Mexico weekly ledger., 1901-02-28
RAILROADS AND THE EARxER
c. EsaE.1a e tks c Z A Writes
as E1.1r q As Ledger Al Ets-
sstz1g LsEa-

Cd FznkHn H0usd1 stal-lH IL
TIE C5zco s. Alta rzilrusd Cen.
EE ui1h hsz5qzuez a. EzEAs
j CITY, Is Eel ECEn . tbs razdsE q
4 the LEDGER especially thoss wh1
have been attending o11rt u
Neuco during the Et y1ar. O.
H0zze10 ina psrs1aA letter O. the
s1itG q The LDsE su1ug utnei
thing writes Interestingly In reieE-
1os O. The relati1 hetEee1 Tzl.uaos
AID the farmer With1Gt bis PER
uissi0n believing that &c u0-zte CO
c155e1ce We excerpt the io.lgHing
from bis letter
1t has almost cone D. pass that
SIZE cizim that al 1ue has o. Go i g.
sue : zlrlai and L be zn get the
lest evidence D. get his case before .
jun, be WiL recover a verdict fa-
synething This fact has greatly
stimulated the bringing q damage
suits agzins. railroads within TIE
past rear. Surely the farmer vguld
be In . tad way without the uilradS
which have advanced the prices @.
their lands and have brought the
bst markets within easy reach
FqrAaz 01yst, GT % b uing O.
b ut1iy nth fz ua ~
GhY Hy1H1. For the past ten years
the railroads have been having
as hard a task as the farmers have
70 make any profit after paying the
eTpenss o. interest taxes, repain
maintenance and 0Peration All th%e
items have b be taken care u before
there IS anything fU the stockholders
As things nov stand an0dssr uay larw
ten gsrPasS artsg tnym raising Gai
HtiqusIg ugjus dmgab, many q
which result In Judgments, which
have 70 Be paid. with heavy C1sts To
meet these unjust demands large SUNS
are required annually. Every railr1ad
is subjected 70 them They amount
70 millions every year. When they
are paid il greatly reduces the pnofts
This Is therefore, an item o. heavy
expense which every railroad has d
meet and for which provision has 10
be made. H0W L. 4 mod Obviously,
there is but one way, and that Is 70
maxi rats q transportation On both
freight and passengers a10anl % ao1
Z. out q whose pockets then, does
this expense ultimately o1mes Are
not the farmers the largest shippers:
! presume The grain and stock inter
ests q the country are perhaps equal
To Il not greater than those 0f the
merchants and manufacturer Hdgs
.f03ssg tat he Turning iHtrH u hgf
directly contributing q brg m aHHuaa
b pay d1N d1maQ al1 and hary osJ.
Not only this but another part q 1t.
also comes indirectly out d their
pocketE Hse9 The merchants and
manufacturer also coutibute a share.
HyW does this Affect the farmers.
Simply By 0ddihg b ~ os o. machin-
cry and merchandise Which The farm
ers consume The merchants and
manufacturers add ss0sg1 ~ Hsirpr0f-
u % oDusr lhis ten q tear naaa0l r.
PeasA TIE oogssmsr np1w 40 0esA.
Consequently, ~ ferHgrL who are the
largest consumers an hshs}r9 h.
losu BY this policy u making the
railroads pay damages On unjust De-
mzndA
80 my thinking, the railroads aud
~ farMeu gsga % b Ae ba g J1uds.
They have much IN common. Zach
ia turn serves The other. II the farm
en. sho largely oJmpose the juries
u the country once realized that r1
rad rat0 u0uld b ka Il my mud CO.
qDsfats Uih hs railroads "a disoguragig
aHd r@ahhg UaJas deHaands. the way
would soon be paved for a reduc-
ton IN rates, which would greatly
benefit the fsrmers,and pei moro Money
II thar PodbzS. Railroad rates, like
tariff duties, al o1gae at baa ont II tie
p1kGb Of The oyzganaeF.
That there Is a very prevalent
feeling o. hostility On the part Of the
people cannot be denied ! think this
is unjust In the case q one railroad,
/ know 1t 70 Be 80. Every demand
against it is carefully investigated.
and many claims Of little or no merit
are paid to avoid litigation. Those
that are refused ar 0lso1gs rggsd for
god relsons. II the people would re-
feet that the same rules Of business
control railroads that regulate any
other business, they would see that in
the strong competition for business
now going on between railroads 1t is
good policy and good sense 70 deal
fairly with patrons, and By 80 doing
win their business and friendship.
"On the other hand, the people
should pursue the same policy Of
friendliness and justice. II is the
policy Of the railroads 10 TO deal fairly
aud justly with the public; It is agoOd
business, and they like for the public
70 meet them In the same spirit. The
public, and juries especially, should
not take up the gauntlet for every man
o. woman who fancies he OF She has a
damage suit. When people who are
nursing grievances, once realize that
they have nothing but eyen-handed
justice 10 expect from juries, and that
passion and prejudice will not have a
feathers weight, even though the de-
PENDANT is a railroad corporation there.
viii be far fewer suits, and a large
item Of expense viii be Topped Of. which
now comes directly out Of the pockets.
Of the patrons Of the railroads, as a.
part Of It's expenses.
AS railroad lawyer ! have nOquar-
rel with iuries or farmers. They are
usually fair with me. Ny kin are
mostly farmers and ! am Ia sympathy
with them. II they make mistakes
50 DO other people. / believe the jur-
les generally mean % do night. But
do, nevertheless, sometimes render
verdicts for plaintiffs in damage suits
when the greater weightOf evidence IS
on the side u the railroads. But il ISL
not from a disposition 70 fniure the