The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-07-21

manufacturing concern and decided to
set UP az business for himself, down
through the long series of Napoleonic
plunges to the comparatively recent
execution of his corner on corn, the
$1,5OOOOO of profit, is full of human in
terest He is gambler and a sport
and yet withal q man Of exceptional
shrewdness, absolutely loyal to his
friends; and his head is full of ideas
for making money. He engineered the
wire trust, first suggested the steel
trust, played ducks and brakes with
Louisville and Nashville and cleans up
a million or two on change every little
while, just for pastime. Yet notwith-
standing the cheeriness Of his methods,
he is a master of exact knowledge and
is trying hard in his maturer years to
become conservative.
The other day he talked long and en-
tertainingly with a New York CONNER
cial Advertiser reporter concerning a
variety of topics. Naturally chief
among these was the subject of rail-
roading, Mr.. Gates present hobby. He
predicted decreased freight rates with
increased profits, explaining the latter
by calling attention to the wonderful
improvement taking place in the trans
porting business and also in the shut
ting off of rebates. 1.-The amount of
money paid out by railroad Companies
in rebates since the passage Of the in
terstate commerce law in 1856 would, in
my judgment" he said, "almost pay
the national debt. What has made the
railroads poor has been the carrying of
people for nothing and cutting nominal
tariffs actually in two in many in
stances"
Speaking further as to the future of
railroading he said: 1.-THE railroad
interests of this country are to
so through u continual process
of consolidation. Small lines will
be absorbed by larger ones. The ten
dency of freight rates in the United
States will within the next ten years
be lower, and yet the profits of the rail-
roads will, in my judgment, be even
the improvements in rolling stock and
motive power, roadbed, the cutting out
of curves and cutting down of grades
and increasing train loads. Only few
years ago every man of any prominence
in the United States who was riding on
railroad pass felt as though he was
entitled to it. This is being done away
with more and more each year, and
Justly so. The standard of railroad
men is being elevated. Closer COMPARE
sons are being made; the cost of main
tenance of road, rolling stock and main
tenance of equipment is reduced. Great
er care is exercised in the purchasing
and engineering departments. Many
men who twenty-five years ago were
presidents or general managers of rail-
roads would not today be considered
sufficiently efficient to operate log
ging road. The system of accounts has
become science and has been brought
down to the finest possible point. Ten
years ago nearly every prominent rail-
road in the United States was slow in
paying it's current bills, letting them
run two or three months past due and
in many cases three to six months. To-
day there is scarcely a prominent rail-
road in the United States that has not
millions of dollars in it's treasury, which
it is continually using to better the con-
ditions Of it's road-bed, to put in new
steel bridges in place of wooden struc-
tures to cut out curves and cut down
grades, to erect new docks and general
ly to enhance the value of its property"
Mr.. Gates is of the belief that the coun-
try has seen the last of serious rate
wars, and that the developments of the
future will be wholly in the direction of
greater economy, stability and har-
mony of service.
One other point in this interesting
mans interesting interview is his opin-
ion of ship subsidies. On this point he
said:
What this country lacks most today TO
further reach the markets OF the world
properly is better shipping facilities by
water. This can only be accomplished
to my mind by subsidizing steamship
lines. My theory would he to do that on
the following basis. Pay subsidies to ev-
cry ship built of American material by
American workmen, at so much per ton
for each LOCO miles, SO much for each ad-
ditional thousand miles or fractional part
thereof on any products which they might
transport to foreign countries whether
1t be agricultural or manufactured mate
rial. My reason for this statement Is
that what interests the farmers of the
United States and the manufacturers of
the United States are not speedy steam
ships which are able to traverse the ocean
at the rate of % knots per hour, but ships
that will cheaply transport the products
of the United States, whether they be
agricultural or manufactured, to all parts
thereby insuring to American producers
the highest ohtainable price for their
products and encouraging manufacturers
to pay the present or even a higher rate
of wages to American workinsmen. Cer-
tainly no sane man will argue that any
American shipbulder can construct as
cheaply in the United States as in foreign
ports on account of the one question OF
labor. BESIDES this, every American ship
owner has to pay higher rate of wages
to his seamen than is paid by the for
eign shipowner handling the same class
of tonnage.
Mr.. Gates view ON the subsidy ques-
tion is absolutely sound.
If General Butler imagines that he
can write history better than he made
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