Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1894-11-03
State Railway Ownership.

! Kansas City, Gazette.
! The New York Financier calls atten-
ton TO the little known fact that IN the
past a number of the states made expert
ments in the governmental ownership Of
railroads. Fifty years ago Illinois con-
structed a road at the cost of 81, 00O, 900,
but disposed of it later for 100000.
Indiana had similar experim ent. Geor-
gia owns a railroad, but has found it ex-
pedient to lease it to private persons.
Pennsylvania constructed road from
Philadelphia to Columbia, and subse-
quently sold it for the reason that trans
portation Is to be regarded as a private
enterprise, and not a public function.
Massachusetts acquired the Troy and
Greenfield line, but found it expedient
to part with it. Michigan, in its early
history, constructed and operated rail.
roads but within a decade found it
advisable to part with them, and the peo-
pie of the state, by provision of the con-
stitution, subsequently forbade the state
from participating in such work. Those
vino are now so urgently advocating
governmental ownership might find food
for thought in an exhaustive research
Toledo Blade.
The editor of the Gazette was raised
on a line of railroad owned and operated
by the state of Pennsylvania is
the state owned the railroad and footed
the bills, but it was operated by the dem
ocratic party for democrats. 1t was
known as the Allegheny Portage. The
cars and locomotives were playthings
and in our neighborhood the boys or
hoodlums did as they pleased with every
thing. When we were II years old we
could handle a locomotive as good as
anybody, and frequently the engineer or
fireman, while engaged in the exhaustive
pastime of pitching horse shoes, would
suggest that we run the engine up the
road to ''pump her up" You bet we
did, and we were among the first to at
tempt to make a mile in a minute We
do not desire to turn states evidence,
but as the statute of Elimination has run
against it, we will say that when we
were a kid, in common with every other
kid in the neighborhood, we cost the
state of Pennsylvania hundreds of dol
lars in damage to rolling stock. The
boys would divide off into gangs, and
we would take a car, and one gang
would ride the other one direction and
then be ridden back Several times this
fun would close with attempts to show
which crowd was the most ingenious in
throwing the car off the track, and we
have a distinct recollection of fiat car
going to the bottom of a ten foot en-
bankment as a result of trick of ours.
There was never any kick about this
everything seemed to run about that way
with everybody on the road, from the
superintendent down to the section hand.
All that was required of anybody to hold
his job was to vote the democratic ticket
When the republicans came into power
in Pennsylvania about 1853 they sold
the road to the Pennsylvania company
for about $7,000,000. The state i'm
provements, the canal and railroads,
were responsible for a debt on the state
of at least $40,000,000. The democratic
management of the Nation now gives no
evidence that the government, in their
hands, could run a railroad any better
than the Allegheny Portage was run.
The democratic party held Pennsylvania
for years by the vote of those on the
4lheS u plDllc lhPIoNeLllehG WIZ "oi0
compelled to vote with that party to
hold their jobs. The state has been re-
publican ever since the roads were I'M
loaded and the people privileged to vote
as they pleased. What a lovely condi-
ton of things we would have in this
country if democratic politics prevailed
in railroad management today, and how
could they ever be dislodged? With
what we remember of the observation of
our boyhood on the old Allegheny
Portage the idea of government owner
ship of railroads strikes terror to our
heart.