objections to national ownership are many; that most frequently
advanced and having the most force being the possibility that, by
reason of its control of a vastly increased number of civil servants,
the party in possession of the federal administration at the time
such ownership was assumed would be able to perpetuate its power
indefinitely. As there are more than 700,000 people employed by the
railways, this objection would seem to be well taken; and it indicates
serious and far-reaching results _unless_ some way can be devised to
neutralize the political power of such a vast addition to the official
army.

In the military service we have a body of men that exerts little or no
political power, as the moment a citizen enters the army he divests
himself of political functions; and it is not hazardous to say that
700,000 capable and efficient men can be found who, for the sake of
employment, to be continued so long as they are capable and
well-behaved, will forego the right to take part in political affairs.
If a sufficient number of such men can be found, this objection would,
by proper legislation, be divested of all its force. At all events no
trouble from such a source has been experienced since Australian
railways were placed under control of non-partisan commissions, such a
commission, having had charge of the Victorian railways since
February, 1884, or a little more than one term, they being appointed
for seven years instead of for life, as stated by Mr. W. M. Acworth in
his argument against government control.

The second objection is that there would be constant political
pressure to make places for the strikers of the party in power, thus
adding a vast number of useless men to the force, and rendering it
progressively more difficult to effect a change in the political
complexion of the administration.

That this objection has much less force than is claimed is clear from
the conduct of the postal department which is, unquestionably, a
political adjunct of the administration; yet but few useless men are
employed, while its conduct of the mail service is a model of
efficiency after which the corporate managed railways might well
pattern. Moreover, if the railways are put under non-partisan control,
this objection will lose nearly if not quite all its force.

A third objection is that the service would be less efficient and cost
more than with continued corporate ownership.

This appears to be bare assertio