The herald., 1894-01-05
NOT PARALLEL CASES.

NOT PARALLEL GASES.
Some exchanges which come to this
table, in discussing the present strin-
rency in railway affairs, evince dispo-
sition to place the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe road in the same category
with the Northern Pacific, which 10 man
ifsat,y unjust and unfair. True, they
have both gone into the hands of re-.
ceivers. but with that fact ends all sim
ilarity. The Atchison OR Santa Fe sys-
tenn, as it is more generally termed on
this coast) has besn run in a spirit OF
economy, but its troubles have arisen
from building too many feeders into re-
mote localities a1ording but little traffic,
for fear that come other corporation
would build them. The better way
would have been to let the other fellow
build them and Ego stone broke" on it.
Some of the feeders to the great trunk
lines do not pay for the axle-grease con-
eumed in operating them. The Oregon
branch OF the Southern Pacific is one OF
these. 1t earns fairly we'll from May to
November, and then the heavy storms
in the Siskiyou range eat up oil the
earnings OF the pre-, .ous six months.
The branches running from Sacramento
to Placerville and from Stockton to Cop
peropolis, also come within this same
category. But branches will be built in
order to establish system, as long as
railways are operated in America, so the
least said about that, the soonest
mended.
TIE Northern Pacific, on the other
hand, with the largest endowment ever
given to any corporation by the federal
government, has been looted by some.
body or other ever since it's primary or
ganization. The first board Of directors
sent committee out to the Pacific coast
to locate two terminal towns. one on
Puget Sound and the other on the
Columbia. Right here in this city lives
a man who was an officer on the steam
boat ON which they called at HensilPs
ranch and purchased his land, nominally
for $4,000, although he got but s6500
in his pocket. The steamboat officer
showed them the water marks seven feet
above their heads, made by the annual
freshets of June; but they bought it
and laid off the town of Kalams. Then
they located another town on Puget
Sound and called it New Tacoma; and
in order to make the railway feeder
to it they ran their road over the Stam-
pede pass, when the Snoqualime pass
wonld have given them 1900 feet less
al itude, 40 miles shorter route and
55 per cent less mileage OF snow sheds
through the mountains. But to feather
their own nests these men in the Bill
lings regime brought the road into Ia
coma, though they knew it 10 be con-
trary to the beat interests of the COM
paDy.
Over in Montana matters were carried
on with quite as high hand. In Isaac
Stevens's survey of the route, he fol-
lowed the Missouri as far as practicable ;
and between Great Falls and St. Paul
the highest gradient is 81 feet to the
mile, and only eight miles of that. But
the selfish towr-boomers who were bent
! on getting rich. no matter who was
wrecked, went to work and laid the road
in contrary direction in oder TO bene-
| fl few deeolate towns they had laid
| off adjacent to Yellowstone Park. This
route is a succession of grades varying
from 90 to ia feet to the mile, which
demands the heaviest OF motive power
and wears out iron faster than they
could sell bonds to buy new rails. The
Great Northern (or Montana Central as
it originally wac calledl seized upon the
abandoned line OF the Northern Pacific
and is now hauling So loaded cars to its
Is sli the way between Helena and St.
Paul. That very soon broke the back
OF tile Northern Pacific. The HERALD
predicted in January last that it would
be in the hands OF receiver before
August, but it lssted till November.
/ The two cases ere far from being on a
/ parallel, as we said before. No one has
! yet questioned the integrity OF the Santa
Fe'a management nor is likely to do So.
| 1t has simply been unfortunate in the
spending OF its money for small local feed.
ers, instead Of carrying it's trunk line
north ccross the Tehachapi ridge and
competing for the trade of San Fran
cisco and the great San Joaquin valley.
Until it does that, it will continue in
the receivers hands.
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You've August Belmont and his coad-