Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-10-18
THAT CALAMITY Wall
RAILROAD MEN on ALL LINES RIeHTEOUSLY
INDIGNANT.
What President Roberts Says About The Improve
msnt in Businsss-EOtss About the Rail-
roads and Employees.

The railroad men In this city are very
indignant over the calamity howl pub
lished in the Intelligencer Tuesday
morning. which reflected seriously upon
the business activity Of the Panhandle
and announced that twenty-seyen crews
would be laid of on account Of the de-
preston in its traffic. This feeling OF
resentment was not alone confined to
the anHandle EN- ployes, but extended
over into the B. & o. district, where the
road officials said that for ten years
there had not been such a rush in
freight as that which now prevails on
its lines throughout this section, and,
they contend, that II such a state OF
affairs existed on their road the Pan
Handle must necessarily be doing like
heavy business. which would require
| the EN- OF extra men instead OF
wholesale discharge OF old hands.
In fact, the b.. & 0. yards have on full
force and 1t is all that these men can do
| TO keep the road clear by working night
J and day.
II is we'll known among the freight
men here that the steel works are ship
ping more finished product now than
for years before. This alone would re-
Quire the maintenance OF the regular
| help 10 the yards and on trains, which
in addition to the large amount OF coal,
| coke and iron going as through traffic
| and the exceptional increase In outgoing
and incoming local freight, would ne
cessitate the employing of more men to
| properly facilitate the movement OF
| trains.
The Pan Handle men are incensed at
the heartlesSness which prompted the
article In question. They claim it was
not only 3 perversion OF facts, but d.
| rect blow at the prosperity OF their sys-
TEN, to subserve cheap political trickery.
| Those who are in charge OF It's affairs
here say that the business OF the road
| in this section is excellent, and that no
occasion is presented for reduction OF
| its forces. Rather. on the contrary,
the indications would seem to point to
an increase of hands to take care OF a
steadily growing traffic.
One of these gentlemen, who was
more emphatic than his associates In his
condemnation OF the malicious article
In the Intelligencer said. THAT the best
evidence of the falsity of the report that
there was depreciation in the freight
traffic OF the Panhandle was the fol-
| lowing excerpt froma published inter
view yesterday with President Roberts
OF the Pennsylvania railroad.
81 do look for gradual and general I'M
provement which will De evidenced oy an
active demand for paying investments on
the part of capitalists. During the depres'
sion, the money capital of the country has
| been almost valueless, lnasmuch as IL
brought it's possessors practically no re-
| turns; it will now l think be drawn into
| active uses and will stimulate enterprise
| in many directions. so that we may look
for greater activity in all branches OF trade
and manufacture. So far as my opserVa-
ton goes, there is already general return
throughout the country to manufacturing
| activity; the manufacturers Of iron are
| more active now than for year past. IL
| is true that prices are almost down to cost,
] but there should be an Improvement In
| them. The relations between tue pros
perity of our railroad system and the pros
perity of our manufacturers in general, and
! iron manufacturers especially, are, OF
course, very intimate"
Mr.. Roberts is the executive head OF
the entire Pennsylvania system, which
includes the anHandle. In speaking
as above quoted, the railroad men here
insist that be did not echo any business
depression along his lines, as he most
certainly would have done had there
been such dearth Of traffic on one of
his roads as to require the cutting oil
of nearly fifty per cent OF trainmen on
single division. as was boldly and false
ly set out in the Intelligencer article on
the railway situation hereabout