te management."

Judge Dillon, of the United States Court, in his order appointing Hon.
J. B. Grinnell receiver for the Central Railroad of Iowa, in 1876, said:

"The railroads in the hands of the court--and in the circuit
there are eight or ten--have all been run with less expense,
and have made more money, than when they were operated by
the companies; and we hope and believe under your
supervision that this road will prove no exception, and that
the property will be worth more at the end of the
litigation."

Upon Mr. Grinnell's resignation, after nearly three years of service,
Judge Grant said, in asking for the discharge of his bondsmen:

"I concur entirely in the opinion of the State commissioners
that he has very much improved the condition of the road,
and he left it in far superior condition to that in which he
received it."

Yet Government ownership and management of railroads also has its
drawbacks. It is claimed by some that such management is more expensive
than that of lines owned by private companies. It has already been shown
that the permanent way is kept in better condition by the state than by
private corporations. In Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France and
Italy the state expends from 15 to 30 per cent. more for the maintenance
of the permanent way than the private companies. It is perhaps also true
that the rank and file of railroad employes fare, on an average, better
under government than they do under private management; but, as an
offset to this, it should be remembered that quite a saving is effected
by the state in the salary account of general officers. The people will
not consent to pay the manager of a railroad line a salary six times as
large as that of a cabinet officer, and provide at the same time
sinecures for his sons, brothers, nephews and cousins.

It is furthermore claimed that, as government is organized, it cannot,
all other things being equal, respond to the demands of commerce as
promptly as private companies. This feature, however, may be an
advantage to the country at large rather than a detriment. But the
strongest argument that can be produced against state ownership of
railroads is that under a democratic form of government it might exert a
demoralizing influence in politics. The 1,700 railroad companies of the
United States have at present an army of about 800,000 employes. This
number is constan