The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-25
PULLMAN CAR RATES.

The Washington Star makes the
occasion to tell how he rose from
poverty to af1uence, not of his really
wonderful career and 10 show how
this country offers opportunities 80 all
who have the ability to take advant-
age of them, but to make an attack on
the excessive rates for sleeping car ac-
commodations. It says:
The announcement that Mr.. Pullman.
the palace car magnate, left a fortune
variously estimated at from $40, GOO 600
10 sI90, 600 600, and that there remains
in the treasury of the company of
which he was q large if not the princi-
pal stakeholder a surplus OF S25,000000
to be disposed of in the form OF an
extra dividend. viii serve TO call fresh
attention to the enormous profits OF
the palace car company, and also to
raise the question whether some means
cannot be found to reduce the exorbit-
ant prices exacted from those who are
| compelled by force of circumstances to
avail themselves of sleeping car facili-
( ties when travelling. That the cost of
/ these facilities is and always has been
out OF all proportion to the expense OF
providing them or OF the character of
llKE observation-disclosures anu hNh lieAo AC4ie1
! been patent TO ali the world. bat nr0b-
ably few persons had any idea OF the
size of the colossal fortune thus wrung
| from the public every year. whether
a legal provision to prevent these OPP
pressiVe charges can be found. and
! one which would be alike operative in
all the states, is perhaps an open cues
ton; but that the proposed doubling
Of the capital stock of the company. in
order to dispose OF its excessive profits,
can be prevented there ought TO be no
doubt. Some means certainly ought TO
be furnished to prevent such an out
rage on the travelling public. What pro-
portion Of the existing stock is COM
posed of water, probably no one out
side OF the charmed circle oil its hold
/ erS can tell But il is perfectly clear
that the whole OF the proposed increase
would be water, pure and simple. and
| that the process indicated would be
{ nothing short OF robbery. That the
J property OF the company has largely
/ increased in quantity and value since
| the amount OF its present capital stock
/ was fixed is uDCuestionably true. But
! that has nothing whatever to do with
! the case as il stands Not a single
stockholder ever put his hand in his
I rocket to pay for one DennYS worth
/ Of the enlargements and betterments
that have marked the growth of the
/ company. These have al been bought
with the money squeezed out of travel
ers in excessive fares. and to permit
an increase of capital on that. account
would be simply to compel the public to
pay interest in the form of fat divi-
! bends on what it and not the stock
holders have paid for. That is the sort
| of thing that has made Organism and
1 Henry GeorgeisDn possible, and that
win yet bring. if not checked. no end
of trouble upon this country.
Pullman car rates are excessively
high, but while this is SO there is not
much reason to believe that Mr.. Pull
man left an estate worth anything like
$50. 600 600. While Pullman stock has
probably been watered. still there was
a genuine increase in the value of all
the comoany's property and the value
of as stocks is based, as a rule, on
what the company or concern whose
capital they represent, can earn,
There has been some agitation in
various parts Of the country in favor
of legislative action having as its OBJ
iect the reduction Of Pullman rates.
but as yet nothing has come of it; if
( anything ever does it is not likely to
be for many years. In the meantime
30 one is compelled to ride in Pullman
palace cars.