The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-02-21
nE. TouzAE1s osCE a1oaE.
xhe Reply Of She vics President of the
santa Re TO the Letter OF the Rail-
wnv Camusssfonera
The Presentation OF the Case FreA q
Corporation Standpoint

me Presentation of the case FreA q
Corporation Standpoint
TOPEKA, Kas., February 16, 1884
Mr.. James Humphrey. Mr.. L L. Turner. 81
the Board Of RsilEead Commissioners, To
peka. Kansas.
DEAR SIRs have received and read
your letter of the 9Th. / regret. and I
am sure that you viii at later day re-
greet, that gentlemen hilIng high Of
fce in the state should have written such
letter. For 1t is by just such incorrect
and improrer statements that an honest
and intelligent people have been misin-
formed aud led astray. 1t is just such
perversions of the truth in the past that
have reached the people of the state, and
being uncontradicted by the railroads.
haye been accepted as the truth.
The theory under which the railread
law was passed, and under which the
honorable board of commissioners was
elected, was for the purpose of creating
an impartial tribunal, with semi Judicial
powers 1t was expected that this tribu-
nal would act practically as arbitrators
between the people and the railroads in
sill cases where the people should find
cause for complaint 1t was expected
that this tribunsl would do mucn TO-
war ds bringing forward q better under
| standing between the people and the
railroads, for the mutual advancement
and prosperity Of both.
How tar your honorable board mas up
To this time wandered from this path OF
duty, can we'll be understood and estsb-
| lished by reading the letter which you
have thought proper to write me, and
which has gone over the state
It is greatly to be regretted, and Is un-
/ just TO the state and its people, that off,
GERS of the state whose duty il is and has
been to examine aud discover the truth
and fearlesslY tell It, should oaYe writ
ten and published document which
contains an! entire perversiou of the
truth, and which has evidently been
written in violation of your oath and
your duty, IN order to secure political
| capital.
/ The truth always trIumphs. Sooner
or later it will IT ach the Icople. and
/ they viii give small thanks 10 any man
/ who, TO accomplish any selfish end, pur-
posely deceives them.
| | have been absent on the road or
would sooner have replied 10 your let
ter, and shall now take up under differ
heads the statements you have made.
No. 1. You say, We have made no
| special ratt within the state We have
simply reduced those rates that we have
/ found In force on your road" The fol
lowing figures taken from your decision
speak for themselves:
| Distance Tariff R4'es" made by COM
missioners from Great Bend to and from
Lawrence (246 miles, LIST class, 80; 2Qd
class, ~; Sd class, So; b class. SO; 9th
class, So; A class. AZ; B class, %; lum.
Der, 81; wheat, %; corn. 10.
distance Tariff Rsles" made by com
missiGners from Great Be- d t. and from
Topeka. GEO miles) 1st class, IA; %
class, &C; Sd class, SO; 4th class. "a; 9th
class, 40; A class, 80; B class, 20; lum-
Der. 10; wheat, 81; corn, 10,
"Local r .tes" made by Commissioners
from Great Bend to and from Aichi.
son, (270 miles) LIST class, Ill Pad class
So; Sd class, So; 4th class, oil; oh class
As; A class, 81; b class, 2515; lumber
Is; wheat, 2012; corn, IA
Are these to aud from AtchIson TWEEN.
tY-four to fifty miles farther distant
special rates or regular rats? The fig
ures sp FAX for themselves. The 9th ell
special rates are similar in differences.
No. 2. Much has been said in regard
TO ere isonable rat s." We have demon.
strated over aud over again that by
every Just standard OF comparison, the
rates OF the AtchIson road and its aux
Hilary lines have not only been reasoUa
BILE on nearly every class of freight, bni
have been exceedingly low on the pro-
ducts o. the country, which constitutes
the chief Kansas shipments. You haYt
yourselves in pAIt admitted their reas
ona bltness, aud having no other fouu,
da,ion for reduction, you base youI
action on our large earnings IN the pas
year, and proceed 10 make system o.
rates which you say will reduce ouI
revenues 100000 per apDum.
If the Atcblson railroads earnings
consisted only OF money earned of Kan
sas traffic; if, In other words, the roac
ran only to the Colorado state liue, Il
would be In the same condition as th'
local roads which run only to Kansas
points, like the Central Branch, which
earned in 1882 81 683 % per mile, or the
Southern Kansas railway, which carmel
in 1882 So 4O2.S3 per mile, or the Kan
sas City, Fort Scott s. Gulf railroad
which earned in 1882 81, 7Sl .4S per mile
while the Atchison road earned SO, 13T.
a per mile.
OF the Atchison roads earnings owe
go per cent is Through business" OF il
other words, business which comes from
| or goes to points without the state o
Kansas OF this through business" thu
larger part dos not stop at all within
the state, but is in transit to and from
the states and territories beyond
Kansas. A large PORTION is trans
continental and portion OF 1t i
[ even international traffic, bound Il
! md from points beyond the oceans
3I- Nvof
the road would have become bankrup
as other Kansas roads have been. in en-
deavoring to maintain itself on Kausa
3 traffic alone With the aid OF this grea
"through traffic" the Atkinson Dad ha
been able to give q system of low rate
on Kansas traffic which you have fount
to compare so faYorably with the rates il
2 the states east of Us.
Z AS our rates are to be reduced by res
son of our large earnings through tn
= carrying of this through traffic in coz
! nection with Kansas local business, II i
proper perhaps to ask what we are
expect In the future? How much is rail
way investment in Kansas to be permit
ted to earn? Is it entitled to more G
less return than other less precaTious II
vestments within the state! Is our lin
to be permitted to prosper in proportio
to the energetic and intellgeL
measures it adopts for tn
increase If its business and the enhanct
. ment of its property Is the bnsines
that our line transports across the stat
of Kansas detrimental to public Iniel
i ests, and must We pay peDa tY for 81
curing itG Up to this time we hav
used every means ia our power TO pou
! across the state a tide OF commerc
which causes the expenditure With
the state of vast sun of money for i
Dor and materials. Ordinarily such e
forts secure a reward. Are such effor
Ia the state OF Kansas TO be an exec
I ton?
No. g. You say. "By lps.itutiDg q
]! Investigation of the history and chara
D ter of your stock transactions We wi
proceed To ascertain what part of vol
stockais bon2 fide aud what part is lille
al nd bogus" and again you say, az
Z. sctiO 10 to pay dividends on watere
J. stock OF stock that represents 10 outls
% and no Bonded IDVestmt NJ is neither ju
:, nor reasonable"
II The history of the stock holdings
10 the AtchIson road has been q very 7
n markable one B, ginning fourteen yea
, ego With dozen or two Of entGrprIsII
men, the number of st Ickhoiders b.
u steadily increased from year to year u
n til on the LIST of February, 1884, the nuE
Of Der had reached 10 eight thousand nil
= hundred and twenty seven persons. No
and women 10 all conditions of life, tru
y funds, and Widows portions aIe repT
IN sented IN the list
% Gar stock books are open to your e
- animation, snd you will fiud By iaspe
" ton that of TIE eight thousand nil
~ hundred aud twenty seven people WI
lg own the shares nearly the entire numb
have bought their stock within the Ia
40 few years.
Ii was only alter the company had
" extending IT'S lioes into other states al
e. territories and developed paying bu
] ness that PURCHASERS for the stock cou
: be found, either tn buy direct from q
u compan for cash, or - buy on the ma
16 -. - E.s.l5 iovoas0rS