The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, December 29, 1917, Image 6
WEMKNT ROAO CONTROL
piikhjdknt Wilson takes
CHARGE OF TltANSPOUTA
TION BUSINESS,
Railroad and Steamship Uiich to Bo
Operated mi One System Under
Government Direction?Secretary
vi Treasury McAtloo to Be l>in> tor
General?(Jliangr Takes Plncu To
Washington. Dec. 3?i.?Government
pieeeealon and operation of the na?
tion's railroads for the war was pro?
claimed by President Wilson tonight
t> become effective at noon Friday.
December 28. Wiliam O. McAdoo.
i staining his place in the cabinet ax
secretary of the treasury. Is plar> <.
la charge aa director general of th
railroada
Every railroad engaged In genci
transportation with appurtenance*
lacludlng steamship lines is taken
over and all systems will be operate
ed ae one under the director general.
In a statement accompanying the
proclamation the president stated as
noon as congress reassembles ha
would recommend legislation guaran?
teeing pre-war earnings and main?
tenance of railroad properties lr good
repair. Government backing v/111 be
given to new lasueu of railroad se
curttlee that a ready market may bo
found.
The president's move, although
forecast for weeks, came at this time
aa a great surprise to nearly every?
body In Washington Including rail?
road officials. It had been general!:,
believed he would await the reassem?
bling ef congrese before taking any
step. He acted through Secretary
Baker under authority conferred In
the army appropriation act.
Direct management of the roie>
will remain In the hands of railroid
officials and the railroad board, com?
prised of five railroad heads, will
continue to direct actual operation un
der Secretary McAdoo's general super?
vision.
The chief practical effect of gov?
ernment operation will be to permit
a complete unification of all rail Sys?
teme, Impossible .under private oper?
ation by reason of statutes prohibit?
ing pooling of/ rail traffic and earn?
ings. The roads themselves had gone
ae far ae they dared in this direction
and it became known only today ihat
they had been warned by Attorney
General Gregory that a violation of
-^anti-pooling laws could not be per?
mitted.
The situation was fully realised by
President Wilson, who In his st.it ?
ment declared the roads had gon?
as far ae they could and that already
some systems were endangering then
earnings In attempting unification.
Although the proclamation applies
to a!! electric lines engaged in gen?
eral transportation, local interurbui
?ystrms are specifically exempted,
k Congrese will be asked to guaran
mLp* earnings equivalent to the aver?
age net operating Income of each
^^allroad In the throe your period end
f rng June 30. 1917. Railroad ex
parte estimate that this will cost the
government next year In the neigh
borhood of $100,000,000, which cat
be raised In large part by Increase-)
freights If the interstate commerce
commission grants the roads appll
ration for the 15 per cent, rate lr
creaee now pending. Otherwise
will be paid largely out of the gener
al government funds.
The Interstate commerce commie
ston and other government agencle>
which have to do with the railroad;
will continue to perform their func
tloae as heretofore except that the>
will be subject to orders of the di
rector of railroads.
The president makes it clear tha
hie decision was not made because ol
any failure on the part of the rail
roads to perlorm their whole duty ii
so far as they could while hamperec
aa they were by legal restriction.
The plan of control as outlined lr
the proclamation and statement
leaves much unsaid as to details but
the general scheme appears to fol
low closely the British system. It
England, however, the government
freight Is carried free and the guar
anteed earning required an enorn\ou>
amount of money from government
funds, while In the United States th?
government will pay for Its freight
as In the past and will stand Its pari
of increased freight tariffs if they arc
found to be necessary.
Aside from the president's state
meat there was no comment in tin1
capital tonight on the governments
move.
The president's statement follows.
"I have exerrlsed the powers over
the transportation systems of th<
country which were granted me kg
the act of congress of August, 1918
because It has become imperative^
necessary for me to do so. This is h
war of resources no less than of
men. pwrhape even more than gf men
;>nd It te necessary for the complete
mobilisation of our resources that the
transportation systems of tho conn
should be organized and employ
ed under a single authority and it
-I ..? . ? 1 ??<
simplified method of coordination
which have not proved possible un?
der private management and control.
The committee of railway executives
who havve been cooperating with the
government in this all important mat?
ter have done the utmost that it waa
possible for them to do; havo done
it with puUrlotlc zeal and with great,
a.bility, bir.t there were diificultie**
that they could neither escape not
neutralize. Complete unity of admin?
istration in the present circumstances
Involves upon occasion and at many
i.jis a sertous dislocation of earn?
ings- and the committee was, of course
I without poweir or authority to rear?
range chargeii or effect proper com?
pensations and adjustments of earn?
ings. Sev??roJ roads which were wil?
lingly and wijth admirable public spir?
it ac<*epting the order of the com
mlttee have already suffered from
these clrcuiostances and should not
be required to suffer further. In
mere fairness to them the full au?
thor ty of the government must bt
substituted. The government itseh
will thereby .gain an immense increase
of efficiency In the conduct of tie
war and of the. innumerable activi?
ties upon which its successful conduct
depends.
