Like American railways the railway system of Great Britain was under private control prior to the war, but the experiment of Government direction began to be applied as soon as the war was declared. Government control did not mean Government ownership. The lines remained the property of the companies. They retained the management of their own concerns subject to the instructions of an executive committee appointed by the Government and the whole machinery of administration went on as before. At the beginning the sole purpose was to facilitate the movement of troops, but as the war developed the scope of the railway executive committee became greatly extended. Working in coöperation with the acting chairman were twelve general managers of leading British lines. Under the central body were groups of committees, each made up of railway experts. The War Office and the Director General of Transport were in touch with the Central Committee. A writer in the _Railway Age Gazette_ for December, 1917, explains the arrangements as follows: "Under the terms on which the railways were taken over for the period of the war the Government guaranteed to the proprietors of the railways that their net revenue should be the same as in 1913, except when the net receipts for the first half of 1914 were less than the first half of 1913; in that case the sum payable was to be reduced in the same proportion. The entire Government traffic--men and freight--was to be carried without any direct charge being made for it or any accounts rendered. This plan was considered satisfactory by both sides. In the majority of cases there had been a reduction of earnings in the first half of 1914 over the previous half-year, and companies were contemplating a still further reduction. The interests of their shareholders being assured, they were able to devote themselves to the work of economical and efficient distribution, quite apart from the usual financial problems. The one weak side of this agreement was that it made no allowance to cover increased interest payments on account of new investments and new capital expenditure since the war began. This point was afterward met by an arrangement that the government should pay interest at 4 per cent. on all new capital invested by the railways since August 4, 1914, on new lines, branches, terminals, equipment, or other facilities put into use since January 1, 1913. "The conclusion of the financial agreement between the Government and the companies automatically brought about a great economy in the system of railway accounts. The reports of the companies were cut down to a bare minimum, and in many cases even these reduced reports were not sent to the shareholders unless they specially asked for them." RAILWAY NATIONALIZATION IN CANADA