The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-22
The Baltimore & Ohio.


the report from Chicago that four Western
men OF great wealth have obtained a control
ling interest in the Baltimore & Ohio railroad.
me reputation of these men gives strong
hope to the friends of this railroad that its
financial affairs will be untangled and that
1t will once more become a successful and
paying property.
James j. Hill Is the builder and the pres-
dent Of the Great Northern railway, extend
Ing from st. Paul to the Pacific coast. He is
man OF extraordinary energy, keen fore
sight and good Judgment and master of
transportation problems. Everybody knows
Philip D. Armour Marshall Field is the
merchant prince Of Chicago. Norman B.
Ream has been for many years a successful
operator on the Chicago board Of trade, an
extensive owner of real estate and heavily
interested in street railway and steam rail-
way properties. These men form q powerful
quartet. If the Baltimore & Ohio is to be
restored to a solid foundation they are the
men to do it,
This railway was once a splendid piece of
property 1t was almost ruined by careless,
almost criminal. financial, mismanagement.
For years 1t was the victim Of one-man power
and its condition not known until it was
almost beyond hope. It's physical condition
was allowed to run down. its resources were
dissipated, its income squandered and its
came into the hands of receivers 1t was found
to be in lamentable shape. The receivers
have worked hard to straighten out its fnan-
clal AFFAIRS, but their efforts have not COM
manded the confidence of the company's prin-
cpal creditors
1t is probably through these creditors, chief
Of whom is J. P. Morgan, that the Western
capitalists have been interested in the prop
erty. Pittsburg is deeply interested in this
railroad. n m taD n
trunk line means much to Pttsburg and it's
commercial interests.
There is one feature of the early report
which is not borne out by later developments.
This refers to the assertion that the Baltimore
d Ohio is to be made link of a transcon-
tinental line, being connected with the Great
Northern by some third line, possibly the
Chicago Great Western, from Chicago to ST.
Paul This is denied by Hill and Armour.
They say they have interested themselves in
the Baltimore & Ohio for It's own sake only
believing that it can be made a paying prop
erty. The transcontinental connection may,
nevertheless. be developed later James ].
Hill is a man of vast projects-Pittsburg Dis
patch.
The purchase Of a controlling interest in
the Baltimore & Ohio railroad is a great
event in business circles. The rehabilitation
of such an important railway system as
this will tend to the permanent improvement
OF financial conditions, and is another step
taken to remove the reproach of mismanage-
ment alleged against American lines. The
men who have bought the Baltimore & Ohio
have the business to give to make it's opera
ton profitable, and they have the capacity
to manage it. They are Western men, but
there is none who will question their ability
to meet Eastern financiers and railway man
ayers their own ground.
Phil Armour is one of the greatest mer-
chants in the world, and Marshall Field is
hardly second to him, while Mr.. ]. ]. Hills
reputation as a railway manager stands so
high in this country and Europe that it is
only necessary to connect his name with any
enterprise in order to give it instant popu-
lar favor. He took charge of the Great
Northern in 1879, when it had but 600 miles
of track and has built 1t up to 4,610 miles
with total capitalization of less than $29 $50
per mile and a bonded debt of but S24 23O
while all other Pacific roads have cost from
$4,000 to $4,000 a mile. This was re-
markable achievement and it is not surpris-
ing that under the same management the
Great Northern has never failed to pay
per cent per annum for the nineteen years
following Mr.. Hills taking charge. Strange
to say its freight rates are lower than those
OF other roads carrying a much heavier ton
mage. Considering the scanty population 1t
serves this stamps Mr.. Hill as one of the
foremost railroad managers in the world.
While he will not have an executive position
on the Baltimore & Ohio, his ownership of
stock insures a wisdom of management that
will soon revive the glores of the line
founded by the elder Garrett and wrecked by
the younger.
The passing of this great Eastern trunk
line into the control of Western men is sig
nifcant Of the steady rise of the West in
financial Importance. Chicago and st. Paul
have been called upon to supply the capital
and management to bring up railroad which
New York financiers were afraid or unwilling
to undertake. The road was one of the beasts
Of the old and wealthy Maryland city which,
however, could supply no one to build up
what Robert Garrett had torn down. Now it
is in control of men of the same rugged mold
that stamped the elder Garrett as a king
among railway managers. There is hardly a
doubt that they will revive the glories of it's
past, and that once more the Pennsylvania
Will have a formidable competitor to face.
However, there need be no fear of the rate
cutting which so embarrassed business under
the management of Robert Garrett and his
successors
The restoration of the Baltimore & Ohio
to financial health is another instance of the
STEADY betterment that is going on in the
affairs of our railway lines.-Louisville
Courer-Journal.
The report that Philip D. Armour, Mar
shall Field, Norman B. Ream and James J.
Hill have obtained control of the Baltimore
& Ohio Railroad company has excited the
imaginations of Chicago people in particular.
and the assumption in that city is that trunk
line from ocean to ocean is to be in the hands
of Chicago men. The connecting line between
the Baltimore & Ohio and the Great Northern
may be, it is said, the Chicago Great West
ern. These speculations are interesting. Mr..
Hill himself talks in a more sober strain.
He says anything he may do with the Balt-
more G. Ohio will have connection with
the Great Northern. This is the more COM
mon view of the matter.
Whether or not the control Of the road
has passed out of the hands of the men
who formed the syndicate in the reorgani-
cation plan. the one important fact is that
Mr.. Hill Is to be the dominating factor in the
future management This probably means
that the Baltimore & Ohio will be handled
in q very efficient manner, and that the
many mistakes of the past will be corrected
This work will be sufficiently great for the
road is one of the most important in the
country and has exceptional opportunities for