New-York tribune., 1905-04-14
TRANSPORTATION.
The Story of American RGiI5cGy
Development.


road life ana management by way Of prepara-
tion for the writing OF a number OF clever stories
which have appeared as felton, presents in his
latest volume the results OF his Investigations
as fact and makes II no less interesting. He
gives a survey OF the financial and executive
seneralship which, through the amalgamation
and development OF railroad properties, has con-
verted them from steel highways conveniently
connecting given points into great transpOrta-
tion systems serving and largely controlling the
commercial and agricultural activities OF vast
sections Of the country.
These enterprises have engaged the attention
OF great men with minds capable Of graphing
with big situations, OF foneseeing splendid pos
sibilities and Of planning adequately TO meet
theYn Other men, whose interests are restricted
TO lesser heids, may well stand in measure OF
awe both at the mental grasp exhibited by
these railroad giants and at their power to con-
troll the millions and billions Of dollars required
70 give effect 10 their almost boundless dreams
Of conquest. Mr.. Spearman's study OF the sub
sect has inspired him with a great enthusiasm
10 historian writing of the campaigns of Alex
ander Cesar or Napoleon could be filled with
more complete admiration for those pre-eminent
war captains than he shows for the masters Of
American transportation. hardly call TO his
aid more picturesque language in which to cee-
brate their achievements. II success is the sole
in his eulogiums. and in fact, he does not as
sumo TO pass judgment on the moral side Of the
question. He takes always the Larger view"
lie sees what railroad consolidation and eXtea-
sion have accomplished for the business inter
ests Of the United States, and poohpooss the
suggestion that In the broad sense the railroads
can be regarded as acting in restraint OF
trsde." however individuals may here and there
have suffered through rate determinations and
,n,4s
il may not. Of course. be denied that railroads
cannot exist without traffic. and that one of
their prime aims has been 10 promote it. AT
the same time Mr. SpearInan admits that what
people DO not realize is that the country all the
while is growing faster than the railroads; that
81 IS constantly ahead OF all successful trans
portation combinations" What he does not ap
pear 10 realize. at least is willing TO ignore.
IS that this very Limitation by natural law of
railroad facilities places in the hands of rail
road manager a power Of restraint" that their
commercial instincts are too strong not to avail
or and that IS artifcially strengthened by COM
binations and the consequent extinction of COM
petition. Thus, read of the herculean efforts
put forth by J. J. Hill to provide westbOund
freight for his Great Northern cars which bring
east the timber products Of Puget Sound, by
creating markets in Eastern Asia for the manu-
factures Of Eastern America. But we hnd no
A4luslOu 10 the pOlcy a0OpIeo bOWaFu InOSe III
dustries that are necessarily dependent on that
line, and no other. for their shipping facilities.
We DO. however. note this illuminating state
nent:
1t is not always it should be marked. the raising
Of rate that makes trouble the Interstate
Commerce Commission has come 10 believe that the
sole reason for its existence Is TO lower rates.
Under such conditions a traffic oficer win not
even when it might safely be done. because he
3. e.o@s maj when once put down-to relieve a
a
never be able TO restore il
stiIi, wei afford to grant the author
mis- enthusiasms for the sake OF the really dra-
matte stories he tells Of the leading railway lines
and II the way the men who control them have
handled the problems by which they have been
confronted or which they have invented for
the FUN and profit Of solving them At present
the railroads Of the country may be divided
broadly into two classes: Those, like the New
York Central and the Pennsylvania. which, run
ming through thickly populated territories. are
compelled TO strain every nerve to keep abreast
o. frame requirements and those, like the Hill
and Hartman lines which pushing out into
newly settled regions, must help to create the
business on which they depend
With the first the problems 10 be met are
largely those Of executive management and in
ternal economy, an economy which nevertheless
must often contemplate unhinchingly immense
o.
vantages. show me your terminal facilities
and VIII tel you the earning capacity of your
road" is the way that an operating official
states one Of the most vital problems in his de-
partment so precisely is this true" adds Mr.
Spearman, that there have been times when
the entire activities OF the Vanderbilt system
were restricted by the facilities OF their inter
mediate termnals-when the effective power of
80 great railroad the Lake Shore has been
very strictly limited by two freight yards that
at Blkhart, Ind, and that at Collinwood Ohio
So that a Vanderbilt requisition for a new
freight yard frequently calls for a million dol
lars, and their lines show to-day, with those Of
the Pennsylvania. the most interesting examples
in the world OF terminal Improvement the
highest present strategy of railroad competi-
ton" One mastery way Of overcoming this
congestion at intermediate points has been
adopted by the Pennsylvania. IN building around
them auxiliary lines. with the lowest possible
grade, for through traffic. Thus the Trenton
Cutoff" with maximum grade Of sixteen feet
IN the mile. avoids even inconsiderable
way station Philadelphia
The stories Of the other class of railroads are
IN the main. those Of the captains Of industry
who have conceived and carried out great
schemes OF consolidation and extension well
illustrated IN the chapter entitled The Fight for
I1ttsburg." In this he recounts the battle roval
between the Wabash and the Pennsylvania
when the Gould line proved the victor by IFS
very holiness in securing on the last dav of
Congress The passage Of joint resolution per
mitting the building Of the innocuous trolley
bridge over the Ohio. which gave it a terminal
IN the enemy's stronghold. Another feature Of
the strategy Of the newer roads is that already