The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-02-26
RAILROADS.

The condition of the railroads IN THIS STARE
at this time is attracting general attention,
and no little is being said by The press and
the public to their detriment That the roads
are in bad shape no one can 1eny, and 1t Is
lnatural that there should be grumbliug and
compiaining; but there are two sides to every
question. We have had an unprecedented
winter. Never before in the memory OF any
man in Texas have we mad such continuous
cold and rainy weather. We have hrl per-
haps colder spells, always short ones, but
never before SO much Of rain slect and
snow. From some time in October
10 to this time, il has rainod or showed or
sleeted every week and almost every day.
/ The consequence has been ruinous to railroad
beds and it has prevented repairs from being
done. The railroad arrangements IN the
state have, ia great measure, boon power
less to bolp themsolvo9.j The unusual and
wonderful prosperity Of the country, every
interest being in lourisbing condition, mon
ey being plentiful and capital seeking invest
ment everywhere and in I'll directions, rail
roadng enterprises have kept pace with tho
tunes, and everywhere throughout the entire
country old lines of railroad are being ex-
tended and building branches, while
now ones have sprung into existence and all
are being crowded through, Whist has been
tho consequence Every foundry, rolling
mill aud machine shop has been pushed TO
is utmost capacity, and with n full quota Of
hands is running day and night, and this has
boon the case for moro than year, and there
IL not one Of them that has rot orders ahead
for eight, or ten, or a dozen months. We
know that Tho Texas e Pacific ordered ioT'S
now engines for its road, contracting for
them 70 all DO finished last August, md It
has only been able, up TO this time, to get
twenty-five of those engines. Out Of five
hundred tons of steel rails 10 have
been delivered last October, il
succeeded in getting four hundred tons, al
though four months have passed since the
time they were to have been delivered Tho
Texas IL Pacific and the Houston s. Texas
Central have both been and are still extend
ing their lines. They are going out into tho
great northwest, penetrating IL splendid
region and opening it up to population and
to cultivation. They are bringing us people
to settle our waste places, and doing moro
than any other organization TO increase Tie
wealth of the state and build it up CONNER
cially. Well, tho "Sunset route"
and tho international roads are extend
ing their lines, too, toward the
Rio Grando and are opening up tho west.
When we remember these facts, and consider
tho terrible weather we have bad, and tho
further fact that hero in Texas we have not
tho material with which to make lrst-class
railroad beds, we ought to mako some allow
ance for tho railroad Railroad men, the
gentlemen who have their money invested in
railroad enterprises aud who manage and
control them, arc universally gentlemen OF
ability, of character, Of first class business
habits. They arc Invariably of tho pushing,
moving, energetic, thinking practical men Of
tho country, ind We may roasonlhly know
that they are not going to sot quietly in
their Offices md let their roads so to utter
ruin, Just from pure carosssness and heed
lassness. Railroad men have hard money,
sonse, and NO ono knows bl,lar than thoy DO.
that it doesn't psy to have locomotives and
passenger and freight cars smashed up into
scrap iron and kindliug wood, to say nothing
oftho worry and expense md cost OF dam 20
suits. Men who own railroads don build
them and run trains for fun or glory, but to
make money, and il ia to their interest 70
save their engines and their cars and to pro
tect thor passengers from hurt, aud il
they could help it, there would not DO mile
of bad railroad track in Texas The rosd-
cannot got the material for repairs, the on
gines nor the cars rs fast rs they need them;
md while we can deplore the frequency OF
wrecks, and the delays in mails and in travo'
we ought to make some allowance fer The
railroad companies, remembering the oXigcn-
cios of the times and the difficulties They
have to meet and combat.\
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