The People's friend., 1894-09-21

..To-day more than one-ffth Of all - rail-
ways in the country are In the nands OF re-
ceivers. and nearly one-hfth OF all the invest
ment in railways is unproductlve. This repre-
sents capital of over two thousand millions
Of dollars. And yet you will find people
nreaching a crusade to-day through the
ballot box against railway property and
its management You will find all man
ner of threats Of hostile leglSlatlon
Taxes in every state and city are Delng
increased almost beyond endurance, ana
vet these very communities depend for their
existence and their future prosperity upon the
RAILWAYS which they would destroy. This must
he cured in some manner, The railway man
ayers themselves are responsible IN many
| cases and to great extent for this trouble
| They have managed their railways arbl-
| trarily; they have endeavored to mann
tain that they were private corporations
! and could not be controlled by the public
hut that day has gone by. The Wise
manager to-day has accepted the situation he
fullv realizes that a railway corporation is not
a private partnership; it is great public IN
stitution with public duties to perform ana
with responsibility to the pubic ana SUP
iect in certain ways to public control Even
| the Interstate commerce law, which was bit
! +er1v opposed by the great majority Of the rail-
way managers, has been accepted; they all pc
! lieye it has come to stay and that 1t Will take
the nlace of the disjointed legislation OF the diff
fore states.
business communities and to the railways can
! be obtained.
I'VE must have certain reforms. and railway
managers must work these out subject to law
! and legislation. 1t seems TO be the consensus
of opinion that the interstate commerce ia"
should be amended; amended so as to legallZe
contracts between railways, so as to bring this
vast interest of our country under the protec-
.fon rs we'll as the burden of the law Our sys-
ten, of freight rates must be changed We can
not raise the rates on the great products WhlcE
are exported and which have to be carried
long distances. for they will not bear hlghel
rates of transportation but terminal charge
| should be eXacted on all frelghtS, as 1t IS II
ENGLAND One cent a hundred pounds termina
!; charge would not be felt by the great mass O.
the people but it would bring prosperity an(
comfort to the railway owners and employe!
and would enable them to better serve the
communities which are their patrons.
THE system Of running passenger trains
and of making passenger fares must b'
changed We haul Pullman or Wagner car
weighing fifty tons with twenty-five passen
gers fifty mile. an hour and charge tn
Same Same rate per mile to the passenger pa 299eu 9
pying the same that We do to the one oect
plying q coach that weighs twenty-tv
tons and Carries fifty people at spec
OF t4,irty-fve miles an hour. Inc ran
wavs should own, either by contract or lease
their own sleeping cars they should sell thel
tickets at one rate good on limited trains an
D this ticket should furnish sleeping ana par!o
car accommodations, and they should sen
ticket at another rate on their $40" trains
; which should furnish merely seat accommoda
tions. -
: "Finally. better state Of feeling betwee
D employees and the management between ous
ness communities and the management shoul
be built up by association, by an accommooa
ing spirit on the part OF each pleoge you V
night the RAILWAYS to work to this end