The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-02-14
TOUZALIN HACKED.
The Kansas Board OF RaiIvay COmnIs-
zi0ners Reply to the Letters OF the
Vice President of the santa Fe.
The Profits and the Expenses Of the Road
Reviewed, and the weak Points In
MI TO1zaIin's Arguments
Exposed.


Reviewed. and the weak Points In
Mr.. TO1zalin's Arguments
Exposed.
An EpIstIe which Every Man should
Read Who IL Interested In the
Railway Question.
ToPEKA Kan. Feb. 8. 1884.
To A. E. TOuzAlin, Esq Vice Presi-
dent A, T. & S. r. Railroad Co.:
DEAR SIR:-We are in receipt OF
your extraordinary letters OF January 81,
which were evidently intended for the
public eye, rather than for the consider
alton OF the board of railroad commits
sioners. Were it not for the fact that
you apparently seek further information
IRON this quarter, the propriety OF our
giving them any notice would not be en-
Iireiy clear. We shall pass over certain
imputatIOns upon the integrity of the
proceedings of the b Iard with the SIM
pie remark that they possess the sole
merit of being false, aud we're attended
10 be insolent We can well afford to
receive aspersions from you without be-
ing melted to unkind feelings.
You possess the ability 10 be vague
when It would be dangerous TO be ex-
plicit. and the members of this board
have seldom had tue good fortune to
meet you in this latter mood. In these
letters, however, you have not altogether
| succeeded In surrounding yourself with
an atmosphere of absolute mystery, and
We may be able TO catch your general
DRIFT. 1t is due to you, and especially to
those who have intrusted their interests
to your keeping. that We address you
without guile or cOncealment. We hope,
therefore, that you will not blame US for
plainness of speech.
1t will perhaps please you best if we
take up those portions of your letters
which seem to call for comment or elu-
cidation, in the order in which they ap-
pear ID have been written.
In your first letter, referring to our
answer to former one of yours, in which
we expressed the opinion that the rate
prescribed by US should apply without
| distinction 10 the whole of that part of
your system operated in Kansas, in
| GLIDING the auxiliary lines, as you term
| them, that having been your custom and
| policy heretofore, and no reason being
kEown 10 US for different course you
state: "In the past our policy and Gus
| tom has been to operate these auxiliary
lines year after year at on absolute loss,
| waiting for the time TO come when by
1
| BILE rates in connection with the reason
| able rates on the main line, q large bust
ness would be established, from which
we should IN the future receive fair re-
/ turn for the investment made"
In your returns to US you have made
no report of the expenses and earnings
of these auxiliary lines, but they are all
| merged ID the report of the Atchison
company, 50 that we have no means OF
testing the value of this statement thai
these parts of your system, or any o.
them, have b en- operated al a loss
| We do not wish to be under
stood as lntimatiDg that your
statement Is untrue, but that We do moi
accept conclusions for facts.
But if at a loss, at whose loss? and
what kind of a loss? At these point:
| you fail to be explicit. The stockhold
ers of your company have never had 10
reach their hands in their pockets TO pay
one dollar OF any less sustained in opera
ting any auxiliary line belonging Il
your system. But, instead OF that, oYel
and above every loss yoa have from yea
to year divided among the Stockholders
millions of dollars out of the surplus
earnings, and still had suplus witt
which you have bought hotels, extensive
coal fields IN Kansas and Colorado
built new railroads and bought grea
quantities of additional rolling stock
thus adding immensely to the wealth q
your company without the expenditure
of a single dollar by its stockholders
You report to US over two millions o.
dollars spent il additional construction
and rolling stock the last year, and ev
cry dollar of this. together with the accu
mulatt d millions which you have beer
able to place to income account on you
books, has been gathered from the in
dustIies of the people by what you ar,
pleased to call reasonable rates."
Let US call your attention to aDothe
thing. These auxiliary lines have no
been built by money furnished by thu
stockholders of your company. The!
have been built by local aid, by none,
gathered from the people through "rea
sonable rates." and from the money de
rived from the sale of bonds, for the pay
ment of which these lines have beer
pledged, not one dime of which tn,
stockholders of your company are liza
bile for, or will ever pay. But the las
farthing OF this debt, with every dolla
of interest, will have to be paid by thu
people who can meyer derive a cent from
the investment. These roads are IN fac
an absolute gift to the st Ickholders from
the toiling masses, from which you arr
cleaning vast revenues, and still you ar,
clamoIing tor millions more.
If there Is any loss in operating an,
auxiliary line, the loss falls not on you
company, but on those who pay tn
transportation tax, and keep up the rev
enues of your system.
This part OF your letter is SO very sug
gestive that We are more than tempted
To follow it and present to you some ad
dttSAnaI
your reports. They ought To be correct
you have sworn to them. You say tn
the property of your company is of tn
value of 500, $3.50, 639.37 Whether it /
worth that or not, il is true that the PEG
pie living along the lines of your roA,
pay interest and dividends to the fortu
nate persons who hold the stock an
bonds upon thSt basis of value. Did /
ever occ IT to you that this vast propert
was not bought with money of the stock
= holders OF the A, T. s. S. F. company
The foundation and superstructure c
this vast 81 em is chiefly built on bond
and the one million eight hundred an
seventy-six thousand one hundred do
lars, freely contributed by the propl
:, living along the line of the road. Ever
dollar of those bonds and every cent o
accruing interest will have to be paid b
the people who will never get dime c
dividend from the Irning4 of the road
We challenge you to produce the proc
and your books ought to show it, to cor
: tradict US when we assert 1t as our fri
, opinion, that not five millions of dollar
of the money of the Atchison, Topek
s. Santa Fe stockholders bav
gone into this property. A
the rest represents propeTt
which has been contributed by a iran
portation tax by the laboriug masses iC
the benefit of those who hold Ihos
> pieces of paper, which are named stool
and which you cOnstrue as cart bldncl
to levy unlimited tribute from the pc
+ pie of KAnsa.
> We have arranged rates on your Iir
so that the debts and Obligations of Il
company are provided for, and good, fl
{ dividends for your stockholders. Or
people desire to deal not only justly bl
| generously with you in the future
they have in the past.
: We cannot believe that you correct
e represent your company in cuntendin
o for unrta enable Ta'es.
Pursuing this theme IN the light
your report 70 Us, let us see how The ma
/. ter stands. as it respects that part
: your system called the Kansas City, T
, peka s Western. The length of III
, l line, Ai4DWlnk 0OuDlc bEocA As single,
' 20 5S-1O0 miles. The amount of bonds
4 debt on this length of road reported
!. us is $3.3T2,SOO Your report furth
shows that IL didn't cost this amount
n money to build II. at least only q part
d this went into its construction al
9 equipment To our question, "Amou
of bonds issued and during the la
three years, and on what account w
= the increase nader" You answer, 8:
31S, 800 in part payment for the capt.
stock of the Kansas City, Lawrence
e Southern Kansas railroad company
q The meaning Of this is that you ha'
: mortgaged the future earnings of th
road to that extent TO purchase stock
another road for the benefit OF the $40.
d holders of your company, every doll
q Of which will have to be paid for by Il
4 people who do business over tbs; line.