Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-07-05

uIAilltu dldCe III company anu tQe
railroads IS peculiar and varies con-
Siderably. AS i generality. there are
TWO forms of contract The first is
where the railroad purchases a part
interest in the cars which are run over
its line. In that case. the railroad
shares in the profit of the service.
The other form of contract is where
the Pullman company furnishes the
cars to the railroads, charges il a
mileage for the use of the car and
collects and retains all the income
and profit of the service. A majority
of the roads are operated under the
latter system.
When the Pullman company deliv-
ers a car to the railroad over which
it is to run the railroad company be
comes responsible for its safe return.
The railroad accepts it as a part of
its rented or leased equipment, and
pays to the Pullman company 3 cents
per mile for each mile each car runs.
The Pullman company furnishes
the conductors and porters, the linen
and other equipment, and pays all the
| expenses of running the cars. 1t also
! collects all the berth fare and retains
| it. Thus the Pullman company has
| two sources of revenue-the mileage
| on its cars and the berth fare and
! buffet income from the passengers.
! When a road owns a part interest
| in the cars about the same contract is
| in force. The company pays the mile
age and it's portion of the expense Of
the cars, and receives a percentage Of
the income of the ears. The exact
wording of contracts are widely diff
| ferent.
Take the cases Of the Northern and
| Southern Pacific railroads, which have
| perhaps suffered most from the boy
colt. The Northern Pacific owns a
! half interest in all the Pullman palace
cars it operates. perhaps sixty alto
! gether. The Southern Pacific owns a
| still larger interest-three-four
all the Pullman cars on its line. 1t is
for these reasons that the railroad
men regard the boycott as especially
unfair The railroad cannot abandon
the Pullman cars if they wish without
running property which they largely
own. Some of the street cars in Mil
waukee were purchased of the Pull
man company and the only difference
in the two cases is that the street car
| company owns its cars outright, while
the railroads in question have only a
partial interest in the cars they pull,
and a boycott against the one would
be about as fan. as against the other.
/ D. H. Martyr, district superintend-
ent Of the Pullman company, sad to
a st. Louis Globe-Democrat reporter
| in eXplanatiO of the relations be-
tween the companies that the &c mile
age charged for the us of the cars
was in lieu of repairs. The Pullman
company keeps the cars in tirst-class
repair, charging that amount to cover
it and other expenses. Some roads
own part of the cars, or rather an
| interest in them; others simply use
the cars and pay the contract price.
There is no agreement whereby the
railroads would have to pay the Pull
man company if the strikers should
| prevent the operation Of its cars.
Such an event had never arisen and
he didn't believe the railroads would
have any serious difficulty in hand
ling the cars during the present diff
Guilty. The railroad companies secured
the fine equipment for their paSsen-
gers at moderate rate, and as rule
their interest in the cars and their
operation was wholly to benefit their
patrons. Without sleeping cars rail
road service would be very poor. In
fact, a train would not be complete
without sleepers; therefore, the rail
roads will insist on running the cars
for the benefit Of their passengers.
Formerly several roads owned their
own sleeping cars, but after operating
them for a time it was found to be
too expensive and the cars were
! turned over to the Pullman company
who, by it's vast equipment and perfect
system, is able to handle the service
at a minimum cost and consequent
profit.
Mr. Martyr knows of no provision
whereby railroad companies must pay
for the cars when not in use. Often
the Pullman company furnishes a
dozen cars for excursions, and there
is no charge beyond the mileage and
berth fare. Under the contracts the
roads are required to use the Pullman
cars exclusively. They must haul
them or none at all.
D. Wishart, general passenger agent
Of the Frisco line, in response to a
query, said that the Pullman company
furnished his line with all the cars
they needed, for which they paid a
mileage of 3 cents per mile per car
and the Pullman people kept the cars
in order and retained the income for the
berths, etc. His line paid the COM
pany for first-class cars and the Pull
man company furnished them. The
| contract restricted his company insO-
much as no other line of sleeping cars
/ could be run over the line. The Pull
man company has the exclusive right.
/ There is no provision in the contract
/ whereby the railroad would have to
pay the company if the cars were not
/ hauled.
! Frank D. Gildersleeve, st. Louis
/ ticket agent Of the Big Four route.
/ over which the Wagner sleeping cars
are operated, said that the Wagner
! company is really a Vanderbilt inter
est, and the cars are only operated on
Vanderbilt roads, or roads in which
| the Vanderbilts have interest. The re-