The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-20
RipIey,s Reply to n PopuIist.

Atcp1y 10 u HOpuAISts
President Ripley, of the Atchison, Topeka
| & Santa Fe, has written letter to the ed
itor of a Kansas Populist paper, replying
to a communication published in that pa
per citing the number of people killed by
| the railroads of the United States as a rea-
| son why the railroad should be put under
| government control. Mr.. Ripley points out
that the railways carry the whole popula-
ton of the State of Kansas two and a half
times over before one passenger is killed;
that last year the trains on the railways
in Kansas ran over 10000 miles, yet only
one employees life was sacrificed for every
900 miles. OF 4,4O6 others killed in the
United States in 1886 the reports show that
S,Sl1 were trespassers; that is to say, out of
every twenty-five persons killed nineteen
were killed because they were breaking the
law and were in places where the railway
people had no reason to expect to find
them. Mr.. Ripley warmly defends the rail-
road employees of the country against the
charge of negligence in the exercise of their
! duty, saying that statistics show fewer lives
are lost by railway transportation in pro-
portion to the miles travelled than by any
known method of locomotion
Mr.. Ripley draws the conclusion that the
plea of government ownership because of
the number of persons whom the railways
kill is entirely worthless. Coming to the
question OF ownership, he says that to him.
self and other railway officers it is a matter
of entire Indifference Next comes the ques-
ton whether or not the owners of railways
are opposed to government ownership, and
he points out that the strongest plea made
In behalf of government ownership is that
Of I. b. Blackstone, president of the Chi
cago d Alton road, who urged it as a meas
ure of justice to the railway investors.
There is no holder of railway securities, he
says, who does not believe that those Sc
curltieS would be advanced in value If there
was any prospect of the government buying
them. Mr.. Ripley says if he is opposed
to government ownership it is not as a rail-
way man, but as a citizen. The argument
has been made that the government should
have charge of the railways because private
administration of them is unsatisfactory.
AS matter of fact, however, he says the
best-managed railways of the world are the
English. They are all owned and operated
by private companies. Next to them in
good management, he states, are the pri-
Vately-owned lines of Holland and France,
while the. government-owned lines in France
are very bad.
1T is easy to talk he says, "of the gov
eminent giving better service, employing
more men, making lower rates and still
making money. AS matter of fact, gov
eminent management of anything never
was, never can be, as economical as pri-
yate management; and, to earn the interest
on its investment (six to fifteen billions of
dollars) the government would have to in
crease the rates for service, as has been
uOne on the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES lines or
Australia; cheaper the service, employ few
er men and let things generally get into
disrepair. as done on the government-owned
! lines Of Italy, or face an annual deficit, and
rely on taxation to make up the deficit, as
done on the government-owned lines in In
| dia."
The most serious considerations are, how
| ever, Mr. Ripley says political ones. There
are $4,000 railway employees in the United
States. Under the government. ownership
each of these would be political appointed.
| This, he says, would not only lower the
character of the service, but would be APP
palling in the tremendous political suprem-
acy which those $50, 900 employees would give
| to the party in power. Worse still would
be the political results of the contracts for
| the construction of new lines ETC. The
scandals and jobbery of the river and har-
| Dor appropriations or of the tariff bill would
| be nothing compared to the field which
would be open to the spoilsmen by the rail-
! ways The building of new lines would de-
| pend entirely on political pull Districts or
States of political complexion opposed to
| that of the party in power would have to
wait till the crack of doom for any new
| lines and in districts where the friends of
| the administration came from there would
| be lines as thick as stripes on cats back. "