The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-22
THE SANTA FE.
A Review of the Great Kansas
Railway
By Frank H. Spearman in the
Philadelphia Post.
AN INDEPENDENT ROAD
That Plants Families Where
Only the Cactus Grew.
E. P. Ripley and Paul Morton
as a Team.

LReprlhted by special permission from
the Saturday Evening Post.l
On the careers of many western
roads lights and shadows have fallen
markedly within the last ten years,
but on none with so sharp contrast Of
good fortune and bad as on the Santa
Fe.
There have been periods, and those
almost recent, when it seemed as if all
Of the railroad disasters of the west,
whether of hard times, of crop fall
ures or of unfriendly legislation. had
camped together on the trail of the
Santa Fe. In 1896 many bad men came
out of the west: but of those that rode
over the railroad pike no discouraged
miner, no burnt out farmer, no starved
out cattleman had more of a hard luck
story than the Santa Fe railroad. In
deed, it may be pictured about 1896 as
lone frontiersman heaving in sight
under the sorriest of hats and on the
1eanest of ponies, with mustaches ut
half mast sweeping his chin in a dfrge
whenever the wind blew.
In matter of fact, every wind that
TO the Santa Ee. Dividends had be-
come in the treasurer's office a mere
tradition: the defaulting of interest
was more regular than the train SER
vice. The company, both physically
and financially, was discredited. Many
of it's obligations toward the shipping
public had been repudiated; it had no
standing among bankers, no character
among engineers, no friends among
customers, no respect among COM
petitors; contempt it found every
where, countenanee nowhere.
What makes the Santa Fe's expert
ence so extraordinary is that within
five years thereafter it had been lifted
completely out of this railroad slough
of despond, and the vane of its for
tune responding to wholly new inf1u-
ences, the great road saw restored to
itself all the prestige it had once en-
joyed, based on an incomparably wider
and deeper foundation than it had ever
before rested. More singuIarly still,
this unusual reha utilization has been
brought about entirely by the manage
ment of the road itself and not
through its being absorbed by any
strong banking house or big railroad
magnate. The Santa Fe has not been
absorbed" by anybody. Even among
independent railroads it stands with
especial diStinctness outside any COM
binatiOn or sphere of influence. There
are independent roads in. plenty that
are still Morgan roads, or Kuhn-Loeb
roads, or that take suggestions from
some one of the half dozen powers in
the railroad world. The Santa Fe
takes orders neither from bankers nor
syndicates. It is a western road run
very strictly by it's own official staff
of young western railroad merchants,
and what makes its railroad story of
especial interest is that it is in reality
the story of a railroad man-Edward
P Ripley.
When Mr.. Ripley, in 1885, took hold of
the Santa Fe as it's president he did so
greatly against the advice of his friends.
His own record was that of success, the
roads that of failure; and for him to
ally himself with an institution of so
doubtful name and record was mat
ter of concern to his well wishers. He
assured himself, however, of one thing
to start with: a good corner to work
from. OF all reOrganizations after the
panic of 1893 none was more drastic
than that laid out for the Santa Fe The
fixed charges of the company were cut
squarely in two. and in order to keen
the sheriff for the future out of operat-
ing headquarters it was necessary for
the company to earn only half as much
as the old company had earned. Start
ing under Mr.. Ripiey's management on
that basis, the road has never since left
solid ground. It has earned not only it's
dollar of fixed charges but within the
six years just passed has more than
doubled its gross earnings; and while
increasing its mileage in that time less
then one-fourth it has increased its
earnings per mile more than two-thirds.
Luck Will hardly account for such a
showing: gross earnings of $62, 900, 900
last year against $50 600 900 in 1897, and
$500 a mile against $4,750 six years