Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-11-30

| hadu uc Llet III SuppOseu ~ ne TeiIltnpot-
tom. and questioned him about his identity.
The Chicago man was not to be found. and
the owner of the horse knows now why he
did not find him. 1t was all a wicked.
heartless hoax. and he still has the horse.
Solid Facts About Rates.
President Ripley. of the Santa Fee system.
contributed the following to the Kansas
Commoner in reply to an article by Mr.. w.
F. Brown:
You will readily understand that I have
10 desire to become involved in a news
paper controversy, but the differences
which Mr.. Brown draws from certain fig
ures which he quotes are so absurd and I'M
Just that it seems a pity to permit his ar
ticle to go unnoticed. as there are a great
many people who necessarily do not know
the facts. and who might accept Mr..
Browns conclusions. Whether Mr.. Brown
himself knows the facts or not 1 do not
pretend to say. but / prefer to believe he is
writing In ignorance, rather than that he
is deliberately attempting to mislead the
people, and to create prejudice against the
railways and other interests.
The object of Mr.. Browns article is to
show that the rates of transportation in
this country are too high. In support of
this he quotes figures in relation to the
Parcel Post in England. the third class
fares in India, the same fares In Russia
and the rates on workingmen's trains in
Belgium. AS it is on the Belgium figures
that he lays the most stress, we will take
this subject first.
Mr.. Brown says that special working
mems trains are run on the railways of
Belgium. on which workingmen can ride
to and from their work six times a week
at rates which are very low. His exact
figures are as follows:
3 miles from their homes, p cents q week
6 miles from their homes. q cents a week
II miles from their homes, 81 cents a week
IS miles from their homes. II cents a week
"a miles from their homes, IS cents a week
&c miles from their homes. SO cents a week
4 miles from their homes. 81 cents a week
Now. Belgium is a country less than one
seventh of the size of the state Of Kansas.
1t has a population of over 100000 of peo-
pie. For half a century it has been the
most densely populated country in Europe.
Twenty years ago it had a population Of
46O people to the square mile. 1t has a pop
ulation to-day of about $50 to the square
mile. To get the same conditions in Kan
sas as exist in Belgium you would have
to put a village of over 100 people. In addi-
ton to the existing population Of Kansas.
on every quarter section in the state. from
the furthest north to the furthest south.
and from the Missouri line to the boundary
vi >oASAG = "a sAN p>S
pie over each quarter section. you could
make, if you wished, a city Of nearly 10000
people in each township.
Belgium had the first railroad line on the
Continent Of Europe; 1t has the best high
ways probably in the world to-day; 1t Is one
dense hive of industry from one corner to
the other, and. finally. it has a population Of
about 1000 people to every mile OF railway.
Kansas has a population of about $50 to
| nx.ory mile IT rotIu-oy- With rnnrn fhnn
thirteen times as many people to travel on
each mile of road, is 1t surprising that the
Belgium railways can charge lower rates?
The figures which Mr.. Brown quotes. more
over. are only the figures on special work
ingmen's trains, which run twice a day,
taking the men to work in the morning and
bringing them back at night. They run
short distances through crowded districts
and are sure Of something more than u
full load to every car each trip each day
in the year. If the people of Kansas can
furnish travel let us say one-half as heavy
as the people of Belgium furnish, / will
guarantee on behalf of the Santa Fe road
l think 1 can speak for all the railroads in
Kansas-to make one-half the Belgium rate.
One more point In regard to Belgium
which Mr.. Brown overlooks is that the
average weekly wages of the workingmen
of Belgium are about S. If the railways
VI III Nouiu III NhSi ~ oiHu u
all their supplies on the Belgian scale of
prices. again l say there will be no trouble
in making Belgian rates.
In regard to India. Mr.. Brown says that
the third class fares range from Alp to
5-l2 of a cent Il mile. l think he Is making
a mistake and figuring the Indian anna at
2 cents. but this is immaterial. for it is a
fact that the Indian railways do carry
passengers in their third class cars or
n. rrs a ~ a rnta 0f nh0rf IN V,rnrxor ~
a cent a mile. What Mr.. Brown fails 20
say, however. is that these third class
carriages are built and are reserved solely
for the use of the colored native popula-
ton. White people do not, and are not
allowed to. and would not If they could,
travel in them. They more closely resem-
BILE our cattle cars than any other kind Of
vehicle running in the United States.
Speaking of them. a recent writer says:
I'm these cars the poor wretches are
packed literally like sardines. but they are
willing to endure any discomforts for the
pleasure of riding on the steam cars"
British India has a population of prob
ably $4,000 900 people. Over the whole
of its extent of about a million square
miles it has 20 people to every square
mile. or sixty people to every quarter Sec
ton. Instead of $50 people to the mile OF
railway. as in Kansas. there are in India.
| roughly, SU.NO u the Hlie. II WOutQ De
easier to understand the condition of af-
fairs in India If the red Indians in this
country. instead of dying of. had increased
and multiplied amazingly so that the coun-
| try had to-day an Indian population of
say 300, OOO, 900. Suppose this population to
be as poverty stricken as the American
Indian is to-day. and. suppose further, that
| they are compelled by their religion TO be
almost constantly on the move in pilgrim
| ages in huge masses. so that the rail ways
would pick them up in their cattle car
trains in full trainloads at every mile of
the track and carry them in solid blocks
to their destination. This is what the
ailway of India are doing to-day. Yet,
curiously enough. Mr.. Brown is evidently
unaware that there Is a serious agitation
going on against the native Indian passen-
ger rates as being too high. for all that
they are only a quarter of a cent per mile.
The truth Is. of course. that prices are
relative. Common labor in India receives
in wages about ~ cents a day. For n
days wage, therefore, a native can only
travel. even at the lowest rate, about
twenty miles. As the distances are great
which he has to cover in his pilgrimages
he has to starve himself the whole year
round to be able to make the trip by rail,
and it is a literal fact that they do starve
themselves for this purpose and die of star
walton by thousands even in years when
there is no famine. while inability to save
even the rate required makes them move
yearly by millions on foot over the high