The herald., 1898-01-20
Hem MANGLED
NJ a Reason for National
Ownership
PRESIDENT RIPLEY WRITES
IN ANSWER TO ARGUMENTS OF
PoPULISTS
The Strongest Plea for Government
Ownership of Railroads Is
Justice to Investors

has written letter to the eultor Oh u
Kansas Populist paper replying to a
communication published in that paper
citing the number of people killed by
the railroads of the United States as a
reason why these 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 one passenger is killed; that last
year the trains on the railways in Kan
sas ran over 800, 900 miles, yet only one
employees life was sacrificed for every
431, 900 miles. OF 4406 others killed in the
United States in 1896 the reports show
that 3S11 were trespassers.
He draws the conclusion that the plea
of government ownership because of the
number of persons whom the railway
kills is entirely worthless. Coming to
the question of ownership he says that
to himself and other railway officers it
Is matter of entire indifference.
Next came the question whether or
not the owners of railways are opposed
to government ownership, and he points
out that the strongest plea made in be-
half of government ownership is that OF
T. B. Blackstone, president of the Chi
cago and Alton road, who urged it as
measure of justice to the railway invest
ors. There is no holder of railway Sc
curities, he said, who does not believe
that those securietieS would advance
in value If there was any prospect of the
governments buying them.
Mr.. Ripley says If he is opposed to
government ownership it is not as
railway man, but as a citizen. 1t is
easy to talk, he says, of the govern
ments giving better service, employing
more men, lowering rates and still max
ing money.
GAS a matter of fact, government
management of anything never was and
never can be as economical as private
management, and to earn the interest
on it's investment (six to fifteen billions
Of dollars) the government would have
to increase the rates for service as has
been done on the government-owned
lines of Australia; cheaper the service,
employ fewer men and let things gen.
orally get into disrepair as done on the
government-owned lines of Italy. or face
an annual deficit and rely on taxation
to make up the deficit, as done on the
government-owned lines of India.
The most serious considerations, how
ever, Mr.. Ripley says, are political ones.
There are S50,O00 railway employees il
the United States. Under government
ownership each of these would be po-
litical appointee. These, he said, would
not only lower the character of the SER
vice, but would be appalling in the tre-
mendous political supremacy which
those $4,000 employees would give to
the party in power" Worse still would
be the political results of the contracts
for the construction of new lines, etc.
RATE TROUBLES
CHICAGO, Jan. 19.-It is likely that
a meeting of the Western Passenger as
sociation will be called in the near future
to consider the question of rates to
southern territory. These are in very
bad state of decentralization, and if
something is not done in the near future
to remedy matters it is likely that an
open war will be waged between the
roads. The northern connections of the
lines between Kansas City and the Gulf
of Mexico ports are becoming very rest
less over the situation, and they will
take such steps as they can to put the
rates on firm basis once more. The
matter will likely come up before the
meeting to be held the latter part of
this month, when the question of Alaska
rates will be considered in a general
mass meeting.
For the time being all efforts to re-
vive the Transcontinental Passenger as
sociation have been called off. 1t is
thought by the roads most interested in
the revival of the organization that it is
useless to attempt to get the roads again
into working order until after the set
tlement of the rates to Alaska.
A NEW ROAD
SANTA FE, N. NJ, Jan. 19.-Articles
of Incorporation were filed with the ter
ritorial secretary this evening for the
White Oaks and Kansas City railway.
The incorporators are j. A. Eddy, w.
A. Hawkins, H. A. Connor, G. L. Christie
and w. H. Austin. The directors are:
G. D. Simpson, Scranton, Pa; 3. S.
Harmon and G. c. w. Lowry New
York; John A. Eddy, Denver: C. B. Ed
dy, w. A. Hawkins Max Frost, New
Mexico. The capital stock is $4,000, 000
The road runs from near White Oaks,
Lincoln county, New Mexico to a point
on the New MeXico-Texas line in Union
county, about 250 miles north, connect
ing with a road of the same name to
be chartered under the laws of the state
of Texas. Surveyors will be put in the
field Immediately.
ORIENTAL TRAFFIC
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 19-Further
particulars regarding the agreement re-
Gently entered into by the Japanese, the
Pacific Mail and the Occidental and ORR
entail steamship companies are now at
hand. Arrangements have been made
to bear in equal proportion all the ex-
pense of navigation incurred by the
three companies, although the distribu-
tion of profits shall be subject to the
amount of receipts gained by them. I'm
der the agreement the Occidental and
Oriental and Pacific Mail are each to re-
duce the number of their steamers to
three, although they each run four at
present. The agreement will be carried
into practice as soon as the steamers
of the Toyo Kisen Kaisha, now being
built in England, aSrive in Japan.
THE TUNNEL FIRE
PHOENIX. Ariz., Jan. 19.-Au perish
able through freight on the Santa Fe is
to be handled without material delay
despite the blockade on the line at the
caved-in tunnel east of Ash Fork. Sew
eral trains loaded with vegetables and
oranges are already in transit East, US