The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-20
will not be expected To pay particular
attention to its provisions
NOT WJLLFUL.

The railroads are held to an accoun-
liability by the public FOR many things
done and nndone. seen and unseen.
heard and unheard In point of fact.
the railroads are responsible for a
great deal; in some degree even the
prosperity Of the country is Ia be
charged TO them-just as in larger de
gree the railroad building is chargeable
to the prosperity of the country.
In one respect, however, we think
that the accountability is wrongly
placed. The coal shortage is some sec
tions and The inability TO move the
grain to market-these are attributed
to willful disregard by the railroads
of the public right. Even moment s
reflection ought TO disabuse the popu
lace of any such idea Whatever may
have been the original wrong in the
coal mining regions. there is no pres
ent unwillingness on the part of rail
roads to carry coal nor is there any lack
of desire on the part of transportation
companies to haul the farmers grain.
The prosperity of the country has ad-
vanced more rapidly than transporta-
tion facilities in some cases Not
long ago, Mr. James J. Hill-taking
issue with Mr.. L. H. Harriman-said
that the country was less in need of
new railway lines than in need of more
equipment. That seems TO be the crux
of the difficulty. All the car works
in the United States are flooded with
orders, and vet the demand continues
and with greater and greater force each
day. The steel car with its capacity
of sixty tons, with its durability and
therefore it's constant service, was sup
posed to do away with all car short
age; but since its advent in railway
work the increase of demand for
freight transportation has multiplied
over and over again; and the cry is
ever: More equipment One rail
way company operating in Salt Lake
handles between this city and Ogden
two hundred freight cars each twenty
four hours, and it Is fair guess that
this is twice the normal business of
FIVE years ago. From the Ogden yards
more than five hundred freight cars
are sent out each day; and this is
probably four To six times the amount
of business of ten years ago. Pros
pcrity-prosperity in all branches of
production and in all domains of con-
sumption, prosperity on the farm,
prosperity III the factory, prosperity in
the mines and smeltcrs, prosperity in
fnance-this prosperity, such as no
Nation ever saw in the previous record
ed history of the world, has overtaxed
the railway equipment capacity and is
with the difficulty of securing labor
directly responsible for the coal short
age and for the rotting grain and the
heaps Of unmoved sugar beets along the
great railway lines.
There may he many Just criticisms
of the manner in which coal lands have |
been secured and in the discrimination
against private owners or unattached
corporations seeking to operate coal
properties. This is distinct and lns-
tilted complaint, and law and admins
tration are operating to correct the evil
But after pronouncing judgment of
wrongdoing upon railway companies for
these offenses against public interests
and against the statutes, it is distinctly
unfair for the public to additionally ac-
cuse the transportation lines of will
fully apd arrogantly declining to carry
either coal or grain to market The
railways make their money out of trans
porting goods from the point of produc
tion to the point of consumption; and
they are not so foolish as to deliber-
ately cut off their revenues.