and
indeed to start on that task now, before public opinion, one-sidedly
informed and fed of set purpose with adroitly colored statements of half
truths, crystallizes into definite judgment.

My concern is not for the stock and bond holders. They will, I have no
doubt, be properly and fairly taken care of in case the Government were
definitely to acquire the railroads. Indeed, it may well be, that from
the standpoint of their selfish interests, a reasonable guarantee or
other fixed compensation by the Government would be preferable to the
financial risks and uncertainties under private railroad operation in
the new and untried era which we shall enter after the war. I know,
indeed, that not a few large holders of railroad securities take this
view and therefore have this preference.

Nor do I speak as one who believes that the railroad situation can be
restored just as it was before the war. The function, responsibility and
obligation of the railroads as a whole are primarily to serve the
interests and economic requirements of the nation. The disjointed
operation of the railroads, each one considering merely its own system
(and being under the law practically prevented from doing otherwise)
will, I am sure, not be permitted again.

The relinquishment of certain features of our existing legislation, the
addition of others, a more clearly defined and purposeful relationship
of the nation to the railroads, involving amongst other things possibly
some financial interest of the Government in the results of railroad
operations, are certain to come from our experiences under Government
operation and from a fresh study of the subject, in case the railroads,
as I hope, are returned to private management.

Personally I believe that in its underlying principle, the system
gradually evolved in America but never as yet given a fair chance for
adequate translation into practical execution, is an almost ideal one.
If preserves for the country, in the conduct of its railroads, the
inestimable advantage of private initiative, efficiency, resourcefulness
and financial responsibility, while at the same time through
governmental regulation and supervision it emphasizes the semi-public
character and duties of railroads, protects the community's rights and
just claims and guards against those evils and excesses of unrestrained
individualism which experience has indicated.

It is, I am profoundly convinced, a far better system than gove