Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-06-28
A Change OF Presidents.

Dental of the Central PACING Rallroad
Company, and that the position will
be filled by CHARLIE CROKER, of
Contract and Finance Company fame.
All sorts of results, good, bad and in
different, are predicted as certain to
follow this change, prominent among
which is the final retiracy of the COM
pany from the political arena and a
closer attention to their legitimate
business in the future. We see no
reason for realization of the first pre-
diction. No matter who stands at the
head, the company dare not go out of
politics at present, nor until polltl-
clans leave the company to transact
this business unmolested. A solemn
vow, signed by every member of the
company, that henceforth they would
never touch, speak nor think of poll
tics, would not prevent attacks upon
them by politicians and political
journals. 1t would have been better
for the company had they never gone
into politics; but having embarked on
that treacherous sea some years ago,
the instinct of self preservation
prompted them to trim their bark in
the manner which they thought best
calculated TO enable her to weather
the biennial storm that every Legis-
lature gathered around her. Had they
sat down and made no preparation to
meet the blast, the whole concern
would have been wrecked long ago.
Suppose they had not defended them
selves against FREEMAN's freights
and fares bill of the last session, what
would have been the result? Simply
this: q tariff would have been fixed
which every well-informed railroad
man asserts would have compelled the
suspension of operations on nearly
every railroad in the State. Such a
result is not for the best interests OF
the people, and would have been fol-
lowed by the bankruptcy of the rail-
road company. So long as politicians
attack the railroad company, the rail-
road company cannot go out of poll
tics. 1t must defend itself-fight the
devil with fire. In regard to other
matters, we are inclined to the opin-
ion that the change will operate bene-
ficially both to the public and the
company. Gov. STANFORD is not an
active business man. He sees too lit
tie for himself, and relies too much on
his subordinates. He does not give
the affairs of the company that close
personal supervision they should re-
ceive. He has relied too much OH the
fact that he is President of the Central
Pacific Railroad Company, and de-
voted too little time and attention to
the details of the immense business
he directs. He is not sufficiently ac-
tive nor methodical He has grown
unpopular with the people, and be-
come an old song with the employees
of the company. He is weighted with
all the mistakes and wrongs of the
corporation, and is credited with none
of its virtues. He is loaded with the
dignity of position around which
clusters one hundred million dollars.
He needs rest, and the interests of the
company demand that he should have
it. CROKER is shrewd, wide-awake,
active, jovial, good-natured, jolly, I'M
dignifed, good fellow. He and MARK
p. HOPKINS made the Contract and
Finance Company clear about forty
million dollars, and they made the
Central Pacific Company all the money
they are worth. CROKER will look
after the business himself and it will
be sorry day for the brakeman,
ticket agent, conductor or other EN-.
ployee he catches playing himself of
for general uperintendent, as is now
the custom with great many of these
gentlemen. He will laugh and talk
with all, but at the same time he will
see everything around him. He will
investigate complaints himself, not
delegate the business to some super
numerary who is so inflated with the
importance of his position that a sens
ible person will not talk with him.
CRocKER's dignity will never so
he lge him in but that anyone, even
the lowest employee of the company,
may see and talk with him. He will
not consider himself the greatest man
in the world, nor will he imagine that
everybody is anxious to touch the
back button of his coat. He will get
along wit h fewer leutenants, and the
army of CARR's, STOVES, BRoUGH-
TONS and CAGES will, like OTHELLo,
find their occupation gone. He will
have no use for subsidized newspapers;
and when he requires the assistance of
journal, he will not destroy its power
by telling everybody and his wife he
owns it. He is far too wise for that.
His vanity never clouds his judgment.
On the whole, we conclude that
CHARLES CRoCKER will make a better
and more popular Central Pacific
President than LELAND STANFORD
has made or is capable of making.
THE probable non-completion of the
Southern Pacific Railroad to this place
for number of years, ought to be suf-