The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-11-13

Railroad Commission for this State, so general
has the movement OF this character been in other
States A bill was introduced this week in the
legislative bodies of Vermont establishing
Commission. The bill provides that the present
Legislature shall elect a board of three Railroad
Commissioners One shall be of experience in
laws, and one of experience in railroad business;
they shall hold their offices two years from the
first day of December, 1886; the salary of each
shall be 81. 200 per year; the Governor shall
have power to fill any vacancy; the commission
ers shall not be allowed to hold any railroad
stock or bonds, or to be agents of any railroad
company 1t is also meant to prevent unjust
discrimination in freight rates.
There seems to no longer be a question as re-
CARDS the Pennsylvania Company building the
Red Bank extension through to Richmond, Ind,
paralleling the c.. a. 81 d. General Manager
McCrea, of the Pennsylvania lines west OF Pitts
burg. says undoubtedly this is the programme
of the Pennsylvania people. 1t is now some
twelve years since negotiations were opened by
the Pennsylvania people to purchase the portion
OF the O., IL. q ID. system lying between Ham
ilton and Richmond, and several times it was
understood that the sale had been perfected:
but some trlfing matter would upset things, and
the Pennsylvania people say they now have mad
enough. and will the next year complete a road or
their own between Red Bank, on the Little Mi
ami, and Richmond, which will give them q
short line from Cincinnati to Chicago
There is an ex-railroad man who IS evidently
very sensible says the St. Paul Globe. He
claims that one OF the great causes of loss of life
at the recent Rio disaster in Wisconsin was the
fact that the passenger coach was between the
baggage-car and the sleepers. Day coaches he
claims. should be placed in the rear of sleepers.
because they are much more lightly constructed
and not we'll calculated to withstand the crush
ing force of two or three great bulks of three
times their weight. Until day coaches are con-
structed more substantially, the exrailroad
mans idea may be correct one; but why not
build the coaches more substantially There
are roads In the country that do. and their eX-
ceent equipments excite favorable comment
The day coaches run on the Boston 81 Albany
road and the New York & New Haven between
New York and Boston, are, in every respect
built as substantially as are the Pullman cars.
General Manager McCrea of the Pennsylva
| MIA lines, yesterday accompanied Superintendent
Mansfield, of the indianapolis 81 Vincennes,
over a portion OF the road Most of the day was
spent at the coal mines on the road. which are
being RAPIDLY developed. A few years ago the
higher officials made light of j. j. Turner, then
| superintendent of the |. Nv, when he talked Of
developing mines on this road, and hesitated to
give him any aid in their development but he
| never faltered. and before he left 60 to an
other division the Pennsylvania system, the
coal mines on the road had begun to yield fair
| revenue on the outlay made by the railroad COM
! pany in the way Of encouraging parties to work
| these mines, and Superintendent Mansfield took
| the matter up where Mr. Turner left it, and to-
| day the road is earning operating expenses and
fixed charges for the first time in its history,
and Superintendents Turner and Mansfield
should have the credit of bringing about this
! gratifying state of affairs.
| The manager of prominent car building con-
| Germ is reported to have said less than twelve
months ago: For the last two years we car
builders have been going down on our knees to
| the railway managers to get cars to build but
/ for the next two years the railway managers
! will be down on their knees TO US to get their
cars built" The prophecy is being fulfilled as
| literally as such prophecy could be- The de-
mand for is largely in excess of the capacity
of all the works in the country to turn them out.
! The Master Mechanic says: IA hasty inquiry,
made without any intention of being accurately
statistical, shows that from Sept. to Oct. 20
contracts embracing over 16 600 cars were placed
| with fifteen car works. These orders were
almost entirely from Western roads. The Penn
sylvania system is reported to be turning out
ten cars per day at Fort Wayne and the same
| number at Altoona. Altogether it is safe to as
| sert that fully 10000 cars have been contracted
| for during the past two months. Everything
| indicates that the consumption of railway sup
plies during the next year two will be unprece-
| denied"