The record-union., 1899-09-23
STATEMENT OF FACTS.
GENERAL MANAGER KRUTTS-
SCHNITT NAILS MANY LIES.
Facts and Figures About the
Operation of Railroads in
This Country.
From the San Francisco Chronicle)

From the San Francisco Chronicle)
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's lines:
Recent articles in the daily papers
about accidents on the Southern Pacific
lines are so unjust to its oftlcers and
employees and so inaccurate as to facts,
that some official statement seems due
the public in order that am impartial
judgment may be formed.
Charges under the following headings
have been made with more or less def
niteness:
1. The system of train operation is
defective and the responsibilities plac-
ed on employees by the Southern Pacific
Company are greater than those placed
on employees of other systems.
The Southern Pacific Company is run
ming it's trains under the American
Railway Association standard code of
train rules in use on all the important
systems in the United States. They
embody the experience of the best tall
ent in railroad operating departments.
A management would be justly sub
ject to severe criticism for not using
them. The duties and responsibilities
Of trainmen 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.
,. Employees are discharged only
when accidents happen; no notice is
taken when accidents do not occur, JUS
tifying the Inference that discipline is
lax.
1t is true that employees are not dis
charged for every offense they commit.
There is no precedent in any code of
laws for inflicting capital punishment
for all offenses. Discipline is rigidly en-
forced 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
inflicting adequate punishment, seek
ing the general Improvement of the
men and not their dismissal, which is
reSorted to in extreme cases only. 1t is
believed that the company has as faith
ful, careful and efficient men as any
system in the United States, and it is
unjust to 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.
). On great Eastern lines negligence
has been very nearly eliminated, and
one rarely hears of smash-ups 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 acci-
dents. The journal reporting. these
wrecks details the serious ones only,
which amount to about one-fourth of
the total. As every accident, no matter
how trivial, that occurs on the Southern
Pacific line is magnified out of all pro-
portion, the above figures should be
multiplied by about four for compara-
tive purposes. These lines do not run
twenty trains to the Southern Pacific's
one. The annual train mileage of the
southern Pacific is exactly the same as
that Of the New York Central, and only
- per cent less than that of the Penn
sylVanta, instead of one-twentieth as
much as stated. It will occur to a fair
minded person that ii is natural they
should not hear of sma sh-ups in the
States of New York and Pennsylvania,
some 5000 miles distant as it is quite
probable that the Pennsylvania and
New York dailies do not give the prom
inence to Southern Pacific accidents
that IS given them by the San F. ancisco
press.
4. The Indictment of the Southern
Pacific rests on criminal parsimony
the road always runs short handed
1t is not true that the Southern Pa
ciic runs shOrt-handed; to confirm this.
it is fortunate that the Interstate Com
merce Commissions Statistics of Rail-
ways" are within reach of the public.
and those interested can verify the cor :
rectness of this statement The sta
tistics of Railways" for 1893 shows. for
all lines west of the Mississippi River,
as follows:
Number OF
Interstate Employees
Commerce Groups. Per mile OF
Railroad.
Group VII. - Including Burlington
Route. Union Pacific Railway, part
of Northern Pacific, Great Northern
and Northwestern system ............2 3. IS
Group X.-Including Santa Fe Pacific.
Southern California, western part of
Great Northern and Northern Pa
cific O. r. x N, Oregon Short Line,
Rio Grande Western, Southern Pa
cific and all California railroads 2. s.
Group VIII.-Including Atchison, To-
peka and Santa Fe. Rock Island
road, Denver and Rio Grande and
Missouri Pacific roads ................3.0 On
Group IX.-Including Texas and Pa
citic, Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe,
NJ. X. q T., G. TT. & S. A, San An
tonic and Aransas Pass, etc.........3. 3
Average for above groups west of Mis-
The Southern Pacific Company has in
its employ, per mile of line operated 3. 8
Or more than the highest group ant
one-third more than the average.
Fifth-It is specifically stated of the
wreck at Newman that it "was caused
from the fact that the engineer of the
teachers special was asleep at his post