National Republican., 1875-06-14
ME-. HlNCXLEY AND THE NEW YORK
MAILS

1t used TO be FELTON, who was in the way.
Now it is Hinckley. The former Was, and
the latter is, president of that great railroad
anomaly, the Philadelphia. Wilmington
and Baltimore railroad. Both are mild
hammered men, hail from Boston, wear gold
spectacles, swear by Harvard, and are firm
believers in the Unitarian religion and the
almighty dollar. Their road is mere in
termediate link in the great chain of roads
extending North and South; and while it
lives and flourishes on the superior enter
prises at both ends Of it, has never shown
that 1t had any, worth speaking of, of its
own. In short, it has always shown itself
retrogressive rather than progressive and
enlightened. Its management is decidedly
a Boston institution, of the close corpora
tion order. Draw its curtain aside, and
you would find the Henshaws, the Burks'
heirs, the Thayers, the Bateses, the Eel
tons, Hinckleys, and others familiar to Bos
ton, its great representatives. The pres
ent Mr. Hinckley is only fugleman for
these solid old men," Boston, it must be
conf ssed, has given the country some of
its best, most enlightened and progressive
railroad men; but this is more than can be
said of The management of the Philadel-
phia, Wilmington and Baltimore road.
A few wears before the war these "solid
men of Boston, whose names we have
given above, combined and got control of
a majority of the stock of the p. w. & B.
road Y lich in Stale street was considered
q coed bargain. BY tact and meanness
in management, known only to themselves
and the directors OF the Baltimore and
Ohio read ring, soon succeeded in in
creasing its value up to par. At the pres
cnt time it is n long way above par, and is
not for sale in the market. The war
proved a source Of great wealth to this road,
the management exacling the last cent of
toll on the transportation of troops and
material Of war. And this, notwithstand-
ing the Government guarded its track, and
at times furnished material to keep ii, in re.
rair The great income derived from the
Government enabled the management at
the close Of the war to put its road in good
order without curtailing its dividends
This is little matter for which Bostons
solid men are always truly thankful And
vet, notwithstanding the Governments
generosity, this road was always chronic
grumbler, begging for more and doing less
in proportion to its demands than roads
rendering much greater and more important
service. Ii has had very few cars of its
own, comparatively, and, indeed, has done
little else since the war than pull the trains
of other roads. And yet it has exactcd
toll 10 the utmost cent, no matter what the
circumstances or changes at each end Of
IFS road were. And it has. with equal per-
tinaCity and narrOwness of spirit, refused
to make any concessions to or Join Col
onel Scott in his efforts to introduce more
progressive and enlightened policy into the
railroad management of the country. The
great problem of railroad management at
the present day is how to get such men as
Mr.. HinckIey and Mr.. Garrett out of the
way. Mr.. Garrett kept up a railroad
blockade against Washington for more than
twenty years. Mr.. Hinckley is disposed
to improve on Mr.. Garrett, and set up
a blockade against both Washington and
New York.
We should like to have Mr.. Hinckley
rise and explain his action in refusing to al
low the mails from New York to pass over
his road on Mr.. Scott's limited express
train. If he is not in sympathy with Mr..
Scott in his great enterprise he should be
at least fair and manly enough to come out
and say so, and not by this strange inter
ference with the mails excite the suspicious
that he is influenced by mercenary motives.
We can tell Mr.. HinCkley, too, that this
tampering with the mails is a matter the
people may have something to say about
when Congress meets.