"The public Interest must be fir*;
served and, la addition, the financiui
lnteuests of tbtc government and the
financial interests of the railways
must be brought under a common d.
rectlon. The financial operations of
the railways need not then interfere
with the borrowings of tho govern
Iment and they themselves can be con
ducted at a greater advantage. In
Iv-estors In railways securities may reu i
assured that their rights and Inter-1
est? will be as scrupulously looked af?
ter by the government us they coulwj
be by the directors of the several
railway systems.
".Immediately upon tho reassem
blir>ff of congress I shall recommend
that these definite assurances be giv
cn: First, of course, that tho rail
way properties will be maintained
the period of federal control in hij
good repair and complete equipment
las when taken over by the govern I
rnent, and second, that the roads shal 1
receive a net operating Income equn*
in each case to the average net in
come of the three years precedin
June 30, tilt] end I am entirely con
fldent that the congress will be dis I
posed in thla case, as in others, to set
that justice is done and full securlt>
assured to the owners and creditor
I of the great systems which the gov?
ernment must now use under Its own
I direction or else suffer serious em
I barrassment?
I "The secretary of war and I art i
agreed that, all the circumstances be
ing taken into consideration, tho bee J
results can be obtained under the
immediate executive direction of th'
Hon. William G. McAdoo, whost
practical experience peculiarly fit
him for the service and whose au
thority as secretary of the trcasur
will enable him to coordinate as t
J other man could the many flnancla
interests which will be involved an
I which might unless systematical
Idirected, suffer very embarrassing en
I tanglements.
"The government of the Unite
I States is the only great governmer
I now engaged in the war which hn
I not already assumed control of th!
sort. It was thought to be in th.
I spirit of American instituions to at
I tempt to do everything that Wl
necessary through private manage 1
Iment and If zeal and ability and pa
tri?.tie motive could have accomplish
led the necessary unification of ad
II ministration it would certainly hav?
J been accomplished; but no zeal o
'lability could overcome Insupcrabh
obstacles, and I have deemed it nv
duty to recognize that fact in nil
candor now that it Is demonstrated
fland to use without reserve the great
authority reposed in me. A grea
I national necessity dictated tho actlot
11 and I was therefore not at liberty u
I abstain from it.
?I "VVoodrow Wilson."
11 The following is the president s
t proclamation:
. I "By the President oi the United
I States of America:
II "A proclamation.
J "Whereas, the congress of the Unll
led States in the exercise of the eon
t J -rtitutional authority vested in then
by Joint resolution of the senate and
1 house of representatives bearing date
t Aprll 6, 1917, resolved:
> "'That the state of war between
the United States and the Imperial
I German government which has thus
been thrust upon the United Slates ||
hereby formally declared; and that
J the president be. and he is hereby
Iauthorized and directed to employ
the entire nava and military for? c
of the United States and the resource:
I of the government to carry on w.n
against the imperial German govorn
j ment, .Mid to bring the conllict |<
I successful termination, all of the re
sources of the country are hen
pledged by the congrss of the Unit'
i ed States.'
? \ini by joint resolution bearing
date Oi DeeentbOf 7. 1917, resolved:
" 'That a state of war is hereh]
dee la rod to exist between the United
H_i_i_? 1 ? * ^?<
btates of America and the imperial
;md royal A astro-Hungarian govern
ment; and that the president be, ami
lie is hereby, authorized and directed
to employ the entire naval and mili
tary forces of the United States and
the resources of the government to
carry on war against the imperial an i
royal Austro-IIungarian government;
and to bring the conflict to a eueceaa
ful termination, all the resources o.
the country are hereby pledged by
UM congress of the United States.
" 'And whereas it is provided b:
section 1 of the act approved An
29, 191C, entitled "An Act making ap
propriations for the support of th.
army for the llscal year ending June
30, 1917, and for other purposes,'* u*
follows:
"The president, In time of war. i.
empowered, through the secretary o!
iwar, to take possession and assum
(control of any system or systems oi
transportation or any part thoreoi
and to utilizs tna name, to the exclu
sion as far as may be necessary Ol
all other traffic thereon for the trans?
fer or transportation of troops, wai
material and equipment, or for sue)
othef purposes connected with th
emergency as may bo needful or d<
sirable.
