2. At 2 per cent (a rate at which the government can borrow all the money it wants), three hundred million dollars would pay the interest on $15,000,000,000.
3. Fifteen billions of dollars is more than either the “book” or the “market” value of all the railroads in this country—“water” included. It is more than twice their tangible, or construction, value.
So, if we can have cheap, reliable parcels post service only when the “government own the railroads,” then let’s get busy.
One of the much worn objections to a cheap parcels post service is that it cannot be established and profitably operated, as it has been in those countries which own the mail-carrying roads and pay much lower salaries to the operators of the service.
In reply, I will say that in neither Great Britain, nor in any country of continental Europe are all the rail-mail roads owned by the government. But those countries do control all their railroads—and that is exactly what this government must soon do or the railroads will control it.
To tell how these governments got control and keep control of their railroads is another story. In fact, it is a story for each of the countries. Suffice it to say here that they do control them. One element of that control compels the railroads to carry a large portion of the mails free of charge.
In Great Britain, all regular trains carry at least one mail car free, or at a mere nominal charge, and the trunk line roads are required to turn out extra mail trains of ten cars each on demand of the postoffice authorities. For such a train the road can charge no more for the run than the average cost of an average passenger train.
France guarantees and, I believe, pays the interest on a 70,000,000 franc railway bond issues. That is equivalent to $14,000,000. At 3 per cent the interest amounts to $420,000 a year. For that sum the railroads carry all the regular mails free—carry them under government direction and stipulation. Last year we paid our railroads $49,330,638.24 for carrying our mails. The French roads also carry the officials, the soldiery, and all military supplies free.
That, in brief, is about what the French government compels the railroads of France to do.
And those roads are all paying fair returns on the money invested in them!