New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-03
TELEPHONE AND RAILROAD.
DOES THE ONG-DISTANCE INSTRUMENT
REDUCE RAILWAY EARNINGS?

MIR pEpEw AND Mr. GALLOWAY SAY THAT IT
DoEs-oFFrcrALs OF THE ERIE AND THE
| 1AcKAwANNA SEE NO EVIDENCE 10
THAT EFFECT-ExPERIENCEs OF
SOME BUSINESS MEN - HIGH
RATES CHARGED BY THE
TELEPHONE COMPANY
In an article printed in The Outlook Few
weeks ago Chauncey VI. Depew was quoted as say
ing that the use OF the longdistance telephone was
having an appreclabe effect on railroad earnings,
because many business men remained at nome anu
did their business by telephone IN preference ~
iourneying to distant cities and towns III o'uei '"
have face-to-face Interviews with the people they
desired 10 see, and that probably every ih'
in the country affected to some extent III '',,'
way The statement OF the New-York centra's
president was confirmed by dispatch sen. HUI"
Cleveland last week, In when > H. Ca'a"a'
president OF the Lake Shore and Michigan oou'"''"
Railroad Company. was represented as say"s'
For some time railroad men have been uyihs
TO find the reason why In spite OF the TACT 'ha'
business Is Increasing especially In the trahspoi'a
ton o, freight the passenger business Is iahguish
ing After figuring the matter we nave co"''
TO the conclusion that the ong-distance 'e'ep"o',
IS responsible. Business men are using II 'i'o'c ~
more and the way II is cutting into our passe"se'
business Is a very serious matter TO US
MR. DEPEW'S COMMENTS.
Commenting on this dispatch Mr.. Depew SAID 70
a representative OF The Tribune on Friday;
"Thera 10 no doubt that the ong-dstance tele-
phone IL affecting ort-disance railroad traVei 10
a considerable extent. BY short-distance ra'ei l
mean that within a hundred niles or less VI '"e
cities one reason Is that manufacturers VINO "seu
to communicate with their stores and Offices III inc
cities by messengers or by some MEMBER ol 'ho
firm or corporation going TO and fro frequently
now find that they do business as well ana VIII"
a saving in time by using the telephone. linen the
country merchant who used to go TO town once d
week TO replensh his stock finds that ne can re-
nen,sh II daily II need be- by using the telephone
according TO the demands OF his business mus
no does NOT have TO carry large a stock but lets
the wholesaler carry It for him. His wiie KNOWS
this and so he no longer has GOOD excuse io'
going to town often. ,
These I look as the regular sources Vi iai-
road travel that are cut of by the long-dstance
,eephone Now for the irregular sources ooeiai
communications short distances are no" per-
formed 70 a large extent by means OF the telephone
The shopping business Is another important 'ac.o''
Take people living within twenty-five OF thr's ihiie
Of good sized city, they mostly nave teiephohes III
their houses and Instead OF going in for shopping
purposes ut short intervals. they call up the stores
by telephone. and only go shopping In person occa-
sionallv Then II we take places Ike syracuse
Rochester Utica Albany and their outlying DIS
tricts we find that good deal OF business Is zone
by telephone, and much railroad trave' TOT s"or'
distances Is saved to the people.
"Au these things taken together show that
large amount OF business is thus cut of from the
railroads But the increase OF population is making
IN for the loss thus occasioned. In other worus'
the telephone keeps le factories at the little pa0cs
while the main offices are In the larger ones Al -
so with all invenions at frs. they seem 10 De IN
furious to certain interests. but ultimately l"e'
prove OF advantage all around.
ERIE PASSENGER BUSINESS INCREASING.
All railroad men, however, do not agree with Mr..
Depew and Mr. Galloway. At the office OF the ERE
Railroad I'm Corilandt-st the inquirer was referred
by President f. b. Thomas TO d. l. Roberts the
general passenger agent OF the company a' INC
man best qualified 10 give Information on the
subject Mr.. Roberts, when SEEN expresseu sur
prise at Mr.. Getaways statement. and SAID tha'
tbers was nothing In the experience Of the Erie
people 10 Justify II.
This matter was first called to my attention thiee
or four weeks ago" Mr. Roberts went on. and
said then that did not think 1t possible for the
telephone 10 have affected the business or the
railroads 10 any extent. ! amused as well as
surprised when read what Mr.. Galway is quoteu
as saving and ! do not where he gets the evil
dence for such a statement Certainly the pas
senger business Is not languishing with us
Mr. Roberts called for the records showing the
business OF the company to Western points for
Noveu,her 1897, and made comparison with that
done during the same month in the previous year
showing that the number OK passengers carried u
Chicago and other points west OF Buffalo ana Plus
burg was more than one thousand larger IN 1891.
"Even II there had been falling off, he con-
,,,us1 81 do not see how any could positively
saw that # was due TO the increasing use or the
long-distance telephone Undoubtedly there are
cases WHARF a man talks over the wire and so saves
railroad trip, but they are too Few 10 make any
difference In railroad receipts that is worth con-
sidering ng-disiance telephoning is TOO costly
for one thing and business men do not care to
trust importal It matters to telephone. They can
never be absolutely certain that they are talking
with the right men anyway. although 1t Is pos
sibe to recognize mans voice over d long dis
lance.
Now It costs g. believe for a fiveminutes'
versation with Chicago. For 10 20 to Chi |
cago would cost so at least 10 say nothing OF his |
time That amount would give him twenty-five or
thirty minutes talk the telephone. But when
man goes to Chicago on business 1t is likely 20 be
OF sufficient Importance - that he has to see ten or
A dozen men, aud If he SHOULD call each OF them up |
on the phone he would soon pay more than his |
railroad fare. don't know of men doing this. OF |
course there is saving OF time in tecPhoning FOR
one can get an immediate answer and can easily |
see how the telephone might interfere with the use
Of the telegraph But tn the city important bust
de ails that are looked after In that way, ana de-
tails at distance can be arranged by mail. | |
od T or my Pnsi MTga Po se bnass
over the telephone. One might be talking with the
o f. and there e ' is TOO much danger of Other peope
hearing what Is said
MR. SLOAN HAS NOT SEEN SUCH AN EFFECT
When Samuel Sloan. president OF the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western Railroad. was called on
at his office. In Exchange Place, he said that he
had seen Mr. Callaways statement but he did not
care TO say anything about it. So far he was
aware. the business OF his company had not been
affected by the use of the telephone His view
~ ne matter was that all improvements of that
kind had tendency TO Increase business and the
railroads were pretty sure TO get their share OF the
increase
, W. F. HOW'LL, the general passenger agent OF
This company, was also He said that IL Was
a surprise 10 him 10 read what Mr. Galloway had
said or was reported TO have said, and that moth
ing OF the Kind had been suggested BY the experi-
ence or the Lackawanna road. Instead OF falling
of. their passenger business showed a gratifying |
Increase. but II there had been a decline he was |
unable to see how any one could attribute Il TO one
specific cause like the competition of the tele-
phone.
Another railroad man said that In his opinion a
great many railroad journeys were saved by men |
making use Of the phone, and an Illustration
II