The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-10
RAILROAD WORLD.

George R. Browder division freight agent of the Southern, has returned from Memphis, where the Southeastern Missis- sippi Valley Freight association held a bi-monthly meeting. Only routine busi- ness was transacted at the association meeting and nothing was given out for publication.
 There will be a joint meeting of the Southeastern and the Southeastern Mis- sissppi Valley freight associations at St. Augustine on January 2o
 M. w. Maguire, general superintendent of the Queen and Crescent, returned to Cincinnati yesterday.
 w. J. Murphy, general manager of the Queen and Crescent, has not been to Bir- mingham since his return from Europe, whither he had been for the benefit of his health He Is lin sound condition again. but on the advice of his physicians and the officials of the Queen and Crescent, he will refrain from doing two mems WOTh. HIS HtlNOuS COlldpSc idos was due entirely to over work.
 MT. Murphy not only managed the gen. eral business of the lines forming the Queen and Crescent, but looked closely after transportation details. The office of general superintendent was created In order to relieve him of transportation work and now General Superintendent Mcguire makes the inspection of the roads and the shops in place of the general manager.
 R. s. Fife of Atlanta, commercial agent of the Missouri. Kansas and Texas. was in Birmingham yesterday.
 The Southern Railway company has filed deeds to ten lots on High street. Louisville The property cost $5400o and was acquired for the site of an addition to its present freight depot In that city. The Railway Age recently printed some comments on an alleged interview with MT. Loree of the Baltimore and Ohio bearing upon the question of the profit ableness of passenger business on Ameri- can railways. The interview was subse- quently denied by MT. Loree, but the ar- ticles referred to have brought letters from prominent men showing divergent views and leading to the belief that a thorough discussion of the subject will be profitable and interesting at this time. In the article of December 12 appeared the following:
 .It is undoubtedly true that the money received for the transportation of pas sengers rarely if ever, equals the amount expended on that account, but 1t Is true also that all of the money paid out by and for the passenger departments is not properly chargeable thereto. A fine pas senger station. luxurious cars and ele- gant diners are directly an adjunct of the passenger department, but they have a potent influence in attracting freight traffic. And this is not unnatural. The same reasons which are effective in di- recting the one apply In the other. It fol- lows. therefore, that while 1t may be true that the passenger department is not self-supporting it contributes largely to the profits of the freight department. It is to be said also in this connection that while the best of our railroad men will agree with MT. Loree in his advocacy of liberal expenditures for upbuilding passen- ger traffic. good many of them are in- clined to the opinion that in some re- spects we are transcending reasonable limits. Competition has been allowed to