The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-20
IN RAILROAD CIRCLES
Hill Does Not Control the Balti-
more & Ohio.
HE HAS A LARGE INTEREST
The San Francisco Chronicle Criticises
the Southern Pacific for Not Max
ing Better Mail Time-A
Warning 70 Shippers.

|
Ohio railroad, has been issued, copy
| Of which was received in Butte yester
day, regarding the "Hill control d
| that road. The statement is as follows
| From time to time articles appear il
various papers about the so-called Hill
gether with exhaustive details of vari.
| Gus struggles which are supposed to be
| in progress between Mr.. Hill and other
| people in the Baltimore & Ohio board
The details of these struggles are very
| interesting, but are open to the criti.
cism that they have no existence ir
| fact. The plain facts of the matter are
| that Mr.. Hill does not control the Balti-
| more & Ohio, nor has he at any time
expressed any desire or taken any steps
| in that direction. 1t is pretty well un-
derstood that Mr.. Hill was invited tc
interest himself in Baltimore & Ohio, on
| the theory that he could be of great
service to the property as an adviser,
and to this end he, with some of his
| friends, purchased substantial inter-
est in the preferred stock of the COM
pany. This interest is nowhere near a
controlling interest, but is still very
large. 1t may be said without fear of
contradiction that there is entire har-
mony in Baltimore & Ohio circles from
top to bottom. There has at no time
been any differences of opinion be-
tween Mr. Hill and the Baltimore &
Ohio people with regard to selection Of
general manager, the selection Of Mr..
Underwood being satisfactory to every
body. The delay in regard to Mr.. I'm
derwood's acceptance of the general
managership of the Baltimore & Ohio
was due to matters connected with the
500 line more than anything else.
'The Southern Pacific company Is
blocking the way to the perfection of a
fast-mail service across the continent.
Where other carriers have increased
their speed, this Western monopoly is
not only keeping to it's Anticipated pace,
but is actually losing time, and thereby
depriving this city of the benefits Of a
service that might easily be made of
enormous commercial value to San
Francisco" The Chronicle of San Fran
cisco, usually recognized as friend of
the Southern Pacific, is strongly criti-
cising it's action in that respect. In it's
issue of Jan. 10 it says:
with the beginning of the new year
an effort was inaugurated to reduce the
mail schedule just 10 hours between
New York and San Francisco. Where
it formerly took ITO hours and SIS min
utes for the journey, the new arrange
ment promised that mail would reach
this city 81 hours and So minutes after
it left, Greater New York.
This was to be accomplished first,
by reducing the running time between
New York and Chicago three whole
hours, and, second, by connecting at
Chicago with the fast evening west
bound train, instead of with a slower
and later one. The real gain was east
of Chicago, and the adjustment of fast
connections made possible gain of 10
hours west of Chicago. But a further
unused gain was Immediately made by
the three competing lines westward to
Omaha. They are all after the contract
to carry the mall The Burlington route,
which has enjoyed the contract for
about 20 years; the Chicago & North
western and the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific began to increase their speed in
competitive race that is still in prog
ress. The other two would see how long
they could tarry for mail in Chicago and
yet reach Omaha in time to connect
with the Union Pacific westbound train
for which the Burlington route was car
rying the mail from Chicago and New
York. All three are demonstrating that
the run between Chicago and Omaha
can be made in considerably faster time
than the existing but unimproved mail
schedule. But with the Southern Pacific
from Ogden westward it is different. 1t
is in no hurry to accommodate San
Francisco. 1t might easily increase its
speed from its present maximum of 26
and four-tenths miles an hour to the or
binary run of 36 miles an hour and bring
that fast mail into this city eight hours
sooner from Ogden. Then the fast mail
from New York would arrive here at
12:45 p. m. instead of presumably at
S:45 p. M, and it could all be delivered
the afternoon of it's arrival. That woui1
mean saving of q hours in the old
mail schedule between New York and
San Francisco. without considering the
of further reductions of
time now being daily demon
strated by the roads between Chicago
and Omaha.
The New York Central carries the
fast mail from New York to Buffalo,
distance of 440 miles, There connection
is made with the Lake Shore line, which
takes the mail on to Chicago, a distance
Of $40 miles. These two roads together
have reduced the run of $50 miles by
three hours. making an average speed,
With numerous stops, of 1874 miles an
hour. From Chicago to Omaha it is
1893 miles and the Burlington route has
long been doing the run in IA hours and
70 minutes, or an average of 34.5 miles
an hour, which she is now daily sur
as are the two competing roads.
From Omaha to Ogden the distance is
,031 miles, which the Union Pacific reg
llarly covers in 2S hours and so minutes,
while the Southern Pacific, when it does
happen to complete the run on time,
takes 81 hours and 80 minutes to come
from Ogden to San Francisco, a dis
lance of only 1913 miles, traversed at the |
good, old easy-going rate of 26 miles
an hour.
Frequently the Union Pacific does |
70 miles and hour on the run between |
North Platte and Omaha, thereby maxi
ng up loss of two or two and half |
hours occasioned by the lettering South
arn Pacific eastbound.
Southern Pacific train No. 2, due to. |
arrive in San Francisco from Ogden at
':45 p. M, carries the fast westbound |
nail that is now supposed to reach this
'ity from New York just Is hours earlier
han it did up to the beginning of this
'ear. But it is not even keeping up to
is ridiculously slow. old-fashioned
need Of ok mile n, Nv To,