coal, than there would be for classifying and for charging a
higher postage rate on a love letter than on an ordinary business
letter. The whole ridiculous paraphernalia of rates and of classi-
fications of the present system would be swept away. In their
place, as we shall later consider, a simple zone tariflp, or uniform
flat rate would be established, which would give the people not
only cheap transportation, but rates so incredibly low that the
cost of transportation would scarcely enter at all as a factor in
the cost of goods to the consumer. Nowhere would there be any
"grave apprehensions" over the question of relative rates. Fur-
thermore, the chairman apparently assumes that the task of
management and of operation under government ownership
would be the same as under the present system, for he refers to
this as being complicated. Tinder government ownership the
task of management and operation would be immensely simpli-
fied as we shall see.
Those, whose hazy idea of democracy pictures their govern-
ment over them as a master, warn us of the danger of central-
ization. Indeed, can anything be plainer, than the fact that
this danger and evil from which the advocates of private owner-
ship would flee, is the very evil that now dominates our govern-
ment and curses the people, namely, centralized railroad wealth
and power? In order to dislodge and to disrupt this power
and great evil, we must centralize the control and ownership
of our railroads absolutely in the government, that is, in the
people. This centralization is necessary because we must operate
our railroads as an organic whole. The step will be in reality
a diffusion of the ownership of our railroads to all the people.
