, 1877-08-05
HOW RAILROADS ARE DLED.

] a brakeman atL:icHeu 10 one oE the passenge
crews on the New York division Of the Penn
sylvanfa Railroad recently expressed himscl
with considerable freedom to reprcsentatiy
of the Tribune. His statcments, which arc her
presented in substance, have some interest q
au expression OF the views Of one of the mos
Intelligent Of bis class; and, although bis ac
count Of certain luxurious pcrqusitcs enjoyed
by his superiors is, perhaps, colored too in
tensely by the glow OF 3 vigorous prejudice, il
may be salutary to take look at these prac
! tees as seen through the atmosphere by which
| he is surrounded.
"When We complaint said he, s'that ou,
wages are too small to support comfortable
lie, they tell us railroads do not exist prima.
| rily to support us IN any sort Of lne-tlat tic
managers arc trustees OF other peoples prop
! erty, and they must conduct their business SO
rs to protect the interest Of the property-lolJ-
ers. Now we can't help seeing that these man
agcTs in spite of their conscientious devotion to
{ tue interests OF the road-owners, hare been
/ wildly squuudcring this property, income and
assets, il crazy struggle to Slaughter each
other. Everybody knows that they have beeu
siukng money, sinking it needlessly aud will
fully; and when this rutnous rivalry fares out il,
such freaks OF pucrilc and Jealous extravaganza
IS those scnscles5, dangerous, aud dcmoralIx1ne
races across the Continent with fast trains, We
lose some Of our reverence for the superior sa-
gacitF which capital is said to attract into it's
service But it Is still more Irritating to see the
money, which is whitfield irosi our wages by
those magnatcS, spent with Upen-hanIed liber-
alNy to crafty their own lore Of display and
suniptuous pleasure. Right herc, into this
Jersey City depot, there cune At least q dozen
private cars, each OF which belongs to some
grandee on one Of the lines Ia this system
Now there is actual need Of some private
cars On some occasions, aud II the gorgeousness
of these vehicles could be snbdued trlAe In the
interest Of economy and good taste, and if they
were only made to facilitate the business Of tue
road, they would provoke 10 complaint or COM
ment, But hardly day passes without ono or
two Of those palaces rolling in here. Empty
palace-cars are running every hour, but the rail
road Pasha must hare car OF his oNn. lie
may have his car all to himself or he may have
all his friends with him. the supplies which
are furnished to these luxurious travellers arc
not such as the families Of Jrakeinen habituall5
enjoy, but theT are luxurious meals, ia several
artistic courses, With wines to suit, and all arc
charged to tue COMPANY The occupants sonle-
times live ia these coaches TOR days together,
and they {the coaches) are always nulsances
here. They are in overybody's way, and some
body is kept switching, and backing, and haul
Ing them about till they are coupled TO AL out
going train, aud On the nay to another yard.
The actual expenses OF a round trip from Pnila-
ate estimate, and when forty or fifty Of such
trips are made in month, besides VOYAGES to
other places, clean sl,o00 is wiped out.
''But there are still more expeditions methods
than this Of bringing about an alarming shrink
age Of values in railroad stocks. Private cars
are not sufficiently distinguished to CRAFTY the
most luxurious officials. They must have special
trains, and everything must clear the track for
them Air. - thinks no more Of ordering
Locomotive 1,00I hooked up to Car 2,002 than
he does of ordering hfs coaehEnan to harness his
bay mare to his road-wagon for drive.
Last winter he used to roll from Philadelphia
to New York il this grand STYLE to
attend the opera whenever the performance |
promised to be sufficiently attractive for his ele
giant taste, aud then he would steam back after ]
It was oper. It costs about $50 to make the |
run and five or six specials month knox the !
bottom out OF another $1,000. Now s., 900
mouth for private cars and specials Is rather !
precipitoua. It is 10 per cent Of $2o, 1000 or tho
pay OF 400 men at $50 per month. And this
amounts to saying that the 10 per cent saved By
reducing the wages Of 4o0 men on this division ]
never gets Us far as the stockholders, but is |
charged up in couple OF items to the VANITY |
anh casc' account.
"Now you can STOW us under with argyll |
neuts, aud political economy, aud social sci
,nce, aud it may be tha. all this has no bearing
apon the question OF wages as viewed 6y phins-
,phess Our men are not profound or subtle
hiukcrs, perhaps, but they keep both eyes
t the men who are pairing down our wares for
he good of society at large, and r7ilroad-stock
wners aud bondholders in particular, would
nlv pinch themselves little in the general !
queczing up. We could listen with more pa-
iencc to their professions. They say we have
oinnon interest In the prosperity Of the roads.
Why don't they distress themselves Just little
hat VIC can luxuriate in some community OF
lGErlng for high princfcle1s,