The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-07-12
THE RAILROADS.
The Texas Panhandle Route Do
ing a Big Business.
Business of the Roads Increasing
and Other Railway Notes
of Interest.

The business of the Texas Panhandle
route is SO large that there is talk of a
double track. This is progress.
The gains in gross earnings, reported
from week to week by the railways, con-
tlnue to increase both in number and
amC unit.
Legislatures and commissions should
remember that common carriers cannot
provide first. class service without fair
revenue in their treasury.
The very vehemence with which the
demagogues attack the railroads will
cause reaction, and it cannot long be
delayed.
The railways take people away from
home, show them new scenes and put
them thinking. Railroads are, in their
way, great educators.
The coming generation of brakemen
and switchmen will be distinguished from
the present by having higher average of
fingers and thumbs per man.
With lis present bridges the Rio Grarde
river is great hlndrance to the free ex-
change of business between this country
and Mexico. Let US have more and better
bridges.
The railways are accomplishing good
work in the cause of temperance. No
man whose head is muddled With liquor
should be entrusted with the care of valu-
able property, still less with the care of
| human lives.
By cutting rates and dealing with
scalpers the railway companies have put
arguments into the mouth of railroad
commissions for framing new schedules
and reducing rates permanently.
The manufacturer of frst-class power
and automatic brakes for freight trains
will do booming business from this time
forward. The railroads are taking an ad
vanced position in this matter.
The Master Car Builders found it i'm
possible to defer action ON the auton attic
freight car coupler question. The rail
ways will also find it impossible to delay
the adoption of automatic couplers any
longer.
It is said that the equipment of the
Texas Panhandle route is taxed to the ut
most by the heavy shipment of live stock
over the line. Thus are the railways TAX
ing the place Of the cid cattle trail.
The Pullman Palace Car company will
soon put vestibule trains on the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad. All the roads will have
to put on vestibu!es for their through
business. The people like them, and will
petronize the company that Iuns them.
May it not be hoped that the day will
come when the grangers will be so far en-
| lightened as TO their own highest interests
that they will become as conservative in
their demands for railway legislation as
the people of Massachusetts, and New
York now are?
| The Cotton Belt route is headed toward
St. Louis and making progress, but there
is danger that it will be outside of the
state of Missouri before it reaches this
latitude.
The Iowa railroad commissioners will
know more about United States court
practice when they have answered to the
injunction suits brought against them than
they appear to know about making rail
road rates at fhe present writing.
The railways will be busy from this
time until the end Of the year, and should
show good net earnings, providing they
are wise enough to restore and maintain
rates.
The Chicago, st. Louis, Kansas City
and Galveston Railway company is the
name under Vhich articles of incorpora-
ton have been filed at Springfield. The
incorporators are all Chicago men, Fran
els f. Hinckley being the prime mover in
the enterprise. 1t is proposed to con-
struct lire from Chicago TO a point in
Pike county, on the Mississippi river
opposite hannibal, Mo-, and to Quincy,
ILL.,, parallel to the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy. Mr.. Hinckley was seen, but
declined to give any information in re-
gard to the project fer the reason that
the company is not yet organized, and the
scheme very far from being matured.