The Commoner
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 18
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FRANCE'S STATE RAILWAYS
Judgo Van Wagonon writes to tho
Sioux City Journal aa follows: Sioux
City, la., April 17, 1911. To tho
Editor: In your Sunday lssuo thoro
appears a nowa articlo on govern
ment ownership of railways In
Franco, tho hoadllnes of which aro
not oxactly Incorrect, but aro mis
loading. Tho articlo, if read closely
and with an understanding of tho
situation over thoro, is very fair.
It should first bo homo In mind
that all tho railways In Franco will
soon rovort to tho government. Tho
charters of tho privato companies all
provldo that upon their expiration
tho roadbed goes to tho stato free of
cost. Tho stato has to purchase tho
rolling stock at a reasonable price
Tho first charter expires in about
six yoars, or In 1917. It is certain
that tho government will take over
tho railways as fast as their charters
expiro, if not sooner. Very naturally
thoso companies whoso charters ox
piro In tho next fifteen or twenty
years aro refusing to mako better
ments, and aro providing such main
tenance only as is absolutely neces
sary to koep their lines working
profitably. Every dollar they put
into permanent improvements goes to
tho government, and it is not to bo
expected that tho privato owners and
managers will donate anything to
tho stato that they can avoid.
Government ownership of railways
is tho settled policy of Europe, and
thero is no thought that the French
government will waive any of the
charter provisions. This situation
has, of course, caused a very wreat
deterioration in tho physical condi-
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tlon of the French railways as tlie
frlmo of expiration draws nearer.
In addition to this there Is a strong
demand for immediato nationaliza
tion. The attitude of the corpora
tions, as above stated, has caused
tho people of France to becomo rest
less when they observo every other
country in continental Europe, in
cluding even Italy, making such an
unqualified success of government
ownership. This is especially true
of Germany, where electric power is
moro successfully used than else
where, and France's German neigh
bors are enjoying rapidly increasing
and tho most modern facilities for
travel and transportation.
The Clemenceau ministry camo
into power in 1906 pledged by public
promises to bring about the nationali
zation of all tho railways of France
without waiting for charter expira
tions. They failed to carry out tho
policy until at last public indigna
tion became so great that one system,
the Western railway, was taken over
in 1909. This company had been
pursuing the selfish policy most con
sistently. Its system was in a fright
ful state of dilapidation. The minis
try has not shown tho enterprise
which it ought in tho matter of put
ting this railway in shape. The time
has been short, it is true, but the
officers could have done better.
If France should fail it would be
an exception among nations, but
France will not fall. That country
has made the most signal and singu
lar success of government ownership
and operation. In the article re
ferred to this story is partly told. In
an early day the private railways in
duced the French government to
build certain small disconnected
lines, feeders, as we all call them in
this country. Tho most exorbitant
burdens were laid upon them by the
privato lines with -which they wero
connected. These small lines, none
of them reached any seaport, Paris
or any largo commercial center. It
was not dreamed that they could ever
be made to pay.
The government shortly made such
a- financial success of these discon
nected fragments of railways that in
time the private companies desired
to get control of them. By this time
the private companies had ,on hand
a still worse lot of scraps of rail
ways, which were a source of annual
loss to them. They traded this job
lot to the government, and in doing
so felt sure they had handed govern
ment ownership a lemon that would
n.n iu m Trance at least. The
government still owns these bits of
railways; they are a splendid suc
cess, and that is the reason why pub
lic sentiment is so overwhelmingly in
favor of not waiting for the expira
tion of the charters with their atten
dant vexations.
A. VAN WAGBNEN
TUB INCOME TAX IK NEW
JERSEY
In a special message urging the
New Jersey senato to pass the resolu
tion ratifying the federal incomo tax
amendment, Governor Wilson said:
"This amendment has no partisan
color whatever. It was suggested by
a republican president and passed bv
a congress of which both houses were
republican, but it received the cor
dial support of democrats in both
chambers of the federal congress and
has been indorsed by the national
Platforms of both of the great politi
cal parties of the country."
The popular branch of 'the 'legisla
ture flrtnntAil Hn ,o...Li- "biHia-
1. uw iv;uiuuon unani-
mously. That it is, as Governor Wi-
nnn antra "cimu.j . .. -"
option of the natron," V a faT
well worth pondering in Now York
and Massachusetts as in New Jersey
New York World. Sey"
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