Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-23
RAILROADS AND THE PEOPLE.
Indianapolis journal.

Iron Mountain railroad, delivered a
lecture in st. Louis q few evenings
since which contained some pleasant
"reminiscences touching the growth Of
the railroad system IN this country, |
and some rather interesting views on
corning the relations Of railroads to
the people. Though educated for the
bar, Mr.. Allen has devoted most Of his
active life to r~ailroading. He was a
student at Schenectady in 1881, when
the first train Of cars that ever ira
versed the State Of New York entered
that city, and one Of the astonished
crowd who witnessed its arrival. Some
twenty years later, In 1852, being then
president Of the Missouri Pacific road,
he brought to st. Louis the
first locomotive that ever crossed
the Mississippi. He bought *
in Massachusetts, had it sent
around by sea to New Orleans, and
thence up the river by steamer. The
passenger cars for the first train on
that road came the same way, in pieces,
and were put together IN st. Louis. 1t
was not till the next year that thirty
CAEAG MAlEE u NuC .4Oa0 hNAO OENACG
westward from st. Louis, and this was
the first piece Of railroad constructed
west Of the Mississippi river. Since
that time the system has extended so
rapidly that o~ne-fourth in length of the
railway mileage Of the United States,
namely, 1900 miles, Is west of that
line. Referring to the years of hard
work which he had devoted to the rail
road business, projecting and laying
out new lines, accommodating the ne
cessary capital, and constructing and
operating roads under great difficulties,
Mr.. Allen said:
speaking as a railroad man after so
many years experience, and looking at re-
suits as affecting fame and fortune, and the
present ruling Of public opinion as a YER
dict upon a mans LAHORE, l am inclined to
believe that l have ~misapplied'a large pOr-
ton Of my life, my talents and my fortune,
and that, whatever others may think, l am
quite disposed TO write myself down any
thing but a wise man. Let nOOne attempttO
build a railroad with any expectation Of
gratitude from the people, or of Justice
from courts and juries, or legislatures. Let
no n expec. any profit from the honest
administration and operation Of a railroad
running through an enemy's country, and
/ where the rates Of transportation are uXed
by an annual crop Of ~demagOgues. If any
one is ambitious Of political preierment or
public service let him abstain from railroad
employment.
Pursuing this line Of thought he gave
it as his opinion that ~thepeople, and
especially the Changers, were pursuing
a miserablY narroW-minded and short
sighted policy in their warfare on the
railroads. That some roads were badly
and dishonesty managed he did not
deny, but the bulk Of them were trying
to do their duty by hepubic and their
! stockholders to the best of theirabilIty,
| labOring, meanwhile, under difficulties
and burdens such as the public little
| dreamed Of. Without presUming 10
assert that railroad corporations are
| always virtuous, he said it is IS un-
| reasonable to denounce the whole sys-
/ TEN for the errors and crimes Of a few
as il would be to denounce the whole
| Christian church because a case Of
great scandal had occurred. Regard
/ ing railroads from an outside and an
inside standpoint he said:
"FrOm the outside view we magnify the
power and wealth, and perhaps suspect the
integrity Of the railways, and c0DiuTe up a
/ phantom Of the Imagination which We at
tack and seek to put down o. control; while
from the inside standpoint we see the
/ timidity and real weakness Ofthe inner life,
and have a consciousness Of the fact that,
instead of a barOnial ownership Of leSiSla-
tors as serfs, as was charged at ARGENT Ses-
sion, we have no influence whatever, as
against Changers having votes, but on the
/ contrary are sensitive to- attack, anxious 10
accommodate, much controlled by public
| opinion, always borrowers Of money, and
frequent : too feeble to resist the rObOeries
Of h~ighwaymen, blackmailers, assessors,
and juriCs. Il efJen happens that strikes
among railroad employees occur IN the mis-
taken notion, influenced and even instiga-
ted by outsiders, that the corporation IS III
Just to its men and is using its means 10
speculate, when the fac is that between
assessors and bondhOldeTs and other cred
itcrs, It is struggling for existence"
Passing to consider the benefits which
railroads had conferred on the country,
he gave statistics To show the enormous
growth and development Of the West;
the wonderful increase IN the value Of
farm lands and products; the immense
reduction Of freights over the old ca
nal, river and wagon road transpOrta-
tion; the great saving Of time and ex-
pense in lOcomOtiOn, and other benefits
directly traceable to the railroad sys-
TEN. The railroads had actually made
the whole Western country. Prior to
1850, millions of acres Of land could
have been entered IN Illinois, Wiscon-
sin, Iowa and Missouri, not to speak Of
regions further west, at one dollar per
acre. The railroads opened up the
country, brought settlers, brought cul-
~tivation, and brought higher prices, till
now nearly all the farming lands IN
those States within five miles Of any
railroad are worth from s. to $50 per
acre. And yet" said Mr.. Allen,
chow much did the farmers con-
tribute toward the cost of these roads?
In Wisconsin there were subscrip-
tons in the shape Of farm mortgages,
which have contributed very much to
bring about the trouble in the State,
but on the whole it would be too high
an estimate to place the farmers aid to
railroads at two per cent. On the 600
miles / have built in the last SIX years
not a solitary cent was contributed by
any farmer or anybody else along the
lines. Yet their lands suddenly rose
from 50 to $50 per acre, the value of
their crops was increased fouTfold, and
the transportation Of cotton, which
cost them before from S. to SO per
bale to get it to market, was brought
out in one-qusrter the time at less than
half the former price. And the return
for this great service is prejudice, re-
st~rictions, Htigations, high taxes and
politicians foisted upon Us to superin-
tend our superintendents and hmita-
ton to equal mileage rates By law IN
der penalty OF c~onfscatioD!'
These are the views Of a railroad
man, expressed, OF course, from a rail
road standpoint. But they are well
expressed, and worthy of al considera-
/ fiO0-