The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-03-17
TELEGRAPHIC NEWS
THE NAN OF MILLIONS.
Vanderbilt Talks About Rail.
roads And Other Things

| New York, I6.-William n. Wander
dit was called upon at his residence 10.
evening by Tribune reporter. who dc
sired to get his views as to the relation q
the railroads. settlement of The mar no
tween them, the condition of their busi
ness now and the outlook for traffic il
Inc future. Mr. Vanderbilt was founS
III genlai and communicative mood
ana talked freely on the subjects. IL
was glsnclng over the letters received b.
Inc afternoon mails when the reporter wa
admitted to his library. In reply to al
inquiry about the present condition Of
rsliroad matters, be said 4: The railroad
war on beth passenger and freight rates
Is practically settled. The irlt steps
perhaps, wss the hardest to take, be
after that everything appears to have
worked smoothly enough. The railroad
companies ere acting now in q spirit Of
harmony and mutual concessions, thai
renders the carrying out Of the present
agreement perfectly easy. They have
made pooling agreement for five years.
suppose all the minor details neces-
sary to the fulfliment of that agreement
have been perfected?
Yes, yes, there is no longer any rail-
road war. 1t has ended. 1t was now
time that stop was put to it. For ne rly
year the railroads were engaged in q
bitter conflict, and long sgo it was evil
dent that the companies themselves could
not settle all the questions involved
in the struggle. Il became absolutely
indispensable that the business men of
the country should act IS arbitrator be-
tween the railroads whose officers were
drifting daily apart. That has been
done, and from the business men who are
fully alive to the magnitude of the rail-
ROAD questions, and to the influence
which will flow from the decision Of
them, we may expect the fullest discus
sion and most correct judgment. AS l
said just now, 1t WRs quite time that the
railroad war should be brought to a
close. The war has taught Us all good
lesson; at any rate have learned les
sons that I shall never forget / have
no doubt the officers of all the railroads
are wiser than they were a year ago.
The war has cost great deal of money,
and the only practical advantage that has
been gained is knowledge of how cheAply
the work Of transportation can be done.
That is a matter that has been clearly
PLOf O0 NY bnO GOAtC6bY on0 4 bAAAh 64Sbb
railroad men have been surprised at the
result. but l tell you it was due to the
stockholders and to every body that the
war should be stopped. We all recog-
nize the insanity Of proloDging it.
Will the peace be lasting? the reporter
asked.
Oh, undoubtedly. It will be maintained
for several years, and it is hardly prob
able that anything will happen to break
it.
The question of different rates has not
been decided and the advisory commits
sion has no power? the reporter sug-
gested.
That ia very true, Mr.. Vanderbilt re-
piled, but l anticipate decision that will
be SO eminently just that the railroads
will accept it without word of dissent.
You see this matter of diffsrentisl rates
has become national question Of vast
importance. It passed out of the hands
of railroad men partly because Of its
very importance, bat mainly because
railroad men showed themselves incom-
petent to handle it. Their views were
narrow and their opinions were warped
by personal feelings and official in
terests. Because they were unable
to determine the question l sug-
gested some months ago that it
should be left to arbitration and that
business men Of the country should give
it thorough examination and discus
sion. From that suggestion, believe,
has sprung the advisory commission,
which is now considering the subject.
Certainly the men who constitute that
commission are men of ability, OF fair
ness and practical wisdom. No better
men probably could have been selected
and the result of tEeir deliberation will
be accepted by the world as the justest
conclusion that could be reached. l pre-
sumo the officers of the railroad COM
psnies will accept iG as the basis Of set
Element? Certainly shall be willing to
do so if it will give my railroads a
chance to live. We have been fighting
New York's battle for long time and it
has cost US millions of monty. We can
not fight the latter unRide1 and alone.
The business men Of New York have a
deep interest in the contest and should do
their utmost to protect the commercial
supremacy Of the city. The New York
Central Railroad is pre-eminently New
York institution and deserves the support
Of It's business men, but for all
that We have to consider the
interests of otner places on our
line. As matter of business
q man at Rochester is of just as much
consequence TO the road as q man at
Syracuse, and one at Albany, as another
at Buffalo. We want every place on the
line of our road to prosper, for in its sue.
cess lies the prosperity of the roads them
selves. There are encouraging prospects
for the roads.
What is the present condition Of rail-
road business?
l consider the outlook to be extremely
favorable. We are doing q good bust
ness. In fact, the traffic is rather larger
in volume than it has been before, but
the low rates of freight have prevented
our resping the full advantage Of in
creased business. l understand the pros
pects of Large crops this season are e1-
ceedinsly brilliant, and altogether it is
my opinion that the railroads will
earn more this year than last. The
Lake Shore earned it's 8 per cent.
dividends slast year, in spite of all the
statements to the contrary, and l baYe
no doubt the business will be sufficient
for the rest of the present year to enable
it to continue per cent. dividends. The
speculation in grain, as you are aware,
hurt the railroads considerably. The
prices at Chicago and the west were
forced to such points that the export de-
maud was checked and the railroads
suffered accordingly. How utterly IN