The San Francisco call., 1899-09-22

The general manager Of the Southern
Pacific system Of railroads addresses
the public IN the following statement
Of facts relating to the management
Of the Southern Pacific Company 5
lines.
Recent articles in the daily papers
about accidents on the Southern Pa
cific lines are so unjust TO its officers
and employees and so inaccurate as TO
facts that some official statement seems
due the public in order that an impair
tial judgment may be formed
Charges under the following head
ings have been made with more or less
dehniteness:
/ The system Of train operation is
defective and the responsibilities placed
on employees by the Southern Pacific
Company are greater than those placed
on employees Of other systems.
The Southern Pacific Company is run
ming its trains under the American
Railway Association standard code OF
train rules in use Cn all the important
systems IN the United States. They
embOdy the experience OF the best tai
eut in railroad operating departments.
\ mana cement would be justly subject
to severe criticism FOR not using them.
i duties anu klJLLSA ADAALL-ES u ~ cNL4--
men on Southern Pacific lines are no
greater and no less than those OF the
trainmen Of the Pennsylvania, New
York Central or Baltimore and Ohio.
2 Employees are discharged only when
accidents happen; no notice is taken
when accidents do not occur, justtfytpg
the inference that discipline is lax
II is true that employees are not dis
charged for every Offense they commit
There is no precedent in any code or
laws for infiiCting capital punishment
for all Offenses. Discipline is rtgldly
enforced according to a system that Is
now in operation on most Of the best
managed systems in America Author
tiles agree that perfect discipline con-
sists In noticing all shortcomings and
iufiCting adequate punishment, seeking
the general Improvement Of the men
and not their dismissal, which IS re-
sorted TO in extreme cases only. It IS
believed that the company mas as falth-
full. careful and efficient men as any
system in the United States. and II Is
unjust 70 brand them as inefficient and
careless because a very small percent
age have recently, through their negli-
gence, caused losses Of life and prop
erty.
8 On great Eastern lines negligence
has been very nearly eliminated, and
one rarely hears of smashups on the
New York Central and Pennsylvania
Central lines, although each carries
twenty trains where the Southern Pa
cific carries one, etc.
The Southern Pacific does not fear
comparison with any other large sys-
tenn in the United States. The above
named great Eastern lines have not
eliminated accidents, although they
have double and even quadruple main
line tracks and block signals The lists
Of serious accidents reported monthly
IN the technical papers show that, for
the last eight months and a half for
which reports are available. the Penn
sylvania had thirty-three and the New
YORK Central twenty-One serious acct-
dents. The journal reporting these
wrecks details the serious ones only,
which amount TO about one-fourth OF
TIA total AS every accident, no mat
ter how trivial. that occurs on the
Southern Pacific line IS magnif1ed out
OF all proportion, the above f1gures
shou 4 be multiplied by about four for
conn ara tive purposes. These lines do
not ruu twenty trains to the southern
PaciflCs one The annual train mileage
OF the Southern Pacific is exactly the
same a. that Of the New York Central,
and o1I-- 20 uer cent less than that Of
the Pennsylvania instead Of one-twen-
tieth as much as stated. 1t VIII occur
70 a fair-ninded person that 1t IS nat
ural they fhould not hear or snashups
IN the Sta,es of New 1ork ana TenH-
syivania, s7me three thousand miles
distant, anc It IS also quite probaole
that the Pennsylvania and New YORK
dailies do not give the prominence 70
Southern Pacific accidents that IS given
them by the san Francisco press
l. The Indictment Of the southern
Pacific rests Ol a criminal parsimony;
the road always runs short handed
II is not true that the Southern "a
cific runs shOrt-l anded: 10 confirm TINS
Il is fortunate thtt the Interstate Com
merce CommissiOs's statistics Of Rail-
ways" are within reach of the public,
and those interested can verify the cor
rectness Of this stttement. The Sta
tistics OF Railways for 1898 shows. for
all lines west of tn. Mississippi River,
as follows:
Number Of En-
Interstate Commerce poyes per
Groups. Mile Of Railroad.
Cr0rIp VII Including Burlington
Route. Union Pacific Railway, part
Of Northern Pacific, Great North
.ru and Northwestern system 2.51
Group X-Including San Fe Pacific,
Southern California, Western part
OF Great Northern ad Northern
Pacific 0. r. and N. Oregon Short
line Rio Grande Weslern. South
ern Pacific and all California rail-
Group YIu-Includins Atshison, To-