So in closing our consideration of this phase of our subject, permit me to say that efficient civil service will never be attained--can never be attained--if department, division and other supervising and directing heads sit at their desks most of the time, approving documents and requisitions, reading reports and talking politics. If they expect men under them to work, they must get out on the job where they expect the work to be done, and that, too, whether the job be in the office or in the field. CHAPTER XIV. PARCELS POST RAIDERS. Anyone who attempts to give our parcels post service anything like careful, studious consideration will, at the very outset of such consideration, find himself confronted by a number of bald facts which, when fully rounded out and understood, should make unnecessary any discussion of our claim that we need, should have and are entitled to better and cheaper service than that we now have. Without attempting any immediate discussion of these facts, I desire to present them, or some of them, to the reader’s consideration just here at the opening of our discussion of the subject. The desire to do this is prompted by a hope that their presentation here will induce the reader to think of their significance and their bearing upon the parcels post question in any fair discussion of it. Now for these facts: 1. There are about 250,000 miles of railroad in this country--more than the aggregate mileage of all the other nations of earth. 2. The capitalization of the railroads of these United States is now, according to Poor’s Manual of Railroads, the universally recognized authority, about $18,800,000,000--_Eighteen billion eight hundred million dollars_! 3. That capitalization is admittedly _twice_ the value of all the tangible values--trackage, rolling stock, terminals, shops and other--owned by the roads. In many instances the capitalization of a road is easily three times the value of its tangible property. 4. Most of these railroads were built with borrowed money, covered by bond issues, and the payment of the bonds met from the _earnings of the roads_, or by new issues of bonds, payment of which has been, or it is intended will be, met from earnings. In view of this method of financing construction and equipment, it is well known in informed circles that the present capitalization of these railroads is _ten or twelve_ times the actual cash ever invested in them--that is, cash other than that collected from the people for freight, passenger, and other service rendered--rendered at rates _unscrupulously_ excessive. Some of the best informed people have gone so far as to say that _all_ of the stock and a considerable part of the bond capitalization of the nation’s railroads _is water_. 5. There are a number of express companies in this country. The express business of the country, however, is controlled by six companies--the “Big Six.”