GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP.

Much as we may desire the complete removal of governmental restrictions on private industry in time of peace, we must not at the same time lose sight of the fact that during the late months of the war, certain bounds have been established in the world of industry behind which the control of the government can never be withdrawn.

One need hardly state that the numerour Industrial concerns which the government has seen fit to take from private hands as a purely emergency measure, should be returned to their owners with due compensation. But in the case of various public service monopolies which are now operated by the government as a means of insuring perfect coordination in the management of a widespread system the question of restoration calls for somewhat more deliberation.

Many economists are beginning to accept as inevitable the permanent operation of our railroads by the government. The inextricable tangle into which the railroads were plunged even before this country had entered the war seems in itself almost sufficient proof that government ownership should be adopted to avoid the repetition of such a disaster. In a country where the geographical division of labor and industry has been carried to such an extent as in America, the welfare of the people demands efficient and unified service on the part of the railroads at all times; conflicting interests of shippers and the selfish attitude of railroad managers toward labor must never again be allowed to jeopardize the safety and well-being of the populace. Whether what we desire would be best accomplished under the former private ownership, under the leasehold system, or under pure government ownership is one of the many problems that must soon be settled by men in and out of Congress.

Restrictions on the investment of private capital should at once be removed. Business men should be allowed the greatest possible freedom in engineering the gigantic task of setting our peace time industries once more on a firm footing. This, however, should not be interpreted as to mean the freedom to impose upon labor the unfair conditions which prevailed before the war. The laboring classes are universally demanding for themselves a reasonable return from the product of their labor and the permanent establishment of the eight-hour day in nearly all kinds of industry. It is only by meeting these demands in a spirit of sympathy and understanding that the employers may fulfill their part in making secure the foundations of a fasting industrial democracy.