Passaic City record., 1893-01-21
No Cheap Fares to Chicago.
Why Should the Railroads Run
without Profit in Order to
Enrich Chicago ExtOr-
tIoniStS.
The Erie RaiIroads, syslem.

which the president of a well
known railroad made to the mill
ionaires who asked him whether
his road would make reduced
rate of fare to the Chicago Expo
sition. He asked Mr.. Palmer. who
controls one of the greatest hotels
in the world, and Mr.. Farwell, who
deals m dry goods, to an amount
recorded in millions of dollars, if
they contemplated lowering rates
or selling dry goods for less money
because of the fair, and they very
promptly said no. The compari-
son was obvious, and the confer
ence ended very unsatisfactory to
the Chicago millionaires.
The Erie Railroad has spent
and is to spend hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars to make its system
one of the most perfect in the
United States, and it will doubt
less not do anything but what will
yield a fair interest upon its in
vestment in the way of safe and
rapid transportation to Chicago.
The traveller who desires to see the
Worlds Fair will be satisfied to
pay the established rate of fare for
first-class accommodations and all
the comforts made possible in
modern railway travelling, and take
no risk in either time or conditions
which will doubtless be held out
by the cut rates that will prevail.
If Chicago, people, in their eag-
erness to secure the visit of the
population of the earth to its great
show, contemplate wholesale re-
duction in prices for every commo-
dity they are city of idiots, for
it is not within the character of
man to be generous to the tourist
or the visitor, but charge them to
the limit of their finances and turn
to others when the first comers are
exhausted. The political conven-
ton which met there last June
bears evidence to the rapacity of
the natives.
In the active rivalry of compe.
tition it is not at all unlikely that
railroad fares may be reduced to a
very low figure with the accom-
modations correspondingly de-
creased, but the standard frst-class
fare will be maintained, for rail
roads, like other business enter
prises, are conducted solely for the
purposes of making money and are
not contemplating the idea of los
ing money for the sake of opposi-
ton at time when money is be-
ing freely spent.
The Erie Railroad system is be-
ing augmented by the additional
equipments necessary to meet the
coming ingress of foreign visitors,
as we'll as the great bulk of travel
from the Eastern States to the
West, and the road is not alone in
its bid for popular trade. 1t is
all based upon the idea of earning
money and it is certain that moth
ing except the prospect OF losing
the second-class trade will tempt
the railroad to meet the cut which
will be made by other roads upon
their rates outside of frst-class
fares.
Chicago does not choose to set
the example in the lowering of
rates of board and the price of the
necessities of the traveller. How
then can she expect the world to
come down from established stand
ards.
One of the greatest improve
ments as well as wonders in rail
road construction of our day is the
rebuilding with iron of the Erie's
bridge across the Hackensack riv-
er-nearly quarter of mile
wide-without delay of five min
utes to any one of the hundred or
more trains which cross there
daily.