"And wdicreas, It has now becom
necessary in the national defense 1.
take possession and assume contro
Irvf certain systems of transportation
and to utilize the same, to the ex
elusion as may bo necessary of othe;
than war traffic thereon, for tru
transportation of troops*, war materia
and equipment therefore and for t>th
^r needful and desirable purposes
1 connected with the prosecution o>
the war;
"Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wil
son, president of the United States
under and by virtue of the power:
vested in me by the foregoing reso?
lution and statute, and by virtue of al
powers thereto me enabling, do here
by, through Newton D, Baker, secre?
tary of war, take possession and as?
sume control at 12 o'clock noon on
the 28th day of December, 1917, o!
each and every system of transporta
tion and the appurtenances thereo*
located wholly or in part within the
bondaries of the continental United
Slates and conslstlng/of railroads, and
owned or controlled systems of coast?
wise and inland transportation wheth?
er operated by steam or by electrii
ipower, including also terminals, ter?
minal companies and terminal asso
clations, sleeping and parlor cars
private cars and private lines, eleva?
tors, warehouses, telegraph and tele?
phone lines and all other equipment
nnd appurtenances commonly used
upon or operated as a part of such
rail or combined rail and water sys?
tems or transportation, to the end
that such system of transportation b?
utilized for the transfer and trans?
portation of troops, war material an?!
equipment, to the exclusion so far a
may be necessary of all other traf?
fic thereon; and that so far as the
exclusive use be not necessary or de
Hlrable, such systems of transporta?
tion be operated and utilized in the
performance of such service as th
national interest may require and of
the usual and ordinary business and
duties of common carriers.
"It 1? hereby directed that the pos?
session, control, operation and utili
tatloa of such transportation system
hereby by me under taken shall t><
exercised by and through William.Q%
McAdoo, who Is hereby appointed and
designated director general of rail?
roads. Said director may perform the
duties Imposed upon hini. so lonpr an 1
?o such extent as he shall determine
through the boards of directors, re?
ceivers, officers and employees of sab
systems of transportation. Until and
except so far as said director shall
from time to time by general or spe?
cial ordern otherwise provide, the
boards of directors^ receivers, officers
and employees of the various trans
portation systems shall continue tin
ordinary course of the business or
common carriers, in the names of
their respective companies.
Until and except so far as said di?
rector shall from time to time oth?
erwise by general or special orders
determine, such systems of transpor?
tation shall remain subject to all
existing statutes and order of the in?
terstate commerce commission, and
to all statutes and orders of regulating
commissions of the various States in
which said systems or any part there?
of may be issued. But any orders
general or special, thereafter mado by
said director, shall have paramount
authority and be obeyed as smb.
"Nothing herein shall be construed
as now affecting the provision, oper?
ation and control of street electric
passenger railways .including railways
commonly called interurbans. wheth?
er BUCh railways be or be not Owned
or controlled by such railroad com?
panies or systems. By subsequent or?
der and proclamation if and when ii
shall be found necessary or desirable
possession, control or operation may
be taken of all or any part of such
streel railway systeme, Including sub
ways and tunnels; and by subse?
quent order and proclamation, possi
-don, control and operation in who'
or in pait may also i>e relinquished to
tho owners thereof of any part of th<
railroad systems or rail and watei
systems, possession ami control oi
which are hereby assumed.
"The director shall as soon as m r
be after having assumed Buch pos
session and control enter upon nego?
tiation! with the several com pan let
looking to agreements- for just and |
reasonable compensation for the pon
s( ssion, use and control of their r<
spective properties on the basis oi* an
annual guaranteed compensation, i
above accruing depreciation and the
maintenance of their properties,
equivalent, as nearly as may be, u.
the average of the net operating In
come thereof for the three year period
ending June .'<??, IUI7?the result oi
such negotiations to be reported t<
me for such action as may be appro
priate and lawful.
"Dut nothing herein, contained, ex i
pressed or Implh I, or hereafter done,
or suffered here ader, shall be deem?
ed in any way to in:pair the rights <
the stockholder.-, bondholders, cr >dl
tors and other persona having inter
ests in said systems of trunsportaiioi
or in the profits thereof ,to receive
lust and adequate compensation fo.
the use and control and operation OI
their property hereby assumed.
"Regular dividends hitherto de
clared, and maturing Interest upon
bonds, debentures and other obliga?
tions, may be paid in due course; an !
such regular dividends and interest
may continue to be paid until and un?
less the said director shall from time
to time otherwise, by general or spe?
cial orders, determine; and, subject
to the approval of the director, th'
various carriers may agree upon and
arrange for the renewal and exten?
sion of maturing obligations.
"Except with the prior written as
sent of said director, no attachment
by mesne process or no execution
shall be levied on or against any of
the property us-ed by any of said
transportation systems in tho con?
duct of their business as common
carriers, but suit may be brought by
and against said carriers and judg?
ments rendered as hitherto until and
except so far as said director may, by
; general or special orders, otherwise
?
determine.
