The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-01-14
RIPLEY AROUSED.

PopuIist, in the Commoner, in round
ing up railway arrangements in gen
eral, and the Santa Fe in particular,
personally attacked President Ripley
man who came to his present position
from small beginnings and after many
years of perpetual strife and effort
Had the Pop writer confined himself to
abusing the national administration
and railway arrangements in general
and not gone out of his way to attack
Mr.. Ripley personally, the latter gen
tIeman would have, in all probability,
given the matter no attention. The ar
ticle stated among other things that
Mr.. Ripley does not earn his salary;
that the Santa Fe uses The British lion
for it's trade mark. and other like Pop
screeds and prejudices, to all Of which
Mr.. Ripley replies in detail and in such
language as leaves no doubt Of his
earnestness.
Regarding the charge that he docs
not earn his salary and is Of little
Il can only say that began to work
for a railway company about twenty
eight years ago at wages which think
even Mr.. Brown, chairman of the COM
mfttee on railroads of the Kansas leg
islature, would consider modest; that 1
never enjoyed what is called a pull;
that the directors Of the Santa Fe hired
me as cheaply as they could; that l
work to the best of my ability; that
there is no compulsion on the directors
or stockholders of the Santa Fe to en-
ploy me rather than anybody else, and
they are at liberty to make change
at any time Until they do so 1 must
accept the fact of my continuance in
my position as more important evil
dence as to the value of my work even
than the statements of Mr.. Brown and
Congressman Davis"
AS to the charge that the Santa Fe
uses the British lion as a trademark,
on many of it's folders, Mr.. Ripley has
this TO say:
4 confess that 1 miss the connection
between this and the matter of passen-
ger rates in Kansas. Simply as a mat
ter Of historical interest, however, 1
may state that the lion that formerly
appeared on the Santa Fe folders was
not British lion; it was simply lion,
and as matter of fact, was, 1 am in
| formed, originally adapted from the
/ lion of Venice and not the lion Of Eng
/ land. Venice at one time was the great
/ commercial and carrying power of the
world Starting from their little port,
! the Venetian navigatOrs pushed their
way into the remote corners Of the then
known world, and did the carrying
trade and the commerce Of the greater
part Of the peoples Of the earth"
when the Santa Fe pushed it's tracks
acress some Of the wilderness which it
| traverses it seemed as if the spirit
which impelled the men who built the
road was not unlike the spirit of the
old Venetian sea captains. They, in
/ the old days, carried their lion ensign
proudly wherever there was trade TO be
gained or carrying to be done, and it
seemed as if the same ensign would
serve well for the Santa Fe road"
Regarding the charge that no public
official reports of railway matters are
made, Mr.. Ripley says the railway
managers do make public reports and
these reports are given in great detail.
/ The Santa Fe makes detailed reports
annually to the Interstate Commerce
Commission, to the United States de-
partment Of the interior, to the rail
road commissioners of each of the
states of Illinois. Iowa, Missouri, Kan
sas and Texas, respectively, and to the
labor commissioner of Missouri. These
reports are in addition TO the annual
reports to the stockholders, which are
also printed and widely distributed
Today anybody who has tn curiosity tC
see and study any Of the reports can dc
so by application in the proper direc-
tons at any time. and there is M
other business or line OF trade the fact.
and figures of which are annually pub.
lished with anything like the same full
ness or in a way to make them so cas-
+ lily accessible to everybody.
1t is complained, says Mr.. Ripley
that unduly low rates have been made
on goods exported to and imported
from foreign countries. If. at times h
SAYS. under stress of intense compeu
ton. some companies have seen fit {,
carry goods for import or export at I'm
reasonably low rates, he does not I'm
derstaud how it injuries the people Q
Kansas.
Mr.. Ripley concludes his long lette
r with the offer that the Santa Fe wi
r lease To any responsible person. part
= or syndicate or company in the stat
10 of Kansas a train 10 run from an
r point in Kansas on its line 70 an
$ other point every day in the year AZ
q rental & 81 mile.
: There is nothing. Mr.. Ripley say:
; that he can think Of that he would nC
= do which would legitimateIy be don
, To induce the people Of Kansas to be
j, come personally familiar with tn
e workings Of the road. Their interest
. are Identical and they ought to 1
- friends. II he can bring il about the
I viii be
$ When Rufe Cone went out Of Office