Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-01-28
THEY WILL TALK.
What Railroad Men Say About
Waldo's Retiring.
PASSENGER MEN TO MEET HERE
The Session 10 Be- Held at 70 Arlington Inn on
February "A Union Formed The
Panhandle Crops The Denver
al Work Tagging.
PASSENGER MEN TO MEET HERE
AGAINST GOVERNMENT con

lttJl.
The ANNUAL report Of II. a. Taylor,
commissioner of railroads. has just been
made 10 Secretary Of the Interior Noble.
Owing 90 the fact that the governments
mortgages Tor subsidies are on the main
lines OF land grant roads and do not
cover terminals, and that the local trallc
OF these main lines will not pay the cost
OF operation Commits 3iOuer Taylor tHNOfs
extension of time ~ the transconuncntai
lines IN the payment OF their debts TO ihe
government. Ia case the government
fOrcclOses it, mortgages aud takes pos
session Of the rVads Commissioner lay
Tor concludes.
II do not believe that. even under fair
conditions that is. II it could obtain iull
control of all the roads, rights and iran
Chisps that are controlled, owned ana
exercised by the Union aud Central
Pacific companies III could 80 handle the
properties as to make them profitable.
l know Of no instance in this or any
other country where railroads have been
operated prOhtably and 10 the best nd
vantage Of the public while under gov
eminent control While tlp general gov
crnmcnt has never owned or operated
railroads. several of the states have ca
periincnted iu that direction. aud al
ways with disastrous results No less
than six or eight have made the attempt
and abandoned It, Ina 1856 Mnssuchu-
setts took the Troy aud Greenfield line,
including the lloOsac tunnel but the
property b. now IN the possession OF The
Fitchburg Railroad company hichl-
gan. in 1896 went into railroad con
struction and operation, including the
Michigan Central aud Southern ana
some other lines. In 1896 aud 1897 the
roads were sold and a provision was in
COrpOrated into the constitution inllhl-
ting the state from being thereafter On
mput Illinois 90 one time put Sl,DO.-
600 into railroad connecting Mere
dosiu aud Springfield. and ultcrwnrd
sold IL for SlOO,OOu. or "a tenth OF the
cost, and b. rs now a part Of the Wa.
bash system. lndiann, IN lS3G. put
Sl,2uOOOO into railroad projected
from Madison, ON the Ohio river, To
lSi3, and - private corporation took the
rond aud finished it In 1919. GcOrgin
built the Western and Atlantic operated
10 some years, Their leased Il 10 u pri-
waite corporation, and IL IS now IN the
/ hands Of receivers. Missouri and
/ Virginia have both been Interested in
| rnidrond properties and In ouch case suf-
| fcrcd heavy LOSSES Pennsylvania, many
years ago. begun the construction Of n
| rnilr1nd from Philadelphia 10 Columbia,
| 70 connect with canal extending 90 the
! base OF the Allegheny mountains. 10
| later sold the works to private corpora
| TONS as the result Of "a conviction,
| drawn from experience and never shaken,
| thut transportation must be regarded IA
| n private enterprise, and not as a public
| function
"In no country In Europe has the gov
| crnmont ownership and control Of rail-
! roads been satisfactory 10 the people,
| and the tendency has constantly been
| toward placing the management Of trans
! portation properties la the hands of pri-
| vnte corporations. In nll cases where
| governmental control Us the most Nhso-
| lutte rates are the highest aud the SER
vice least satisfactory The cost OF
| railroad transportation iu the United
| States ~ less than that upon the liues ol
any country which owns and manages
| its railroads, though In such countries
| the wages of labor nrr much less than
with u.s. In these facts the United
States may hnd u lesson 10 prohtnbly
study aud a warming 90 heed.
81 have stated Tint IN my judgment
the government could not proitnhly
operate the roads In question, even under
fair conditions; that Is, surprising II con
trOllcd all the branch lines that serve u'
feeders to the main lines. Il certainly
may be- safely asserted M true beyond
any question that the mniu lines cannot
hc pruhubly operated except In cOuuec
ton with the branch lines, II IL th,
business derived from the branches that
mukcs Is possible 10 operate the truul
lines with profit In this opinion every
committee. commission board of govern
mcut directors aud all others who hay,
been charged with the duty OF officially
investigating the subject fully concur
Now look nc the situation and In,
conditions that would prevail In tn,
event of foreclosure Of It's liens by m,
government. Tho lines are only on IA,
trunk lines, The government by III
foreclosure, would get no interest In o
control over any Of the branches On
the Central Pacific Il would acqur,
500 miles ont of 4, total of 1850, and oI
the Union Poetic l532 miles out Of ,
total of T0iI As | have said mos
OF The main liue of the Central rum
through an uninhnhited and worthless
region II Is almost without local tralli,
for more than hnlf II length IL hns n,
terminal facilities on the bay Of SIN
! Francisco. whore the hulk of the Pacific
coast trade ccnters II mainly receives
ts business from the non-uidCd lines O
the syatcm with which IL is now con
nectcd