The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-13
THE FUTURE OF RAILWAYS.
Belief that the Opening Of the Year
Will Inaugurate Better Times.
Interviews with Leading Railway Managers
A Veteran Expressman To Be Re-
tired with HOnOrs.
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.
Officials Express a Belief that Better Day
DaWns for Railroads.

city as regards the business situation, more es-
pecially railroad business. majority of them
take hopeful view of matters James McCrea
manager of the Pennsylvania lines, expresses
the opinion that railroads on the eve of better
times; he believes that thirty days from now the
demand for cars will be in excess of the supply
He says, when shippers become fully satisfied
that there is to be no monkeying with rates they
will then get down to business and
tho roads will be ablo to earn
handsome revenue, although he questions
if in winter months there is much money to the
roads above actual cost of carriage on % cents
per 100 pounds from Indianapolis to New ork.
There might be were not terminal CHARGES at New
York so large. O. B. Skinner, traffic manager of
tho Beelne system, says that his people expect a
fair business through the winter months, but no
boom in traffic. Export business is improving
There is large quantity of corn, oats and hog
products to be disposed of. and these will natur-
ally begin to move now. This business has been
held back, he thought, by a belief among shippers
that rates would become demoralized, but N this
they were mistaken. He had been in the rail
road business since 1858, and never before had
he seen such determination to maintain rates
al all hazards as he noticed among the trunk
line officials on his recent visit to New York
He came to Indianapolis he said, chiefly to con-
fee with D. S. Gray, of the Pennsylvania lines,
regarding freight matters, and they had the
same view-that rates were this time restored In
earnest. G. G. Waite manager OF the Clncn
,nSsA 11aDflllOn Dayton lIueS Sdlu ne
feikli very hopeful over the situation. The
time had been reached when railroad
managers had become convinced that
bankruptcy stared every railroad company
Ia the United States in the face. He believed
that with the coming in of the new year bust
ness would revive. The property was in the
eoautry to move. Gradually confidence was be-
ing restored The results of the two days
session of the Chicago and Ohio River pool-its
re-establishment--wa ample evidence that the
AfrpfaY of n
to she conclusion that triAing with rates must
end; that a larger revenue must be derived from
Tho business carried or majority of the roads
would soon be in the hands of receivers. He
seemed to be thoroughly imbued with the idea
ias;is the recent restoration Of rates was made
with the Intention of their strict maintenance,
and so far as the c., n. e D. lines were con
eerned. tariff rates would be lived IN to-
Colonel Robert Forsythe traffic manager of the
Chicago & Eastern Illinois road, said that their
ling was doing an excellent local business, it
having improved remarkably in the last sixty
days. So far through business east-bound
WIS concerned they were not so directly inter
es.ed as other Chicago lines but he was satisfied
,frsai the tenor of the remarks Of officials Of
otter Chicago roads, that there is a general de-
termination to carry out the wishes
of trunk lines in the way of main
tsnauce of rates. Said the Colonel
ssWhv, they have to; it is case of
life and death with the roads, He stated that
the c. & E. !. were carrying good deal of coal,
sua their business south bound was improving.
He hoped that with the reorganization of the
Chicago and Ohio River poolall hands would take
hold and make some money. He thought there
na5 a disposition to act more honorably in the
matter of maintaining rates.
W r. BIcKeen, president of the Vandalia, said
tAeir business was improving. The pools in the
past had not accomplished much in the way of
bringing about maintenance of rates, but he
bored under the new deal better results would
be- shown. The Vandalia, like the Pennsylvania
Ps4,pie, had maintained through rates,
ASH as result their east-bouud
Business had fallenoff largely; but he guessed
she Yandalia was in as good shape financially as
the roads which had been hauling the business
AT the low rates which have ruled for months
past Their passenger business had been ex
Gel!ent-an increase in passenger earnings hav
Sng been shown every month this year over the
corresponding weeks in 1888 Mr.. McKeen said he
was more than pleased with the development
of business on the T. II. & L. DIVISION especially
since opened through to South Bend. He was
mot only surprised but gratfed that
tho manufacturers at South Bend and
points further north reached by the
Vandalias connection at South Bend
were so much interested in the prosperity Of the
extensions. He then named several manufact-
urers who were already making large shipments
of the products of their manufactures to tho
West and Southwest over the Vandalia. He
promises to put on through coach between In
dianapois and South Bend, in connection with
the change of cars at Cofax is now not at all un-
pleasant, so conveniently is everything arranged
for the connecting of their trains.
NJ E. ingalls,, president of the c., l., St L. &
C. takes very rosy view of the situation. He
said there were people who seemingly prefer that
railroads should be unfortunate, and this class
OF people had made good deal of talk over the
the decrease in earnings shown by most roads in
early November, the c., L. St L. 6 c. being
one Of the NUMBER yet so far as the c., l., St
IT, q @. was concerned, even in those weeks an
increase in net earning was shown, and the
road was now doing % per cent better bust
mess than at the corresponding period in 1888. He
Baid he was rather disappointed at the dishon-
orable action of the trunk lines regarding his
Seneca business and with twinkle of his eye
he remarked that tThese things will even up in
time, the Big Four in the end comes out all
right Our local business now requires all the
cars we can command and you know that is our
big forte" He said thestatement in the journal
on Wednesday morning that the road was carry
ling more tonnage than at the corresponding pc.
rod in 1883 was correct but that it carried at
lower rates not true. The Big Four was
never getting better rates than at the present
time I'VE have stopped carrying business when
there Is no money in it. Ihave dropped the Seneca
business because at los on the Chicago rate to
the seaboard there will be no money in it for us
.He said he was pleased with the settlement of
the old Chicago and Ohio River pool and the new
reorganization. He thought it better to
make some concessions to settle the
old pool than it would have been to have
insisted on his rights to the letter He had tele
graphed to his passenger and freight agents that
the pool had been recognized for fourteen
months, and that there must be no more
''monkeying' with rates; and the other general
managers had sent kilograms much of the same
All over the country, he said, rail
road officials had come to belief that the only
salvation for the roads of the country was to
restore and maintain rates When East last
week he was struck with the apparent determi.
nation of men like Rutter, King. Sloan, Roberts
and Garrett to carry out this well begun reform
General Freight Agent McDoel. Of The Louis.
ville New Albany & Chicago road, said he was
satisfied that better times were ahead for the
railroads. Arrangements were now working for
revenue, not tonnage. The more he examined
into the location of the L., NJ A & O. road its
advantages, etc, the better convinced was he
that it was good property. Their earnings in
November We're 81, 600 ahead of those in NoYem.
ber, 1883 and the increase in December would !