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To the editor:

I strongly disagree with the letter to the editor that maintained that railroad construction was not a good way to create jobs.

That the initial jobs that are created are engineering jobs sounds good to me — engineers are as deserving of jobs as anyone else.

I am sure that by the time that any high-speed rail systems are built, states will share in the cost.

Just as our highway systems are joint state and federal investments, our rail infrastructure should be also.

There are many of us who think that our wars have a net negative benefit. If there is any place appropriate to saving money, it is ending our wars.

The money spent on rail infrastructure mostly should stay in this country; the money spent on war largely goes to other countries.

The biggest question is of long-term benefit. A high-speed rail system can reduce expansion of highway and air traffic.

Rail is far more efficient than air and highway transportation. One of our biggest national problems is the number of dollars accumulating in foreign countries — America is becoming largely foreign owned.

Increased use of rail systems greatly will reduce the money spent on foreign oil. In the long term, building a high-speed rail system will employ all sorts of workers.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is in building our expertise with rail. Currently, if you want a high-speed train, you go to Germany, France, Canada, Japan or China; America is not even in the running.

Yet, this is exactly the sort of enterprise that America has always proven to be best at.

Spending money to seed an American high-speed rail system is one of the very best uses I can think of for that money.

Jim Blevins