"I concur entirely in the opinion of the State commissioners that he has very much improved the condition of the road, and he left it in far superior condition to that in which he received it." Yet Government ownership and management of railroads also has its drawbacks. It is claimed by some that such management is more expensive than that of lines owned by private companies. It has already been shown that the permanent way is kept in better condition by the state than by private corporations. In Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France and Italy the state expends from 15 to 30 per cent. more for the maintenance of the permanent way than the private companies. It is perhaps also true that the rank and file of railroad employes fare, on an average, better under government than they do under private management; but, as an offset to this, it should be remembered that quite a saving is effected by the state in the salary account of general officers. The people will not consent to pay the manager of a railroad line a salary six times as large as that of a cabinet officer, and provide at the same time sinecures for his sons, brothers, nephews and cousins. It is furthermore claimed that, as government is organized, it cannot, all other things being equal, respond to the demands of commerce as promptly as private companies. This feature, however, may be an advantage to the country at large rather than a detriment. But the strongest argument that can be produced against state ownership of railroads is that under a democratic form of government it might exert a demoralizing influence in politics. The 1,700 railroad companies of the United States have at present an army of about 800,000 employes. This number is constantly increasing, and it is more than probable that before the end of the present century it will have reached a million. When it is considered what importance is at present attached to the political influence of a hundred thousand Federal officers, it is not surprising that conservative citizens should hesitate to add to the ranks of these officeholders a six or seven times larger force. Dangerous as the railroad influence now is in politics, it would be ten times more dangerous if under a system of Government management considerations of self-interest should induce a million railroad employes to act as a political unit and political parties should vie with each other in bidding for the railroad vote. Could our civil service ever be so organized as to divest it entirely of political power, state management of railroads might still offer the best solution of the railroad problem.