The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-03-26
RAILROAD news.
President Ripley Writes of Rail-
road Men and Duties.
Says Man of the Present Day
Must Be Specialist.
EXECUTIVE TROUBLE.
Railway President Must Please
Conflicting Interests.
His Position is One of Perplex-
tiles and Problems.

President E. p. Ripley OF the Santa
Fe has an interesting article in the
Saturday Evening Post on THE Max
ing of a Railroad Man" In part he
says:
THE railroad man of the present day
must be a specialist. The business is
not embraced in a single profession but
in many professions There was a time
when the dry goods or grocery mer-
chant bought his own goods (and large
ly sold them) himself, and he knew ev-
cry article in his store and the price OF
it. Now, if he has survived he has di-
vided his store into departments and
has man at the head of each, and con-
/ fines himself to a general supervision,
judging his chief officers mainly by re-
suits and interfering but little in de-
tails. There are yet few small rail-
roads in the country where a. somewhat
intimate knowledge of the business of
| all departments is necessary to few OF
the principal officers, and on these small
roads is to be found the best school for
general education in the railroad bust
ness The great mass of railroad work.
ers must specialize, however, in order
to obtain employment or advance
ment''
Mr.. Ripley refuses to advise the
young man as to the department which
offers the best promise of promotion
from an humble place to that of presi-
/ dent. He says it depends entirely on the
/ callber of the man himself, and that no
! general rule can be laid down. How
/ ever, he offers this friendly suggestion
to railroad employees who are anxious
for promotion:
1T is but natural that every young
man should be ambitious to win the
| good will and attention of his superiors,
and is, therefore, anxious to know how
this end may be specifically accomplish
ed. On this important point 1 would
say with emphasis that a man who does
/ good work need make no special effort
to bring himself into notice, and any
| such effort is likely to be annoying to
/ his superiors The heads of depart
mentS know what each man is doing,
/ and are better judges of his work than
| the employees himself. Ambition is good
! but it should take the form of faithful
/ and intelligent service, and events in
/ their natural course will do the rest"
Mr.. Ripley proceeds to tell something
| OF the duties of a president. The prob
lens that come to him are the all inn
portant ones. for they are of the class
| which subordinateS cannot settle.
In other Words says he, cit is only
the pressingly important things that
/ get to him. The railway business is pc
cui1ar In that it has been held to be
| quasi public which means that tie
| president, in addition to being satisfac-
tory TO the board of directors must so
conduct the affairs of the railroad as to
nave tiIeiu also satisfactory TO the pub
lie, and the representatives of the pub
/ lie in the various legislative bodies AS
i all history shows that no man ever did
serve all the public to it's satisfaction
for any length of time, or was appreci-
| ated until after he was dead, it will be
| seen that the position is a difficult one
| 10 keep earnings up and expenses
! down, to satisfy the taxing power, the
| legislative power the public, the en-
| ployes and the stockholders" continues
Mr.. Ripley, summarize, in brief the
| perplexitieS of the railway presidents
| position. 1t is not possible freely to
satisfy these conflicting interests, and
the result is daily compromise, and not
| always on a basis fair to the corpora
| ton, or satisfactory to its representa-
tives, who assent under fear of worse
| things
In conclusion Mr. Ripley says that
long experience has caused him to be-
lieve that the moral tone of the rail-
| road profession is quite as high as that
of any other, and that the public hav-
| ing business with the companies will
| testify to this fact. THE portion of the
| public which has dealings with the
| roads has unbounded confidence in the
officials, while that portion which has
not such personal contact, and is infiu-
enced by partisan and demagogic abuse
has none. 1t is this letter portion which
makes itself heard and felt, and which
at times makes life burdensome to the
president and his staff
STILLWELL ROAD IN TEXAS.
Charter is Secured and Separate
Company Organized.
Austin, Tex, March 26.--H. G. Hord
of Sweetwater, Texas, general attorney