The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1907-03-07
President FindIey's Address at Atlanta.


President Findley's Address at Atlanta.
Mr. W. W. Findley, president Of the
Southern Railway Co., was the guesl
Of honor at a banquet given by the peO-
pie of Chattanooga on February l4th,
The mayor Of the city, Hon. William
F. FrierSon, presided, and the hosts Of
he evening included the leading busi.
e,s aud professional men of Chatta-
pooga. The speech of the mayor lead
ing up to the toast to Mr.. Finley and
other speeches made during the even
ing indicated an intelligent apprecia-
ton on the part of the people Of Chat
tanooga of the importance of harmOni-
IuS relations hpt~ een the public and
the railways. Proposing the toast to
Mr.. Finley, Mayor Frierson said:
president Fmley-fsir and broad
miuded, brought up in the school Of
tailroadIng aud tried and experienced
III all its departments, mindful Of the
lual responsibility resting upon him to
serve faithfully and with exact Justice
both the public and the private interests
en- .rusted to his cAre---we hail his i'd.
vent to the supreme power Of his com
pauy In the full cOnAdsnce thAs be 10 .
worthy auoosnAor OF Sannel spencer" "
Replying TO this toast, Mr.. FINLEY
aid:
"I make my grateful acknowledge
ueuts toyon for ) our cordial greeting
recognize it ss MI expression Of yOnr
interest in the work of transportation
and development with which my life 10
identified. welcome It Nh an indica-
tion of a harmony of relationship be-
tween the great carriers-of the country
,ud the public whom they serve.
Railroads and their relations to the
oublic have never been. SO universally
discussed az during the past two years
this discussion leads to better nn-
ipr.tanding of existing conditions and
{ the independence OF the railroads
md the people, it will be productive OF
much good TIL" phenOrnenSl prosper
ity Of th4 country has taxed its trans
portation facilities to the utmost and
las brought railway mausgerE face to
ace with problems Of unprecedented
magnitude, to the solution of which
hey are devoting all their energies
here are those " no believe tllKt these
rohlems can be solved by legislation,
md some of the schemes put forward
,uggest the idea that their authors
credit railway maugers with superhu-
nan powers and with ability to go Oh
increasing wages, buying cars and 10
comotives, bridging rivers, tunuelinE
mountaias. LAYING double tracks, and
mllding new lines even though railway
earning4 be cnt down to the vanishing
point. Bnt railway managers are only
,uman. They have nc, magic carpets
hich freight and passengers can
e transported with the speed Of
hoaght; nor can they create railroads
md equipment by simply rubbing al
Aladden's lamp Tune, money and
ard work are needed to put the rail
way aystems of the United States in
condition to handle the ever increasing
volume uf traffic, and when the Ameri-
AN people understand What is being
lone and what tho difficulties are, they
will not expect the impossible. When
the situation is thoroughly understood,
intelligent selt interest will lead com
munities to advocate fair treatment for
railways, for they will realize ths,
thoroughly efficient transportation SER
vice can only be afforded by prosper
ous railway, and that if. the road il
crippled, their own prosperity will
surely decline.
"In their efforts to improve the trans
portatiou facilities Of the south, tht
railways are enconntering great diff
cuIties. Chief among these are the
scarcity of labor, the high prices o.
materials aud the overcrowded cOndi
ion of the manufacturing establish
meuts on which they mnst rely for 10
comotives, ears and steel rails AS
result OF these difficulties, oil work il
more or less delayed.
Whatever may be the attitude o
others, ! can not too strongly empha
size the fact that l am most earnes
advocate Of the improvement Of tn
INLAND waterways of the south ss vel
as the harbors of the South Atlsnti
and Gult Coasts.
"The wisest public policy lies in tn
encouragement aud development O
transportation facilities, both rail an,
water, aud any policy which has th
effect of impairing the Effectiveness 9
transportation facilities, either rail O
water, is economically unsonnd sn'
must necessarily interfere with tn
commercial progress Of the country.
During the agitation which prsced
cd the enactment of the Hepburn rail
road rate law there was great des
said about freight rates, but in the ID
bates in congress and in the long hear
iugs before the committees of the tw
houses, where complaints were invited
only very few specific rates werg y
legged to be unreasonably high Itis
fact, a. you all know, that freight rate
in the United States are the lowest j