Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1915 — LETTERS FROM OUR READERS [ARTICLE]

LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

A Few Words About Passenger Rates Mr. Editor:—The Japanese public ride on trains pulled by Baldwin and other locomotives of American make for less than one-third of a cent a mile. In Germany the fare is something like one-half cent a mile, while in Switzerland fifteen dollars buys a ticket good for a year’s constant riding on the most expensive constructed railroads in the • world. When one comes to understand it, there is no question why the American tourist doesn’t see America first. The present war has brought to the light of fact that between five and six billion dollars worth of watered American railroad stocks have been sold by home capitalists to European investors. Money must be had to carry on the war and these stocks were thrown on the market. The holders of stock here cannot sit idle while vast quantities of these stocks on the market put the market value of stocks way down; for just what stocks sell for in the market is all their holdings are worth. Hence they must buy these shares as fast as they are offered for sale. This takes money, much good American money. The American capitalist finds himself today with these watered goods back on his hands, and more coming. It finds him in bad need of more money, but with less money and all this paper on his hands. Small wonder that it behooves him then, to scratch around and use some method to get more money to redeem more of his watered goods and make some dividends on what he already has. . He sees the old method of doing this—to tie his load upon the back of the public. Already he has been promptly granted a raise in freight rates, which increases his net profits ten millions of dollars annually. He essays also for a raise in passenger rates. The public is handed the raise with a pat on the back and told at the same time about increas-T ed comfort, bigger engines, etc., it is getting. Now the public has not watered Mr. Capitalist’s stock, yet the public’s back is the only back he can see at a time like this, to saddle his load on to. That our own railroad has the symptoms of this dread waterea stock disease is too bad. In raising the rates they are not to be blamed for the graft, for they get it legitimately, even though it does hurt the public. • It would be interesting. to know, since Morgan reorganised the Monon, how much was paid in, and how much was watered stock. The Inter-State Commerce Commission found that in eight years the cap! tai- ' ization of the New HaVen Railroad Twas kicreased fifteen hundred per cent.nvhich was not represented by any improvements. Do these few remarks give you any idea of the absurdity of the public sighing a petition to raise the rates on the Monon?—A READER.