In Mexico, of which I shall have more to say directly, the state owns no railroads. As for Central America, Costa Rica and Honduras have some petty lines, which are worked at a loss. Guatemala had a railroad till 1904, when it was transferred to a private company. Nicaragua has also leased its lines. Colombia owns and works at a profit, all of which is said to be devoted to betterment, 24 miles of line. In South America, Peru and Argentina own, as far as I am aware, no railroads. The Chilian government owns about 1,600 miles out of the 3,000 miles in the country. Needless to say private capital has secured the most profitable lines. The government railroad receipts hardly cover the working expenses. The Brazilian government formerly owned a considerable proportion of its railroad network of nearly 11,000 miles. Financial straits forced it some years ago to dispose of a large part to private companies, to the apparent advantage at once of the taxpayer, the shareholder and the railroad customer. About 1,800 miles of line are still operated by the government, the receipts of which, roughly speaking, do a little more than balance working expenses. But it may be broadly said that the present Brazilian policy is adverse to state ownership and in favor of the development of the railroad system by private enterprise. THE UNITED STATES SITUATION. The question of public ownership and operation was, however, raised very definitely in the United States only two years ago, when Mr. Bryan made a speech stating that his European experience had convinced him that it was desirable to nationalize the railroads of the United States. For many weeks after, Mr. Bryan's pronouncement was discussed in every newspaper and on every platform, from Maine to California. Practically, Mr. Bryan found no followers, and today, though he is the accepted candidate of the Democratic party for the Presidency, the subject has been tacitly shelved. To some extent this may have been due to the ludicrous impossibility, if I may say so with all respect for a possible President, of Mr. Bryan's proposals. In order, presumably, not to offend his own Democratic party, the traditional upholders of the rights of the several states, he seriously suggested that the Federal government should work the trunk lines, and the respective state governments the branches. Even if anybody knew in every case what is a trunk line and what is a branch, the result would be to create an organism about as useful for practical purposes as would be a human body in which the spinal cord was severed from the brain. Mr. Bryan's proposal was never discussed in detail: public sentiment throughout the Union was unexpectedly unanimous against it, and it is safe to say that the nationalization of the railroads of the United States is not in sight at present.