New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-05-15
RAILROAD FORTUNES.
Not Made By the Mem Who Bulb
the Iron HighzCags.

TO the Editor Of The Tribune.
SIR; In speech delivered here yesterday. pres,.
Gent Roosevelt said:
,,. Sow gentlemen let me In the first place inss.
tt TINS ract, that should keep ever he fors ne
snSt Ine men who have built up the great railway
have b7 % Ihls country Ike the other men who
a rEis - Eu4eLtnere are exceptions. but have as
hting. and not to harming the country ~ O1iie-
+beir aeI-t; oeneit ana not HARM has come from
tT S h ana In making fortunes for themselves
b e3s hve done ne good to an Of We have an
s. y Ihe talents or the great captains ~
HuuStIy. 1 am speaking. I say as A rIIle vyftb
full knowledge OF the exceptions TO What s ss
D1S I,sltssLGins those exceptions In making gen
We cannot afford to do damage 70 thosa me-, -
cannot afford to DO injustice 10 any nase use
poor tb in the next place because DO such daaSs
wage workers and among the general public
Inc President Is utterly mistaken II Ia thinks
.Nal the railroad ouilders-that Is the men who
nave furnished the money TO build the railroads
nave made their fortunes out Of the profits OF rau
road building or out Of the roads after they were
built. cannot remember one dozen ma, 81, IN
the noted railroad builders OF the United sra+e.
mat have made either fortunes or even fair inter
est on the money they invested IN railroads
Samuel Sloan, Dean Richmond & Co. Who b-,rt
the Hudson River road. what IS now the New
York Central. made no fortunes out OF than, ~
In fact ever got back the money they put into
them. NO one made a fortune by building the Eria
road. but every dollar that was put into its build
A4A6 HdS AOSI DJ the investors. I ear ~
person connected with the building OF the Pennsvl
vania road that ever got rich out OF II -5a r..
ton and Albany road never paid back to the in
vestors in 1t what they put into It. No road 4,
New England ever enriched its builders MANY
short roads then paid fair interest on tho money
invested. and that was all The Baltimore and
Ohio road more nearly meets the Presidents fdsa
but the building OF It did not enrich the Gar
retts 1t was another venture than the ROAD
building that made the elder Garrett very rich
NO road IN all the South ever paid back % the
pioneer builder % cents for each dollar he NUT m
No road IN the Middle States gave back 70 tbs IN
weston 10 cents on his dollar Even the great HI
nois Central enriched others than its builders Fha
ruin and bankruptcy Of the builders OF the Chtrap,
and Alton road are but too We'll known The great
Northwestern road, in place OF enrfchiuE its build
ers, ruined them. This was also the case bur
even more so, with the builders OF the SiiV7--ss
and st. Paul Company, for not only were It's build
ers made paupers. but nearly all the farmers along
hundreds OF miles Of its line were swallowed up IN
the ruin by having mortgaged their farms 70 help
along the building No road east OF the Missouri
River and south OF st. Paul ever enriched its
builders.
We now have left one road north OF ST. Paul that
has enriched its builders and one, or perhaps two
west OF the Missouri River that have made fortunes
for the men who risked their all in the property
There are over twelve hundred independent rail-
road corporations in the United States. and the
builders of not more than three Of them were made
rich by the building one-quarter OF 1 per cent Is
but very small percentage for the President OF
the United States 20 base theory on. The Van
derbilts, and Goulds and Edgar Thomson, and
William Bliss, and Alexander Mitchell and W. B
Ogden and the few others who got rich out OF rail-
road ventures did not get rich out OF building the
roads out OF the money that was earned by the
traffic thereof These facts Mr.. Editor, &C
cessibIe to all who have any desire TO learn ths
truth. Respectfully yours ]. 7. PARSONS.
Chicago, May II, 1905.