The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-06-11
A severe Structure on Mr.. Gar
Fett'B Present Railroad Policy.

A Severe Structure on Mr.. Gar
FetCB Present Railroad Policy.
From the Philadelphia Timss.l
The railroad war has been taken up
by the press OF the leading commercial
cities, and they have made it public is
sue altogether above all individual or
mere railroad interests. The public
avowal Of Mr.. Scott that he is ready at
any time to submit the whole dispute
to competent and disinterested parties,
whose decision shall be formally adopted
a. the law Of the several competing lines
and thus secure fixed moderate rates for
shippers and fair returns for stockholders,
has made not only those specially inter.
ested in the Baltimore & Ohio, but all
business and financial circles, demand a
speedy adjustment, 1t leaves Mr.. Gar
rctt without excuse for prOtracting r.
vaIry that is most destructive to himself,
and We have faith in the intimatiOns
which come from all sides, pointing to an
early and Just solution OF the whole dith'
Guilty,
While this war has been injurious to
all the great trunk lines, it has been
more injurious to the Baltimore q Ohio
than to any Of its rivals. TWAS the gen.
orally received judgment, before the bat
tie commenced, that tho Bal timore "
Ohio was the strongest railroad corpora
ton financially in the country, and that
it had some thirty millions Of uncxpend-
ed profits in It's treasury, There was no
searching criticism OF its actual condl'
ton, for there were no circumstances to
put its shareholders upon special inquiry.
But when the question OF financial en-
duranCo was raised, accounts, resources
and figures were severely sCrutinizGd, and
Mr.. CARROTS thirty millions Of money
was found to consist, to very large dc.
gree, OF bonds taken from his tributary
lines, which are either non.interGSt pay
ing, or which brought with them losing
guarantees on stocks, or both. And il led
u other inquiries which exposed his
weakness for Il prOtraCted contest to an
extent that was never before appreciated
by tho friends OF his company. Not one
in hundred OF his shareholders knew
until within the last three months that
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company has
direct line from Chicago TO Baltimore
that Is over twent%six miles shorter than
the line Of the Baltimore 4 Ohio, that is
vastly superior in curvature, gradients
and appointments generally, and that has
complete terminal facilities at both Bal
timore and Chicago, while the Baltimore
4 Ohio does not reach Chicago by some
twelve miles on its own line, and has no
terminal facilities when 1t gets there.
Nor did they know that the western ex-
tension Of the Baltimore 4 Ohio, fool.
ishly constructed when It could have had
entirely equitable transit over a better
line, does not now, and hardly ever will,
pay even operating expenses, while the
Investment Is loaded upon the parent
company. These facts have Of necessity
been calculated by the investigation and
criticism that stubborn war proyokes,
aud the result Is the irresistible Convic.
ton among the friends Of the Baltimore
Il Ohio that even in direct Baltimore trade
to and from the West, the contest Is an
UNEQUAL one, and the disadvantages large.
" against the Baltimore company. Add
to these undisputed and now wei. known
facts the fruits Of Mr.. CARROTS folly as
shown BY his loss Of an important mail
service between Baltimore and Washing
ton, transferred to his rival without COM
promise with, or compensation to, his
company, and the saving Of an hour IN
time between Washington and New York,
with the possibility Of saving nearly an
other hour by Mr.. HincklCy joining in
the effort, and the people Of Baltimore
must see how deficient are his facilities,
aud how suicidal has been hiS warfare.
But n still more startling lesson for the
friends Of the Baltimore Il Ohio to study
is the official report Of the coal traffic for
Is. There has been no strike at any mines
which seek n market over Mr.. CARROTS
line, while the Penn, the WestmOrCland,
and other heavy eastern shippers in the
western part Of the State and in the
CIearlieId region, have all been either en-
tirely idle or so disturbed by strikes as to
diminish the product more than fifty per
cent. And yet the coal traffic over the
Baltimore and Ohio for the week prior to
June lst was 33,20l tons, and for the
year 5O9,00l tons, while the traffic over
the Pennsylvania Railroad was Gs,335
tons Of coal and 1886 Of coke for the
week, and l,2G3,7O7 tons for the year.
These are the lessons Of the railroad war,
and they are the conclusive argument
that, with the stronger party inviting n
settlement by any just and dispaSsionnte
tribunal, regardless Of past grievances or
personal prejudices, the foolish conflict
cannot be continued for many weeks.