The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-20
REDUCING EXPENSES
RETRENcHMENT POLICY RIGIDLY
ENFORCED on THE vASDALIA.
Low Prices for Eauipment-B. & o.
Management Reaching Into This
Territory for business.

1t Is stated by one conversant with the
affairs OF the vandalia that Harry Miller.
as superintendent of the main line. has
made a remarkable record in reducing the
operating expenses Of the road in the few
months he has held the position. Some
idea may be formed Of what this statement
means when 1T is stated that at Terre Haute
alone the pay rolls have been cut down
81. 30 year in salaries of officials and
clerks. through dismissals and otherwise.
and without impairing in the least the serv-
ice. The reductions at other points COM
pare favorably with those at Terre Haute,
although 1t is alleged that the business of
the road at Terre Haute was conducted on
more generous and lavish scale than at
any other point on the system Said
Pennsylvania official: what has always
more or less fretted our people who were
interested in the road was the broad-gauge
manner in which the vandalia was oper-
ated. and this hastened the action of the
Pennsylvania in taking full control of the
property. President McKeen is a big
hearted man. and disliked very much to
dismiss a man, even If his services were
not really needed: on the contrary, the
Pennsylvania Company knows nothing but
to part with a man. if his services are not
needed, he goes. in the case of Harry Mil
Ter, however, he had a great opportunity to
show what could be done in the way of
retrenchment, and he has not hesitated to
enforce the Pennsylvania methods of do
ings things. Already the operating ex-
penses OF the main line have been reduced
at least $4,000 per annum.'
Railroad Commissioners.
The first session of the eighth annual
convention Of State railroad commissioners
was held in Washington yesterday in the
rooms of the Interstate-commerce Commits
sion- There were about twenty-five men,
bers present, representing the States of
Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois. Iowa. Mich
igan. Minnesota. Mississippi, Missouri.
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Penn
sylvania, South Dakota and Virginia.
Simeon r. Billings. of Michigan, chairman
Of the convention, presided. The first pa
per read was prepared by A. B. Stickney,
president OF the Chicago & Great Western
Railway Company. His theme was Rail-
way Corporations and Rates. and what are
the Limitations to the States Control of
Rates." In discussing the question of rea-
sonable rates Mr.. Stickney said that in re-
spect TO a railway company which is not
collecting enough revenue to meet all OF its
obligations 1T should be and is only neces-
sary for the court to inquire and determine
whether the rate Is too high or too low TO
produce I'm the long run the greatest posi-
bic revenue from the class of traffic to
which the rate applies. A paper on the
Interstate commerce law on railway earn
ings, prepared by w. o. Clough, of the
Great Northern railway. was read.
The report OF the committee on protection
of public interests during railway labor
contests was read by Mr.. E. A. Moseley, a
member of the committee and secretary of
the Interstate-commerce Commission. The
report condemns the use of the army in
such emergencies as Ii does also the fnjunc-
ton, the weapon which was used so eff
fectively during the Chicago railway
the genius and spirit of the American peo-
pie. and permissible only when better and
milder measures have failed. Arbitration
is regarded as the only safe and satisfac-
tory method of healing the differences that
often arise between railroad companies and
recommends legislation that shall compel
the antagonists to submit TO mediation and
fair settlement of mutual grievances. The
report favors the bill now pending In Con-
gress providing for compulsory arbitration
of controversies between carriers and
their employees when they threaten to OBJ
sSruct the operations OF the railroad.
ship of railroads by A. K. Teisberg, OF
Minnesota, in which the committee ex-
presses the opinion that the sentiment In
favor of government ownership Is not only
to the practices of determinations, to per-
sons and places, but also to overcapitaliza-
present system of adjudicating differences
between the railroads and their patrons.
They, however. do not advocate 1t except
as a last resort