The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1875-05-19
VANDERBILTv-. PULLMAN.
Greek Against Greek.
st Louis Globe :

st. Louis Globe
A little cloud no bigger than mans
hand-In fact, cloud about the size of
the hand Of Cornelius VanderbiIt-bas
risen upon the margin of that prosperous
sky that las hitherto smiled undimmed
/ upon the growing fortunes of the Pullman
Palace Car Company. Mr.. Vanderbilt
has given notice that after a certain date
he Will not allow the cars of this comma
ny to be used upon his road, and Mr..
| Vanderbilt Is not in the habit of making
! promises that he is not able to keen.
Within sixty DAYS the test will begin Of
| the question whether the New York
| Central is better able to do without the
Pullman cars than the Pullman Company
| Is able to do without the New York
| Central, and the question is one which
interests the whole travelling public As
the phrase nowadays means the whole
public, we may say that the question is
one OF universal interest. The contest.
moreover, Is one which promises to de-
Velop an intrinsic richness of its own
and while It's results will be we'll worth
gaming, its progress will be we'll worth
watching. Both corporations are rich
and plucky, and in good training for
hight, and the chance is held out to sum-
mer tourists that even though the rail-
road war be patched up, the sleeping-car
war may bring prices so low that a berth
IN a palace car will be as cheap as a soup
house bunk in winter
The manner in which the Pullman car
came to be an acknowledged necessity of
travelling, and the process by which the
Pullman Company entered upon the do
mains of the railroad companies and
lorded 1t over them, is something which
few fellows have been able to find out.
Everybody recognizes that on a long
journey the Pullman car is a grateful ex-
travagance, and everybody winces at the
cost Of the extravaganza. Every body
knows, moreover, that the managers of
the railroads disclaim all responsibility
for the charges on the Pullman cars,
and sometimes privately wish they could
get rid of them but very few know how
sincere they are in these disclaimers and
these wishes, and how onerous are the
terms on which they are enabled to Offer
the dazzling magnificence to their patrons.
Their sincerity will be understood when
we say that the contracts between the
Pullman Company and the railroad com
panies simply provide that the railroad
company shall bear all expense, and
the Pullman Company keep all the
receipts. The Pullman car is vastly
more heavy than the ordinary passenger
car it carries much smaller average of
passengers, and the cost of its mainte-
nance is much higher, but the railroad
companies receive no consideration for
this added expense. The Pullman Com
pany builds the car and owns it., collects
two dollars for each berth and keeps it.
Naturally, the more money the Pullman
Company makes the more money the
railroad company looses, and it has been
a marvel that so unequal bargain has
been allowed to continue so long.
Without detailed and accurate infor-
nation as to the contracts of each road
with the Pullman Company it would be
impossible to tell how the fight will run.
We believe that on most of the Western
roads the contracts forbid the use of any
other palace or sleeping cars than Pull
mans, but it is very probable that the
New Y ork Central has not taken its present
step without providing for the cooperation
of lis Western connections, the Lake Shore
and Michigan Southern to Chicago, and
the Wabash line to St. Louis. The
whole contest will hinge upon the posi-
bility Of making connections, the palace
cars deriving nine-tenths Of their patron
age from through passengers. But the
evidence that Vanderbilt has taken care
of his connections is rendered conclusive
by the vigor with which he proposes to
carry the war into the enemy's country.
He has ordered the Pullman cars off his
road ON the Boston train of the Michigan
Central, and, of course, this is a defiance,
an invitation to reprisals.