The record-union., 1893-04-10
PASSENGER SERVICE.
Comparison Between That of Cal
Hernia and Eastern Roads.
The Mendaoious Statements OF an
Englishman Who Advises People In
Investments"

1t would be impossible, by reference TO
any criterion of respectable journalism,
to account for the behavior of a certain
small class of newspapers with which the
State of California is afflicted. In utter
disregard of the best interests of their
own patrons, they do not hesitate, on oc-
casion, to suppress evidence, distort facts
or to invent or indorse gross falsehoods.
We are compelled thus to refer again to
the San Francisco Ecening Bulletin, in
which recently appeared long article, in
part original, but made up largely of
passages quoted from the work of :. +.
Van Oss, an Englishman, entitled
American Railways as Investments"
Referring to the trip from San Francisco
to Los Angeles, Mr.. Van Oss is credited
with having written as follows:
I'm the East this distance would be
covered in eight or nine hours, but here
it takes twenty-four. The Southern Pa
citlc trains have no competitors and,
hence, pay little regard to speed; even
express trains take things easy, and one
wonders what the local service is like"
This alleged utterance the Bulletin pub
fishes with great relish and commends it
as the unprejudiced evidence of for
eigner, writing solely on the subject of
American railroads with view to guide
Englishmen in the investment of
money!
1t is needless to say to any one who is
familiar with the route referred to, or
who has an official timetable within easy
reach, that this statement accredited to
Mr.. Van Oss by the L1ttLeti7I is untrue, or
that the Bulletin, as dull as ii is, knew it
TO be untrue. Our criticisms of Mr.. Van
Oss, We should say, are not intended to
a ltnfrnf hnr al fnY.
have better authority than the Bulletin
affords that the statements attributed to
him are actually his, we shall have seri-
Gus doubts as TO their real origin.
The train on which Mr.. Van Oss
travelled makes the trip to Los Angeles
daily in nineteen hours, while there is
another daily train which makes the same
trip in nineteen hours and fifteen min
utes.
On the principle, false in one, false in
all, this one inexcusable error of Mr.. Van
Oss would be sufficient to condemn his
book as guide to the investment Oh
money" \ work of the character of
which his purports to be is certainly OF
doubtful value, unless accurate. The
ordinary English tourist might set up
constitutional right 10 growl and carp at
American Institutions generally, but not
80 with MIR. Van Oss. Five hours lost
out OF y-four-nearly. one-fourth of
the day-is not to be tolerated in a hand
book of railroad Investment" Whether
he was guilty of this misrepresentation
through lack of information or with intent
TO deceive, is inmaterial.
1t would be in vain for the investor to
expect fairness in book which ignores
the truth.
But, apart from Mr.. Van Oss and his
sponsor, the Bulletin, it is obvious that
the comparison suggested is not just; i'll
TACT, such comparison cannot be made
satisfactorily, because of the adverse ply
steal characteristics encountered on the
line between san Francisco and Los
Angeles, from which fast running trains
are relieved i'll the East, owing to the
more favorable topography of that
country; notably, four miles of ferry in
crossing the bay to Oakland, and, more
than all else. the Intervention of the
Tehachapi Mountain, the steep ascent of
which renders a high rate of speed i'm
possible, while, descending it on either
side greatly reduced speed is es-
sential 10 safety OF life and property.
With proper regard for this rule, speed
over these mountains could not be in
creased, whatever the conditions of
traffic might otherwise demand.
In order TO appreciate fully the difficult
ties of that portion of the route in qUes-
ton, which extends from bakersfield to
Los Angeles, a distance of It's miles, it is
necessary to understand that the total
rise OF grades, or its equivalent in verti-
cal elevation over which trains must be
lifted, is 1904 feet; that twenty-seven tun-
nels, aggregating II ,575 feet in length, are
encountered; and that the greater part OF
the ascent and descent is practicable only
by continuously winding in and out over
track, the total length of which is los
miles and the total number of degrees OF
curvature of which equals thirty-tour
complete circles.
Between stations, however, where the
track Is laid on comparatively level
ground, so common in the Mississippi
Valley and along the Atlantic slope, the
Los Angeles express travels at the regu-
lar rate OF more than forty miles an hour.
On Eastern roads, which are not ham
pered in their operation by such physical
difficulties as are met with in the Sierra
Nevada on the east, Shasta on the north,
and the Tehachapi Mountains on the
south OF San Francisco, the rate of speed
is greater than between San Francisco
and Los Angeles; but the very important
factor must not be underestimate that
those lines run through densely popu-
lated country, supplying an enormous
tonnage and passenger traffic, which war
rant certain facilities, double and four
track roads, ETC., which are not justified
or required by the conditions of railroad
business in the present state of develop
ment in California.
Something like reasonable compare
son of passenger train schedules can be
made, if we eliminate the ferry service
over San Francisco Bay and the Tehachapi
Mountain, and consider the route from
Oakland to Bakersfield, side by side with
almost exactly similar routes in the East.
In order to make the comparison (which,
however. runs almost into contrast at
times as regards conditions conducive to
q maximum speed as clear as practica-
bic. we submit the following suggestive
exhibit of distances, time and surround
ings:
et2sE<2zgZgggI g