Vagabond Editoriafs

(Continued from Page 6)

I think it's time we ran the sissies out and got rough with the situation. We can keep on hoping, and wishing, and whereasing, and resoluting, and monkey-doodling forever, and we'll still be on the inside looking out-"put not GETTING out. I wrote Bill Horsley that we must do as they did years ago at Mer Rouge, Louisiana. Maybe you haven't heard that one?

The little town of Mer Rouge years ago built up a terrible reputation, for toughness. One day a man came riding across the Sabine River from Louisiana into Texas. He was stark naked. He was riding a wild lion for a saddle horse. Under his left arm he carried a biting, spitting wild-cat, and in his right hand he was using a live rattlesnake for a riding whip and was whipping Hell out of the lion with it. "Boy", someone asked him as he rode into Texas; t'where are you from?" "I'm from Mer Rouge," replied the lion rider; "THEY'VE DONE RUN ALL US SISSIES OUT."

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The National Lumber Manufacturers Association reflected much honor upon itself when it elected John W. Blodgett, of Michigan, its President for the ensuing troubled year, and got a big break when Mr. Blodgett accepted. the appointment. Not always is an orga4ization so fortunate in time of distress as to find the strongest and most respected man available ready to furnish it service at such sacrifice to his personal affairs as Mr. Blodgett's acceptance of this difficult office must necessarily involve. All honor to John Blodgett for accepting the task of leadership ! A lesser man would have plead his private necessities an.d declined the hpnor. A strong, experienced, seasoned, resourceful, extremely successful man who has won the respect and confidence of the lumber industry through long years of service, is John W. Blodgett. The National is lucky !

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Some of these days the wheels of industry will move again, smoke will pour from smokestacks everywhere, goods will move to market as in days of yore, and THEN what a scramble there will be for transportation facilities ! At the pres,ent time there are over 750,000 idle freight cars in the country that are in good order, and over 250,000 that are in bad order, a total of more than a million freight cars on side tracks. And of the 750,000 good order cars that are idle at least 150,000 are so obsolete that they would quickly be scrapped if business were anything like normal. What a market for car materials there will be within a year after business turns up the hill! ***

My recent editorials on trucks versus railroads have been reprinted numerous times and widely distributed by lumber associatio4s, traffic organizations, and railroads, and naturally there has been a heavy back-wash o.f mail to my desk in return. While most of the communications have been commendatory, some of my correspondents wish to discuss with me the details of freight rates. I regret that a detailed discussion of freight rates is too large an order for my editorial province. Volumes are needed for that difficult purpose.

My stand on this "rru;""*,

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be fundamental. I contend and shall continue to contend that so long as we insist on governmental regulation of the railroads, laying down a thousand and one rules under which they have no choice but to operate, and holding them strictly accountable to the law for the observance of these restrictions and obligations, it is our simple and unavoidable duty to see that no other transportation forms are permitted to o.perate in direct competition with the railroads that are not similarly regulated, restricted, guided, and policed. When we assume the right to control the railroads we automatically bind ourselves by every rule of right and equity to protect them frorn such destructive competition as must come if other carriers are permitted to compete with th'em without similar regulation, restriction, guidance, and policing. There isn't anything else in decency and fairness that we can do. I want public life and limb and property to be as directly and completely protected from these other lines of transportation by governmental law enforcement, as they are from the railroads. If trucks are to traverse our public highways as transportation competitors of the railroads I want to see them pay their full share of highway construction and upkeep (that share to be based on thdr weight and destructiveness); I want supervision of their employees, and of their equipment for public protection; I want to be certain that they pay for any damage to public life, limb, or property, as do the railroads; I want to see them regulated in the same manner as the railroads are operated, for public service and public protection.

And, when this has been done, and the terms of fair play have been complied with, I will enjoy seeiqg a fair race and no favors, and if it so develops that under sirnilar regulatory conditions the trucks can win an advantage in the race, I'll guarantee never to raise voice against them. A square deal is all I'm demanding for the railroads.

And, if they don't *o n an*'r] oro*"U up and broke just as certain as God made little green apples and hung them on trees. And if we allow them to go broke it will be a catastrophe that will strike at the foundations of our national prosperity in such fashionlthat no man can hope to escape his share of the hurt. I'm NOT opposed to the trucking of freight ! Not in any form or fashion ! But I'm unalterably opposed to loading the railroads down with laws, rules, regulations, restrictions, hobbles, weights, hur, dles, and hampers of every sort, shape, and description, and then letting their comqletitors, who would destroy them, run willy-nilly and helter-skelter abroad over this land without rule, reason, restriction, or regulation. Let's give the railroads a square deal ! Let's put the same harnesses on their competitors that they are forced to wear-or let's turn the railroads loose also. Let's treat both alike. That's my plea !

And on that rock I stand !