Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-10
Des.ndipa Their offio,nls.

| EDITORS dERALD-l lner6 hppoarou III
the Redlands Citrograph of March 30th a
review of the remarks of the New York
Fsnancier upon the financial condition OF
| the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail-
road Company, and after his review the
writer presumes to present his views on
the cause of the present condition OF
affairs of the company, and he evidently
considers himself fully competent to en-
tighten the reader in regard to all the
different rami6cations of the financial
loss and gain of the company.
| The part of his article calling forth this
reply seems to be directed at the heads
of Manager McCool and his aids, wherein
he represents the employees Of the Cali
fornia lines as being greatly dissatisfied
with the present local management. The
| why and the wherefore of this uncalled-
for and unjust attack is mystery unless
it was prompted by some party or parties
having an axe to grind. If 30, they had
much better spend more time in prepara-
| ton, for they must know it would meet
the eyes of those who, by virtue of their
disinterested attitude, would judge of the
question coolly and fairly on its merits.
He says, Chow about those strikes ?"
And to the reader not familiar with the
history OF those so-called strikes, and pre-
suming that the writer was talking his
tory, it would appear that Immediately
on the advent of the present local man.
agement there was an effort on it's part to
cut the pay, thereby precipitating the
strikes, when as matter of fact the first
strike that agitated the interests of the
Santa Fe here in California was the
active sympathy of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers with their striking
brothers on the Q system, and the writer
of this we'll remembers the general feel
ing Of admiration expressed by all at the
action of General Manager McCool as he
went among the engineers, using every
reasonable form of argument to convince
them of the folly of their hopes to injure
one road by crippling one Of its strongest
rivals. The next strike of any conse-
quence was that of the B. of r. r. B.,
and the causes which led to it we're as
foreign to matter of wages as was that
of the former, the management being in
no way, shape or manner responsible for
it. Thus he goes on to speak of the diff
ference of feeling existing now among
employees and that of year ago. He says
>melhing about going among them
and gaining their confidence, and all that
balderhash about listening to their tales
of injustices and tyranny, and further
says there are few in the employ now
who were there paratively short
time ago-making it appear as though
the injustice was eyenting men from
stay ing in the employ of the company,
when as matter of fact the youngest
men in the service, with one or two ex-
ceptions, came here over year ago, and
the writer of this considers himself on
the bottom rung of the ladder, and he
came here two years ago, and the only
element OF uneasiness we know of is the
fear of the next time card chopping off
more heads.
1t is not the purpose of this Article to
go into lengthy review of the entire
matter calling forth this reply, but in so
far as it represents US to the country in
the light it does, we feel called upon to
deny the slanderous allegations con-
tanned in the articles in question, and as
body of men having had life long expe-
rience in every State and Terri
tory in the Union, and feeling our
selves capable of studying the
question on all eides, make this
as our reply, that considering the condi-
ton of affairs against which the present
local management has had to contend
for the past two years, the interests of
the Santa Fe are fully as we'll, if not bet
ter, handled than they could be were
any change to be made. The article
goes on to speak of several extravagant
lines being built, when, as a matter OF
fact, they were all projected and nearly
all built prior to the advent of the pres
ent local management. So how about
the keen judgment and foresight of their
predecessors in Office.
If the gentleman will take the pains to
go among them as he says, he will find
that with the exception of a few sore
heads he cannot find in all the United
States, railroad system where the en-
ployees are better satisfied with their
treatment, or have warmer feeling for
the gentlemen whom the company has
seen fit to honor with their confidence,
and it i5 noted fact that where such a
feeling exists, much better service is
obtained than where there is an i'll
feeling of enmity existing toward the
management on the part OF the en-
ployes. 1t is a noted fact that, many
times, where stockholders wonder at
small leaks and extravagant bills way
beyond what close calculations would
lead them to expect, were they to take a
practical tour of observation, they could
trace it to the gulf that lies between the
officers and employees, for it is fact the
employe enjoying the confidence and
respect Of his superior officers renders
better service than does he who feels
keenly the lack of it, and such treatment
of the employees by the officers is always
transE itted to the patrons of the road,
and is thereby coined into dollars and
cents. Feeling we have fully explained
our attitude which was, by the article in
question, misrepresented, and thanking
you for so much space, we respectfully