Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1860-02-15

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.verv possible manner and when they
can % longer hoodviok us they Will
leave % am our rosds totake care os|
themselves
ave e. . company without daan-
ci>l hssd." Tho cOstractors claim 70 be
thu financial men. When in New York,
some time since, / made it my business
to inquire Of men in Wall street who
weaId be likely to know, how Messrs.
Farnam and Durants stood ~ money
borrower 10 that city; and from tho
best informatio that l gather, | came
TO the conclusion that they had little
or no credit of themselves; and that
what they had vas based upon the Iowa
bonds we had furnished them, and upon
the tact that they were the contracting
party and had for the time being the
control of . good line OF road in Iowa.
1t does appear to me, at the present
time, to DO the duty OF our State Legis-
.atore to pas general Railroad law that
will remedy oil the evils under which we
have been suffering. And one import
ant provision should be that at least
three fourths of the directory should DO
permanent residents Of the State, and
that all meetings Of the board be held
within the State, and that al business
be transacted there, and not in parlors
in New York and Boston, by executive
committees, ~ 10 now tho case, and by
men who have never seen Iowa, and
care nothing about her 80 far ~ building
Railroads 10 concerned. 1t il our duty
to rid ourselves of this foreign influence
and take fair start upon proper basis.
Tho State has given large amounts Of
lands to Railroad Companies, and thoy
should be entitled to voice in the man.
agement. 1t was great overnight in
the Legislature, and should now be
remedied ~ far as possible, in not re-
curing those Companies to pay Ger
tain per centage Of the gross earnings
into the Treasury Of the State. A con-
siderable proportion Of the revenue Of
our State should eventually come from
that source.
Shortly after Farnam succeeded in
humbuggiug the people Of Central Iowa
into his present systom Of Railroads, in
cony ersstion with Appointment Railroad
man in the west, I'm relation - to wheth-
or he had not cut out too much work IN
Iowa, he said that > portion Of it was
only dono for effect-that he never
thought Of building or never intended to
build the Cedar Valley Road-that it
was merely included in the plan for the
purpose Of enlisting the people Of Mus
catine county, who felt deep interest
in that road. This have from the high
est authority, and operations Of Farnam
himself 60 to prove that fact.
When the management Of our road
gets into the hands of men of our own
State, then and not till then may we ex-
pect to have them handed over to the
Company At what they are worth per
mile, and at cost upon which they can
pay a dividend to the stockholders.
Any organization Of thorough business
men can build Railroad just as we'll as
they can erect q building. In tho ono
case they want the services Of good
architect; in the other they want COM
pstent and practical engineer, and an
association Of good men who will 60
honestly to work aud not undertake to
swindle the Company as contractors.
and frat expend economically oil the
money they can raise along the line, and
then like honest men, attending to their
own private business, carrying their repu-
tations with them, go to New York, or
any other money mart in the world, and
my word for it they will get all the as
sistance they are entitled to. The time
has come when thorough change must
be wrought in our system Of building
Railroads. There is no longer any ex-
cu.e for trying to force them through
our State in their present sickly condi-
ton. They are truly in bad: state and
the remedy must be thorough. We
shall never see prosperous days for our
Railways until they are built At the
smallest practicable outlay. A road that
should have cost $4,000 per mile, and
is called upon to pay dividend on $45,-
900 per mile, will very likely have lit
tie more to do than she can respond to.
Extravaganza in management is bad
enough and common enough, but it 10 an
evil which can be remedied any time,
provided tho share and bond holders in
sist upon . reformation. But money
senk in construction is gone beyond re-
call. It 10 buried beyond the reach Of
resurrection. All that can be done is to
smooth over its grave by the sweeping
process of . foreclosure.
There is no better way to make mon
cy than by the exercise Of strict econo
my. This rule applies in an eminent
degree to Railway construction. Every
dollar saved in the building Of new
road 10 dollar Withdrawn from the in
terest-bearing capital. 1t is 40 outlay
Of eight or ten cents per annum in per-
pe.uity extinguishcd, and virtual in
crease to that extent Of the profits Of
the work. So far A. theory is con-
ccrned, no one will be found to question
this doctrine, but how far we have re-
gardcd it practically is another matter.
The same rules which arc found cssen-
tial in private business should and must
characterize railway management. or
ticers and Directors should be chosen
with paramount reference to their fit
ness, and required to devote their entire
attention to tho duties Of the places they
fill. Salaries should be liberal, not cx-
travagart, and certain during good be-