Government Ownership
of Railroads,
and
War Taxation
OTTO H. KAHN
AN ADDRESS BEFORE THE
NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCE BOARD
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 10, 1918
Table of Contents
| Government Ownership of Railroads | 3 | |
| Section I | ||
| Section II | ||
| Section III | ||
| Section IV | ||
| Section V | ||
| Punitive Paternalism in Taxation | 27 | |
| Section I | ||
| Section II | ||
| Section III | ||
| Section IV | ||
| Section V |
I
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF RAILROADS
Paternalistic control, even when entirely benevolent in intent, isgenerally harmful in effect. It is apt to be doubly so when, assometimes occurs, it is punitive in intent.
The history of our railroads in the last ten years is a case in point.
In their early youth our railroads were allowed to grow up like spoiled,wilful, untamed children. They were given pretty nearly everything theyasked for, and what they were not given freely they were apt to getsomehow, anyhow. They fought amongst themselves and in doing so wereliable to do harm to persons and objects in the neighborhood. They wereoverbearing and inconsiderate and did not show proper respect to theirparent, i. e., the people.
[Pg 4]But the fond parent, seeing how strong and sturdy they were and on thewhole, how hustling and effective in their work, and how, with all theirfaults of temper and demeanor, they made themselves so useful around thehouse that he could not really get along without them, only smiledcomplacently at their occasional mischief or looked the other way.Moreover, he was really too busy with other matters to give properattention to their education and upbringing.
As the railroads grew towards man's estate and married and begot otherrailroads, they gradually sloughed off the roughness and objectionableways of their early youth, and though they did not sprout wings, andthough once in a while they still did shock the community, they wereamazingly capable at their work and really rendered service ofinestimable value.