Evening star., 1898-11-22
Opinion Of President Ingalls, Of Big
Four System.
THE ENGLISH METHOD OF DEBENTURE
Cooperation of Managers and En-
pIoyes a Necessity
REFORM IN STATE LAWS
Spe''i.rl Correspondence of The Evening Star

Spe''ill Correspondence of The Evening Star.
CINCINNATI, Ohio November 21 1898.
In a conversation a day or two since
President NJ. E. Ingalls, of the Chesapeake
and Ohio and Big Four railroad companies
who is generally regarded as having been
the prime mover in the formation of the
late Joint Traffic Association, spoke of the
future of the railways of the country and
in part said:
What is the future of our railways?
There must be changes in legislation and
in management of railways. Some plan
must be adopted to increase the ownership
in railways by parties residing along their
lines. The first step toward doing this
must be reform in the tax laws, so that
citizens of Indiana or other states can be
put upon as favorable terms for ownership
of bonds and stock in a railway as citizens
of New York. Greater permanence must
he given to the condition and ownership
o. railways. 1t would be a great step if
could adopt the English method and create
debentureS that there should be no fore
closure for non-payment of interest. Such
a thing as foreclosure of a railway in Eng
land is unknown. If the interest is not
paid upon the debentures there may be Il
receiver of the profits but the stockholder
still holds his interest in the property. Here.
with our system of bonds if there come a
few bad years when the interest is default
ed, the bondholder takes possession and
sells it under his mortgage, the interest of
the Stockholder is eXtnguished and when
prosperity returns he has lost his oppor-
tunity to get his share of it, This makes
the possession of railway stocks specu-
lative and uncertain; in fact, for years
they have been more subject to assessments
than to the receipt of dividends. If our
form of mortgage could be changed to that
of the English debenture it would stop the
immense number of congratulations and
val holm nJIt II
times of panic, and would encourage in
vcStment by the people in the securities of
these enterprises: for after all, that is the
real Improvement that is to come.
Conditions in New England.
t'The New England railways have less
trouble with legisla lures and courts, chiefly
because they have a great many small
holders of stocks along their lines and in
the cities each of whom is an agent of
the corporation and aids in creating pub
lie sentiment and procuring fair treatment,
while in the great central states and in
the west there are scarcely stockholders
meetings. The railway officials them
selves must be taught to conduct their
business with care and with due respect
to the rights of the people. Their actions
must not be secret, but above board and
open to the public. There must be but one
rate to everybody. and that must be rea-
sonable, and the legislature must provide
remedies by which railway officials can
agree with each other these rates and
their contracts can be enforced.
THE present state and national laws in
reference to railways are crude and crazy
patchworks passed in some cases out or
revenge for wrongs, real or fancied, and
in others for political effect, and all in op-
position to the railways. Unfortunately,
railway officials have opposed all leglsla-
ton that looked to the control of their
powers and have not tried to direct and
perfect the laws as they might have done.
There should be clear and positive legis-
Iation authorizing railways to contract with
each other for the maintenance of tariffs
and the division of business. and 1t should
be made the duty of the government COM
missioners, and they should have the power
in such cases to see that rates are reason
able and their decisions, as to whether rea-
soEable or not should govern, subject to
appeal to the courts
Lowest Possible Rates.
1.-THE Improvement of the country de-
mands that the great articles of export
like cotton, wheat, flour, corn and meats,
should be carried at the lowest possible
rates. The railways should pattern after
the English system, and while making ex-
tlaordnarily low rates for these great arti-
c!es, should exact a terminal upon the
higher classes of freight and upon freight
carried short distances, so as to provide
interest upon the immense terminals they
have to have.
In other words. while railway from
Chicago to New York may possibly haul
&C rn for II cents per 100 pounds, without
loss. it could not haul 1t for 100 miles on
anything like a proportion of this rate
without great loss. The same is true of
many articles that enter into railway traf-
fic. Therefore. in order that the country
may be benefited by having its great arti-
cles of export and of manufacture car
ried cheaply, there should be a terminal
charge affixed to other traffic which would
enable the stockholders to receive some
thing for the very large investment they
have to make In every city and town for
facilities wherewith to do their business
Passenger rates made entirely upon
the wrong basis. We charge the same for
the man who rides in the palace car and
for whom the railway has to haul two tons
of dead weight, we do for the man who
rides in the ordinary coach. and for whom
only one-half ton of dead weight is haul
ed. We charge practically the same for
the passenger who is carried sixty miles
an hour the fast and expensive train
as We do for the passenger upon the slow
and less expensive train. These rates
should be changed and graded
Employees Must Have Interest.
above all, a better understanding must
be arrived at with the vast army of en-
ployes. They must have greater interest
in the success of the railways and they
must be a part of the power that will pro-
duce a better understanding with the COM
munites which the railways serve. This
must be done by a system of hospitals,
pensions and profit sharing.
nhoh lnnn t}yyaS lad I,xrn