The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-02-25
RAILROAD FACTS AND FAKES

4
Special .)--Mr. Paul Morton, second vice
president of the Atchison, Topeka and San
ia Fe railway system, is giving II out that
| his company is going to spend lot Of
money In Texas in the near future. That's
| good news. and It's pity that Mr.. Morton
did not stop talking when he announced
1t, instead of continuing as follows as ne
| is reported to have done:
II your legislature Will just stop en-.
acting laws that are inimical TO capital,
and II your railroad commission Will
cease making iinwise rulings, we VIII
feel encouraged to spend more money
In Texas. -i
Which law is IL that has in this state
proven inmical to the capital invested in
the Santa Fc? Mr.. Morton couldn't point
IL out If he were to try for a month. But
maybe he has but taken up the refrain that
the railroad commission law is injurious 10
railroad Interests. In that case the facts
are against him, for. according to inforina.
ton in possession OF the railroad commits
son=-and the information is reliable--the
Santa Fe has nothing TO complain OF, TAX
ing prevailing business conditions Into coz
sdefation, as its earnings compare favor
ably with those OF other roads, and Are
much closer In point of profitable ratio to
the amount of cash actually involved in
the enterprise than are those of many
other corporations and private concerns
operating In this State Compared With
the earnings or the agricultural classes
the main wealth producers OF Texas--the
earnings OF the Santa Fe for the past
twelve months are. Ito use a familiar phrase,
'out OF sight"
What unwise ruling of the railroad COM
mission threatens to Interfere with the flow
OF money which Mr.. Morton's company is
ans a. t,rn nNrua ARD
Was the commissions emergency cotton
tariff in his mind when he spake az luot.d
abovog II SO he has no just cause for com
plant The Santa Fe Is as much re-
sponsible as any other line for the con-
ditlons which brought about the necessity
for the tariff referred to- 1t has been a
party TO the jugglery which has been GO
ing on at Galveston and when the show
down tame stood by and Joined in the
hypocritcal cant of the Southern Pacific
did it, crowd And now that the emer.
gency rates have been promulgated it
whines and complains that 1t ought not
to be punished for the sins of the Southern
Racine, yet the record Is that its repre-
ssntatves less than week ago testified
under oath that they have been shrinking
their divisions on cotton going out via Gal
weston, while they got full local tlriifs On
cotton turned over to the Southern Pacific
at Houston. But. when the commission de-
clares that the shrinkage of divisions must
Stop and that II the railroad can affofd TO
tnke less than published rates to meet con-
ditions existing at Galveston they can af-
FORD to carry a tariff based upon The proven
shrinkage INDUCED in, 1t makes an unwisc
ruling.
Mr.. Morton is a great railroad man, no
doubt. His promotion has been rapid AMI
mis- name is often in the papers. lIe is
pie for interviewers and knows the value
of advertising, but his knowledge oil Texas
laws and Texas affairs has evidently net
increased To all appearances lie rcw
knows as little of Texas las she is as he !
did when about year ago he, during the |
course OF railroad commission hearing |
testified that the abnormal diversion of the |
Santa Fe's earnings to It's maintenance ac- |
count was due to the great destruction of |
cross ties ON its line by teredos To all |
he was then convinced that |
unless his company would find some way |
or getting out of tho business of furnishing |
free lunches for yoracious bivalve molluslSs |
II would soon go broke, and Judging from |
the talks recently attributed to him he has !
not improved in his conception of what
constitutes legitimate railroading In this |
section any more than he has Increased |
his stock OF information with regard 10
Texas and Its laws.
Following Mr.. Morton's example. Mr..
Leroy lrice, general superintendent of the
International and Great Northern, has gone
into print to let people know that he locks
upon tho railroad commissions emergency
cotton tariff as an absurdity, and that ac-
cording to his notion it VIII bring about IL
reduction in rates which will not inure 10
the benefit OF the producer. He may be
right in this latter contention but ii IS
not clear that his line has a kick coming
to It. as IL has been as much a parry as
any of them TO the Galveston rate Jug
Cling which brought the trouble about al
though IL Is a matter of record that IL 10;
its full locals from the Houston lines on
all cotton IL turned over to them while K
was compelled to shrink its divisions on
cotton hauled to Galveston. Submitting TO
intimidation at the hands of the Calves
ton ship brokers, the International has
taciuy subscribed 10 the charge THAT tie
houston lines are discriminating against
and has undertaken to 'totc"
water on both shoulders. but now that the
day of reckoning has arrived its supelin-
tendent suddenly discovers that the road
is about to be deprived OF revenue without
benefit TO the farmer and that it viii he
made to suiler for some one else's sins
This cry about loss of revenue would lie
all right II the International had not con-
nived In the swapping of port bills of lad
Ing for railroad bills of ladng which has
become a favorite trick with the shin
brokers and the Galveston lines in their
EFFORTS to get around the railroad commits
slon's compress regulations. Mr.. Trise
might have occasion to complain II II had
not within the past seven days been proven
that his line through The convenient iu-
ierchange of bills OF lading process had
been hauling cotton from certain common
territory points to Galveston for 80 cents
per l00~-l0 cents per 100 less than tariff
.u.es-put under the circumstances 1t APP
pears that he is simply protesting against
being compelled 10 do openly what he has
oeen infuleing in secretly. And there are
'oheFs' Lap.
SOME PGsTscRIPTs.
sultana does not mean the wife OF a sui
nm, but 10 the title given TO his mother.
listers and daughters.