Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-05-05
SERIOUS BUT AMUSING.
THE GENERAL REVIEW OF RIP
LEY'S RAILWAY ARTICLE.
One Point OF Especial Interest which Is
Extraordinary and Amusing is Given
q Little Special Attention This
Time.

l have now passed through Presi'
dent Ripley's third article, noticing
most Of his points briefly; but, few of
them will bear a little retouching.
There is one point Of especial interes-
in which thu writer's position is so ex-
traordinary and amusing that it de-
serves forther attention.
When explaining why the death
rate, or carnage, is so much less on the
English roads than on the American,
President Ripley says:
No American ever goes to Europe
without coming home feeling bitterly
agrinst the European railways, with
their inferior accommodations and
their rigid-almost military-rules.
Surprising it were possible for Ameri-
can railways to build the same kind of
roads as over Herewith the sunl1en
tracks and entertainments, the massive
walls and bridges, underground foot
ways and elaborate stations, and spend
the money that the English railways
do (Which would mean an investment
of about $1,000, 900 in the state of
Kansas alone) the American people
would not tolerate the restrictions for
a week. Rates, of course, would have
to be increased to pay interest on those
two billions of dollars, which at per
cent would be 100000, 900 year for
the Kansas lines alone. But, apart
from the financial question, the Amer
lean is u liberty-loving person who will
not be kept locked in a waiting room
like child till he is allowed to go out
on the platform. He will not be wall
ed and fenced from railway track;
but prefers to come and go as he
pleases even if he takes his chance of
being killed.
When first read that astounding
statement in the writer's proof sheet.
thought there was some mistake about
ii. l could not believe or imagine that
any sane man could seriously utter it.
So, giving the writer the benefit of
charitable doubt, have referred to
his statement as an opinion that an
additional investment of one hundred
million dollars in Kansas alone, would
be necessary to safeguard our Kansas
roads equal to the roads in England.
But hearing of no mention or correc-
ton of mistake, and seeing the state
ment repeated in the newspapers, l
have quoted it as printed, and will dis
cuss it as most extraordinary finan-
cial exaggeration.
The statement is equal to saying
that it would require over two hun
dred and twenty thousand dollars
(S222, 292) per mile, to perfect and safe
guard the nine thousand miles of rail
ways in Kansas, as the English roads
are safe-guarded.
1t is estimated that the capitalization
Of the English roads is about 40 per
cent water, and the righ-of-way alone
has sometimes cost more than thirty
thousand dollars per mile; the esti-
mated average being twenty thousand
dollars per mile, merely for the right
Of-way for the English roads. Yet,
with these enormous additions OF wa
ter, and the cost of the right-of-way,
there is not railway in England, nor
in the world that reaches the figures
mentioned for this compare lively level
prairie state of Kansas.
The following figures are taken from
Hadley's excellent work on railways,
page 26O. They show the facts up to
1884.
Name of R'y mileage Cost per mile
on,,nhrry