New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-07-12

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are they showed daring which would have been
wonderful IN any corporation, and which in eonser
,atiye business men was almost miraculous 1hey |
olone had faith at the unpromisng seed-tlme they
are fairly entitled to the richest harvest - =
Bnt there are Just two practical questions, which
onn,v equally to them and to the Union Pacific
i Have thew kept faith with the Government
Have they built and are they completing such road
as they agreed to In general terms Yes IT,.
III Now that their line is open, are they operating
II with reasonable fairness and berality toward the
rnblieS This question is less easy to answer But
il ia one of the utmost Importance, for they now
have much of California and all of Nevada in their
pewer. and they are grasping every new line ana
nropose TO own and control The entire railpdy system Of
the Pacific Coast ..r
Tho Central is already theirs. They are building
a road north from Sacramento to oregon It's I'M
mediate business will not be heavy, but us lah0-
grant il worth more than the entire work viii cost
b hrd thot IS the route by which Northern Pacific
road from Minnesota to Puget Sound must connect
with San Francisco. They own franchise, too,
covering the San Joaquin Valley, which Southern
Continental line must inevitably follow to this city
We are sure TO have three Pacific railways, and
these six men seek to own the California ends OF all
of tbemi If they succeed it will be monopoly I'M
matched on the globe. Its little finger can be made
thicker than the loins Of Camden and Amboy. In
what spirit are they running their first road What
policy do they foreshadowY - -
/ Through tariffs both on freight and travel are
inexcusably high. Passengers are now charged
eight cents mile on the Central Tickets are issued
through to New-York, but at an exorbitant inquire,
aud with no second-class rates whatever Later oo-
seryation confirms my original impression that Sl5O
first class. and s75 for emigants, wonld pay tair
profit. But the Company urge: eve have finished
our road two wears earlier than expected and six
wears earlier than we were required to. The pres
sure of work upon has been so great that we nave
had no time to make permanent arrangements II is
unfair to criticse sharply before we have learned
what we can afford to do, or show the pubic WDat
we are going to do" There is some reason III TINS;
but if fares were too low instead of too high would
they not find time TO raise them within "a hoursf
The officers talk well; several tell that they hope
to carry passengers through respectively for 500 and
$50 and grapes for five cents pound But the weeks
pass and fare continues to be nearly $780, and
the freight on fruit (which now goes only by
expressj 80 cents a pound. Portions OF the
road have been run for over four years ana many
pleasant promises have been vaguely made bat
they seem to be of the sort which proverbiay but
ter no parsnips The Central can afford to make as
low tariffs as the Union its skilled labor and its fuel
cost more but its unsked labor far cheaper, and
its local business be much the heavier for years
to come
.. The Union Pacific makes close connections at
Omaha for all Eastern cities. The Central takes pas
sengeTs into Promontory the drearest place on the
entire line Is hours too early The California Nay
CATION Company's steamers which ply between here
and Sacramento, have left San Francisco daily at
p NJ. for the last 20 years. The Central managers
allege that as the steamers viii not change they
have to adjust their trains accordingly. They ac-
tually give the obstinacy of this Insignificant little
Navigation Company, on 100 miles of the Sacramento
River as their excuse for throwing the Continental
travel for $500 miles, Is hours out of connection
Actually they night start their trains from Sacra-
mento whenever they pleased, and the steamers
would conform or opposition boats would be put on
Tie real difficulty is they wish to leave Sacramento
at such an hour that the steamers lover which they
ticket can connect closely with them and the trains
of the Vallejo Railroad cannot.
g. Distances from Sacramento to San Francisco:
BY Central ComBany's Road ouildng 1875 miles miles
BY Vallejo Road Gn operation).-.......... SO miles
The Vallejo cars and boats bring passengers
through two OF three hours quicker than they can
come by steamer and the distance 80 miles shorter
than the Central COmpany's road will be. Most Of
the business travel now patrcnizes the Vallejo line,
and suppose it is to prevent this from becoming a
permanent habit that the Central people refuse to
ticket check baggage it, or to allow infor-
nation concerning it to be circulated upon their
trains All this Is very petty. 1t might answer in
tho management of corner grocery, but 1T will not
do on Continental Railway.
f. None of the Company are experienced railroad
men, and they are little infected with the feeling
so common among beginners that their road particu-
larry in its local interests is superior to the general
laws of travel and traffic. Their most influential
officer said to me: Our Nevada business is not that
of an ordinary community The people there are
consumers not producers They will take just about
~ many mounds of freight in a year whether we
carry for nothing or charge two prices" Such an
opinion from such man is simply astoundingl This
local business exactly like any other, to be built
up rapidly and enormously by obligng treatment
and ov, prices, and to be kept down by an opposite
policy.
In word. the Central owners who were very
shrewd in building their road, are little TOO shrewd
in running it. The feeling that their charges are OPP
pressve and their general management despotic, is
already exciting hostility throughout Nevada and
rural California in San Francisco, and even in Sacra-
nento Ii the present policy is kept up it viii be
pretty certain to provoke the intervention Of the
California Legislature and Of Congress.
l hope need not dsclaim any hostility toward the
Company. have accepted its courtesies; have al
ways been an earnest friend Of the policy which
called it into existence; and have helped give pub
licity to whatever ] that was worthy to be com
mended. / feel the general American pride in the
great work which its members have done. and in the
promptuess and skill with which they have done it.
/ admire particularly their instinct of solvency
They have gone on in the plain old fashioned way of
watching expenditures, making no engagements
rashy, living up to their agreements, and paying
their debts. Personally they respected and two
have held honorable public positions. Naturally
they looking first to their own interests but they
seem TO me to be iDiuring even that and falling into
mistakes which require frank, outspoen criticism