Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-07-17

ate the Pullman car shops at whatever
loss, if it should happen to be the opin-
ion of some third party that should dc
SOP The answer seems to be plain.
"The public should not permit the
real question which has been before il
to be obscured. The question was as to
the possibility of the creation and dura.
tion of a dictatorship, which would
make all the industries of the United
States and the daily comfort of the mil
lions dependent upon them, hostages for
the granting of any fantastic whim of
such dictator. Any submission to him
would have been long step in that di-
rection, and in the interests of every
law-abiding citizen of the United States,
was not to be considered for a moment.
"a few words are pertinent as to some
lndustriously spread charges against the
company. One of these charges is that
rents are exorbitant, and it is asserted
that Pullman employees have no choice
but to submit. The answer is simple.
The average of rentals at Pullman is at
the rate of 50 per room per month, and
the renting of houses at Pullman has no
relation to the work in the shops. EN-
ployes may, and very many do, own or
rent their houses outside of the town;
and the buildings and business places in
the town are rented to employees or to
others in competition with neighboring
properties.
I'm short, the renting business of the
Pullman Company is governed by the
same condition as govern any other
large owner of real estate, except that
the company itself does some things
which in Chicago are assumed by the
city. If, therefore, it is not admitted
that the rents of any landlord are to be
fixed by arbitration, and that those of
the adjoining towns of Kensington and
Roseland should also be so fixed, it can
hardly be asked that the Pullman com
pany alone should abandon the ordinary
rules which govern persons in that rela-
ton.
''As to charges for water, the COM
pany until lately had contract with the
village of Hyde Park, under which it
paid cents per thousand gallons, and
pumped the water itself. The gross
amount paid the village per month for
water consumed by tenants was almost
exactly the gross sum paid by the ten
ants therefor Since the inclusion of
Hyde Park and Pullman in the city of
Chicago, the company pays the city
about seven cents per thousands gal
Ions, and, not having increased the
charge to the tenants is paying for the
water consumed by them, about $500
per month more than is charged to them.
The company has made repeated efforts
to stop supplying water to tenants, but
the city of Chicago has as yet failed to
apply the ordinary frontage rates to the
houses and shops in Pullman, although
it is done in the adjacent towns.
strenuous efforts have also been
made to create a prejudice against the
Pullman Company by charges that its
stock is heavily watered. The Pullman
Company was organized 27 years ago,
with capital of S1,000,0O0, of which
two-thirds represented the value of its
cars and one-third represented the ap-
praised value of its franchises and ex-
listing contracts. The company has
grown until its car service covers 1885,
00O miles of railway, or about three
fourths of the railway system of the
country, and that increase of service has
necessitated an increase of it's capital
from time to 5ime until it is now $780,
100000. Every share of this increase
has been sold to stockholders at not less
than par in cash, so that for every share
of the increase outstanding the company
has received 800 in cash."