Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-03-06

| The report of the Pennsylvana Railroad CO.
attracted more attention than any other subject
this week. 1t has been published IN advance
OF the Annual Meeting, on the theory that
| stockholders may digest its facts at THEN
| leisure and go to the meeting with Il greater
or less understanding of the matter accor ding
to their gifts in the direction of finance and cal
culation, and according, ALSO to their faculty in
| that science termed 'reading between the
| lines" But the idea of publishing the report IN
| advance is Il self evidently good one. 1t was
| forced upon the Directors by the repeated de-
mands Of stockholders, but It liz none the less
| for that good notion. To hear the figures
contained in such All important document as this
ratified on by voluble secretary in public meet
| ing, and thereupon and with the dmmest pos
| sible idea of what it is all about, to be called
| upon to vote for Its adoption If to travesty the
| rights OF owners, and the present move is Il long
| step in the right direction.
| Some OF the results reached in this report
possess the highest interest. The earnings of
the year 1874, after dedncting rentals, of the
lines east of Pittsburg are found to reach the
tremendous figure of $l2,3l9,962. The earnings.
similarly valued OF the lines west of pittsburg
were 58ii, 1888. Just here is the essence Of the
"Pennsylvaniaa strength and weakness. In its
main line, including the natural tributaries of
that line it il very great power, justly ranking
with the lending monied concerns of the world.
But every step beyond weakens it. Thus the
rentals of the lines west of Pittsbnrg are
though there is stated to have been a profit
Of over three quarters of q million on these
lines yet that sum il paltry in comparison with
the earnings of the Pennsylvania proper. The
most intelligent stockholders, the radicals" as
they have grown to be called, feel that the ar
sured and safe part of their property is used to
bolster up the often questionable adjuncts Of
the road, which the ambition OF Col. Scott has
led him to coyet. 1t is the onerous weight of
these thousands OF miles of railway, the major
| M ri MT nd tbe
comparison between results east and west of
the Aleghanies, which make the true we'll
wisiers of the Pennsylvania Central contend
that the only security from future disaster
lies in abandoning the policy OF conquest, and
in condensing Of energies upon the work to
which the company is especially called. 1t sis
believed the Directory itself sees this at last,
for it promises in this report that there shall be
no further extensions 1t has beon forced to
say this by protest which it cannot mistake,
and unless all the signs fail, the same conviction
which led to this promise will before long take
the parallel course.of annulling some OF the ru-
nous contracts already made.
One OF the very best works done by any
Church in this vicinity, il the Total Abstinence
movement among the Catholics. The Roman
Church is fertile in devices for Keeping alive
an interest in congregational matters, and it
never engaged in more wholesome labor
than the one under review. The
subject is made attractive to young Catholics
by the iavors and consideration shown the
temperance societies by the Priests. The mem-
bers are uniformed richly and have bands of mn-
sic of their own ; parades and social reunions
are common and everything possible is done to
make the movement attractive. 1t has resulted
in an astonishing and most gratifying success.
There are 1000 of these Catholic teetotallers in
Philadelphia, and the police records begin to
tell the other side of the story. The 30
cieties held their anniversary this week at
the Academy OF Music and it an occasion to
warm the heart of every good citizen.
l., hna MT In,
violent style. There was time when "profes-
sional" pedestrianism was either confined to New
York epeculators or else was indulged i'll by
uamping through the country with motives, con-
cerning endurance" tests, &C., or less pure;
but now the walker has settled firmly down to
business. Truth compels the remark that the
business IL nor of the most reputable sort. The
walkers for the most part serve as the kind of at
traction to bar rooms which the 6 free lunch is
supposed to exert over seekers for pleasure.
The thing will not have very long life, but Just
now Its manifestations are to be every
where seen. Boys march the streets
with placards bearing the legend
that the below named " champion il now walk
ing against time for a sum of money which all
the walkers combined would find it hard to
scrape together. Nobody IL deceived by these
announcements. or has any other idea relative
to them but the correct one, namely, that the
champions are hired by the tavern keepers sim
ply to draw custom. The papers swarm with ad-
vertisoments on the theme each seeking to OUT
do the other. The climax was reached recently
in the declaration that professor somebody
or other, - the renowned Lobster Man" would
creep 70 many miles in given number of hours.
for stupendous wager. paying if he lost, OF
course. 1 have called that the climax,
and yet it IL question if the enter
prise of tavern keeper at 9th and
Chestnut streets does not outslIine all
the others. This ingenious purveyor of amuse-
ment has engaged the fattest woman aud the
thinnest woman, respectively, in the world, for
walking match, and they are now at it tooth and
nail or rather heel and toe. Highly realistic
portraits of these ladies adorn the entrance to-
the saloon, and each has her coterie of hackers
among the genteel loafers of the locality.
Truly, there are all sorts of lovely women ~
there are all kinds of manly men.
Tho New York Mutual Life Insurance Co. had
ts grand opening announcement of the new
building ut 10th ~ Chestnut streets this week.
There is more in this than appears. or course
we all know it is fine building even If it was
built by foreign capital and though it is managed
the interest of concern whose effort is to break
down the business OF our home companies. 1t
would have been pleasanter to have seen the
90 Pennsylvania" or the "Girard" or the
"Penn," put mp that structure than New York
company. Still, business enterprises have
measHrably common interest, and it would be
a narrow principle that would prescribe capital
lists of other cities from investing here, even II
it were possible to do So Yet business men see
clearly the meaning Of the rivalry between the
managers of the various mammoth building ell
terprises that have been recently inaugurated.
OF course the "New York Mutual" puts up such a
structure as this not for its own accommodation,
nor for the purpose of identifying Philadelphia,
but as an Investment of Its surplus funds. 1t is
enormously rich and it wisely holds that I'M
proved real estate such this is as good thing
| to put its money in as anything else. 1t occu-
| pies couple of rooms and let's out thirty or
forty others at such rentals that in Il few years
the whole cost of the ediice will be returned to
| the company. Bnt number of Philadelphia
concerns have been doing the same thing
hence rivalry deep though unspoken. The
| New York managers have shown great tact
People have wondered why work has not been
hurried up faster. The building has been al
| lowed to remain unfinished for several months
| looking rather forlorn for want of the final
| polish. But there was reason in this which
| inst begins to appear. The mammoth
office suites further down the street were ap-
preaching completion and the Mutual" P" desired
| to have the furor which their openings wonld
| occasion fairly over before it made lts own ap-
peal to the public. That was the scheme. and
| il has been perfectly carried out By losing a
| little time the - Mutual has managed to get i'll
| the last word and IL has been an emphatic one
| After enjoying an immunity for many months
| from destructive fires we have been twice this
week visited in serious manner. One OF these
confasrationr resulted in the destruction Of
| Butchers meat packing stores on North Front
Street near Arch, and the other in
the burning of the Paper Box Manu-