"From and after 12 o'clock on the
said 28th day of December, 1917, all
transportation systems included ir
this order and proclamation shall
conclusively be deemed! within the
possession and control of said direc?
tor without further act or notice.
But for the purpose of accounting
s;aid possession and control shall datr
i\m mm SOARED.
INVESTORS SHOW CONFIDENCE
IN WILSON'S POLICY.
The Announcement of Govcrnmcm
Control oi' Railroads Followed Ry
Great Advance In [lallroad stocks
and Bonds*
New York, Dec. 27.?Stocks ?oared
Oil the opening Of the market this,
morning, denoting the satisfaction of
the financial community with the]
president's decision to take over the
railroads. The advance ranged two to
eight points in the railroad list, all
standard shares being bid up furious?
ly.
BRUTISH STEAMER WRECKED.
Naupur Wrecked on African Coast?
London, Dec. 27.?The British
steamer Nagpur, eighty-three hundred
tons is reported to have been wreck?
ed in Delagoa Bay, Portugese Africa,
says a dispatch from Lisbon. The
passengers numbering two hundred
and fifty-nine, crew and cargo were
saved.
FRENCH SHIPS SI NK,
One Large Ship and One Small Vcs
Paris. Dec. 27.?One French steam?
er over sixteen hundred tons and one
under were sunk by submarines and
mines during the week ending Dec.
2_'d.
NOTHING TO REPORT.
London, Dec. 27.?"Nothing to re?
port last night, except some ho.-tile
artillery activity north and east of
Ypres," Gen. Haig reported to the
war office today.
from 12 o'clock midnight on Decem
Iber SI, 1917.
"In witness whereof, I have here?
unto s-et my hand and caused the seal
of the United States to be affixed.
I "Done by the president through
Ne wton D. Baker, secretary of war, in
I "the District of Columbia, this 26th
day of December, in year of our Lord,
one thousand nine hundred and sev
cnteen. and of the independence of
the United States, the one hundred
and forty-second.
"By the President: Robert Lansing,
Passengera Saved.
?el Sunk Last Week.
"Woodrow Wilson,
"Newton D. Baker,
Secretary of War.
express mmis also.
GOVERNMENT MAY PERHAPS
TAUE OVER AND OPERATE
EXPRESS D )MP NIES.
Some of the Details of the Financing
and Operation or Railroads Under
G overnment Com rol?tiowrntoent
Will Forntsfa Funds and Will Hold
Profits.
i
I
Washington, Dee. 2't.?The securi?
ties to he Issued by the railroads while
the government is in control bear in
t rat at not less than Tour per cent.
President Wilson wll task congress to I
empower the government o buy any
quantity of the new securities. All
earningl over and above an amount
to he agreed on will g' to the govern?
ment. Congress will be asked also
to appropriate a large fund, probably
two hundred millions, to Immediately
supply rolling stocV to hande the
Hood of traffic which has swamped
the roads.
The director general will have au?
thority to decide whether the govern?
ment shall also assume the operation
'and control of the express companies.
In his dual position Secretary Mc
Adoo will be in a position to pass on
securities* and Interest rates, it is
held. It will also b< his duty to de?
termine when the overnment shall
purchase new securi ies and this plan
will prevnt railroad securities from
interferring with future issues of
Liberty bonds, without necessitating
actual government financing of the
railroads.
DR. BROCK MURV'ERED IN PRIS?
ON.
Struck Down at Federal Prison in At?
lanta.
Atlanta, Dec. 27.?Dr. James R.
Hrock of Trenton, <la., a deputy war?
den of the federe' penitentiary, was
killed at the prison this morning
when Dimitre Popoff, a prisoner,
struck him down with an iron bar as
the prisoners wer? leaving the din?
ing room. Popoff s only "statement
was "it was a personal matter."
Popoff had been sentenced for coun?
terfeiting from Ohio.
Washington, D >c. 27.?One of the
first acts of the g overnment in begin?
ning the operati m of the railroads
will be to reduce the large salaries of
railway executive S and incree.se. in
some measure, the wages of railway
workers.
Fertilizers
We have a limited quantity of
CALCINED MARL
We bought this very much under the market and
will dispose of it on same basis. We have sold quite
a lot of this material with very satisfactory results.
Some of our patrons used it last year in connection
with other fertilizer under cotton, and they tell us
where they did, there was no evidence of rust,
whereas land on which it was not used rusted badly.
Where it has been used in connection with a com?
plete fertilizer for grain, using 2,000 lbs. per acre,
the result was very satisfactory, showing more
than double. Our price will not exceed
$8.00 per Ton Delivered, Sacked
O'DONNELL & COMPANY, INC.
Analyzing as follows:
Carbonate of Lime
Bone Phosphate of Lime
74.40
5.40