The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-01-21
GOVERNMENT ROADS.
MIR. RIPLEY Makes a STATEMENT
REGARDING THEM.
Reasons to Condemn tho Scheme
Economically. Politically and
In Public service. p

j Chicago, January 19.--Presidcnt Ripley OF
| the Atchison, Topeka and Santa fe railway
mas written letter TO tho editor OF Kan
! sas populist paper, replying to Il communion
tioh punished In that paper, citing the num-
| Der of people killed by the railroads of the
| United states us reason why the railroads
| should be put under government control Mr.
| ripley points out that the railways carry the
| whole population of the State of Kansas Two
and half times over before ono passenger
| Is killed; that last yoar the trains on the
railways in Kansas ran over 500, 900 miles, yet
only one employee was killed for every 4sl 900
miles OF 4i06 others killed in the United
| States in 1896 the report shows that SSH 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 railroad cm
ployes against the charges of negligence in
the discharge of their duty, saying that sta
tistics show fewer lives are lost by railroad
transportation in proportion TO the miles
travelled than by any known method of loco
motion He draws the conclusion that the
plea of government ownership because of the
number of persons whom the railways Kiln
is entirely worthless.
Coming to the question of ownership. he
said that to himself and other railway officials
1t is u matter of entire indifference.
Regarding the question as to whether the
owners of railways are opposed to govern
ment ownership, he said that the strongest
plea made IN behalf of government ownership
Is that of T. b, Blackstone, president of the
Chicago and Alton, who urged 1t as meas
ure of justice to the railway investors. There
Is no holder Of railway securities, he says,
who does not believe that those securities
would be advanced In value If there was any
prospect of the government buying them, Mr..
Ripley says II he Is opposed to government
ownership it is not as railway 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 a matter OF fact,
however, he says the best managed railroads
OF the world are the English They are all
owned and operated by private companies
Next to them In good management. no states,
ara the privately owned lines of Holland and
France, while the government owned lines in
France are very bad
II is easy to talk. he says. OF the govern
ment giving better service, employing more
men, lowering rates and still making money.
AS matter OF fact, government management
of anything can never be economical as
prigrte management, and to earn the interest
or its Investment tsix TO fifteen billions of
dollars) the government would have TO In
crease the rate of service, us has been done
on the government owned lines of Austria;
cheaper the service, employ fewer men and let
things generally get into disrepair. as Zane
In the government owned lines of Italy or
face an annual deficiency and rely on taxa
ton to make up the deficit, as done on the
government owned lines In India.
The most serious considerations are, how
ever, Mr.. Ripley says. political ones There
are $4,000 railway employees IN the United
States Under government ownership each
of these would be political appointee. This
he says. would not only lower the character
of the service, but would be appalling, when
the tremendous political supremacy which
those $50, 600 employees would give to the party
in power is considered. The scandals and
jobbery of the rivers and harbors appropria-
lions, or of the tarin bill would be nothing
compared TO the field which would be open TO
the spoilsnen by the railway contractors and
builders of new lines. Districts or States Of
81 political complexion opposed to that of the
party In power would have to wait until the
crack Of doom for any new lines and inter
ests, while where the friends of the admin
istration came from there would be lines as
thick as stripes OH tigers back,