The case for government ownership

Before presenting a point of view which I fear may be shocking to some, I should like to mention a point made by my adversary. That was the reduction in costs per unit in transportation by rail. This has been and is marvelous, but we must not forget that the eight billions that were expended in order to bring that happy result have brought to the poor investors one-half of what they earned before the money was invested. And the cost to the transporter has gone up from $0,007 to $0.01 per ton-mile. So there is another side to this case which I hope you will bear in mind.