The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-05-06

qualification of welcoming you to my
| home, and again | anticipate the en- Joy
ment of listening to the kindly and fra
! ternal words which have ALWAYS marked,
and l hope may ever distinguish our So
clal reunions, although l confess that /
am selfish in this anticipation, for am
sure the pleasure Is more mine than yours.
II have added to the number Of our
friends this evening some representatlv yes
| of class without which our vocatlons
| would be gone, and the feet of our idol,
the railroad, would be as of clay; for what
could the railroad do without the men
who run the engine and the train? They
have done me the honor 10 accept my
invitation, and on behalf of all of you, as
we'll as myself l extend to these gentle
men who come to US from the engineers
and conductors of the Southern Pacific
Com pany our cordial greetings
I'VE all serve the same master-the
public. | think, indeed, that OF all the
classes of labor in the world, from the
highest to the lowest, there is no body OF
men who are more immediately the SER
wants of the people than we. We exist for
their convenience, and we cannot live
without them.
LAT the same time. 1t may as justly be
said that without railroad men the world
to-day might be living in huts, and Cali
fornia herself would have little to recon-
mend her except O glorious climate and
the illusions OF a pastoral life. Since we
are, then, at once the servants and the
civilizers of mankind, it would seem to be
plain duty, in the interest OF ourselves
as of the public, that we get closer to the
people, acquaint ourselves with their stu
alton and their needs and as far as pos
sibIe within the lines of our duty to the
company, meet their requirements.
10 peDtiemen who ranrpsent con-
ductors and engineers this evening come
closer to the people than some OF the rest
of US. Their responsibilities are OF the
highest order, because they concern the
lives and the safety OF the travelling pub
lie. There is no higher type of hero than
the man at the lever, who, at the supreme
moment of peril. faces a Dire adful alterna-
tive and stands fast at his post No blare
of trumpet, no roll Of drum, no encour-
aging shout of comrades, no passion and
excitement of battle, stimulate his cour-
age. With his engine piung1ng into the
fire of burning bridge, or into an abyss
which yawns at his feet. orinto the wreck
of other engines and trains like his own,
he holds on because his duty bids him
stay.
ut is not the fortune of most of you,
gentlemen, who are the administrative
officers of the railway company, to ever
attain saintshIp By this heroic method,
and l presume [ could count on the I'm
gers OF at least both hands the number of
you present here tonight VINO honestly
regret it. At the same time the duty rests
upon US, as officers, to do our part in min
imizing the risk sustained by the travel
ing public, so far as il can be done through
a perfect roadbed and equipment, and IN
teIligent management OF the properties,
and in eliminating as far as possible the
danger to our tralnmen.
Il have many times expressed my pride
in the personnel OF the Southern Pacific
Com panv, and it has been justified By the
letters / have received from travellers over
our lines who have praised in the high
est terms the uniform courtesy Of our
railway employees. 1t is only fair to say
TO you, gentlemen, who are the officers
and heads of departments of the respec-
tive com panies, that L have no doubt the
same thing has been written about your
selves, only the letters were probably
written to some other person, or else
have for the moment forgotten
them.
"Since our last reunion the Nation has
elected new President. For his predeces-
sor have always had the greatest respect
because l have felt that while he was in the
chair the country was safe. He was a
strong man, believing firmly in his own
theories, but confronted by conditions
which prevented him from carrying out
those theories. Mr.. Mckinley is likewise
strong man, and under his patriotic
guidance we have no fears for the ship of
state. His administration commences
under encouraging auspices and promises
and we all look forward 10 the fuIfillment
of the latter, which means so much of
substantial prosperity for the whole coun-
try.
Already we hear OF mills and factories
starting up all over the East, in antlcipa-
ton of the good times coming. Whether
| diconnnint ma 10 ofo
for them no one can tell; but after all it
must be remem bered that 1t is true in q
large degree that the restoration OF bust
ness confidence means the actual revival
of business Itself, for business is simply
the expression of peoples confidence in
each other, and when that is lost business
languishes. l wish that the capitalists,
large and small, of California would re-
spond freely to the country's call for con-
tidence, for upon the utilization of capital
depend the progress and prosperity Of the
State.
agriculture NAV be the basis of ma
tons existence, but the vigor of its life
and of its progress lies in 1t, manu-
features. Travel over the world where
you will, and you will find that the
greatest advances in those things which
make up material prosperity have been in
those countries where the thrift of the
people has been expended in manu-
features and the arts. The difference be-
tween the value of product in Its crude
state and its value after it has passed
through the hands of the artisan is very
great. and in some things so prodigious
as to astonish any one who has not re.
feced upon it.
''ln my shipyard at Newport News we
are building some great battle-shlps,
weighing each 10000 tons, and l get for
building one of them something over two
and half millions. 1 shall not make
over 10 per cent on it, which leaves more
than 81, $50 0G0 to be distributed between
the labor and the cost of the material used
in its construction. OF this fully 50, 200
0c0 will be paid out to labor alone; so that,
of the vast total of two and half millions,
1 verify believe that less than $50 GOO rep
resents the cost OF the iron in the mine,
the tim Der in the forest and the coal in its