a body of. employes might
oasily exercise a controlling influence
upon state and. national politics."
with the
tung.
esigned because they disagreed
decision regarding Shan-
BEFORE SENATE ALL DAY
Tho general basis on which the
treaty was framed, said the secre
tary, was "common sense and gen
eral principles, with an avoidance of
policy and expediency". -'Vorbatum
records of the discussions, he told
the committee, had been left in
Paris, adding that he would not favor
giving to the senate the less com
plete transcript in the possession of
,uie state department because it
l might cause "irritation" to otlinr
governments.
DECLARES BRITISH RULE OP
FORCE IN IRELAND MUST END
I A London cablegram, dated Aug; 8
saysi The government's flrst step to
ward a settlement tof tho Irish .ques
tion was ,takon last night when Pro-
Creating an Estate
; All are striving to. create an estate. When
Ceath comes, if there-'is no insurance, a forced
sale. of. the property often causes a large loss,
whereas, the. proceeds from a lifo insurance
policy will furnish ready money for the im
mediate needs and the executors of the estato
can. have time to dispose of the property to the
best advantage.
The cash value of a man's life to his family,
if he earns but $1,000 a year, at age thirty-five
is over $14,0 CO. No man would go without fire
insurance ;on that amount of property and yet
if vhe 'carries no life insurance, he is forcing his
family to carry a risk -for .this amount unpro
tected. Why not transfer. this risk from the
family to " " '
THE MIDWEST LIFE
of LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
N. .Z. SNELL, President.
Guaranteed Cost Life Ifiswrnnce
y