New-York tribune., 1907-10-02
RAILROADS HELD UP.
MANAGEMENT CRITICISED
p. S. Commissioner Says Inefficient
NeR Should Be RemOUed.


The street Railway Association of the State "f
| New York and the Empire state Gas and Electric
Association held joint meeting last night in ths
! concert hall Of Madison Square Garden. The
| speakers were Frank ". Stevens chairman of the
Public Service Commission second district, on the
work Of his commisson Henry J. Pierce. president
of the International Railway Company, "The Eec-
tric Railway Situa toon of To-day DR. Alexander
| G. Humphreys president of the Stevens Institute
! Control Of Gas Companies by State Coumls-
sicns" and Everett W Burdett. National Electric
! Light Association. Public Control from the Cor
| pcrato Standpoint"
Commissioner Stevens. without mentioning the
I,.mes OF tho companies. told of many complains
Of the reficjcncy Of of the railroads. and ex-
pressed his horror at tho numerous deaths ana IT.
| urics caused on these. although he said that In
some instances these were caused by contributors
| negligence. He said that the commission VIII 10
all in its power promote the efficiency of rail-
roads. but that in doing the legal rights OF the
| corpora tons will be protected. The commissions
| said that it time that the power Of the state
was invoked to remedy certain evils, and the Fuo-
| lie Service Commission deserved 10 have the sup
| port OF the corporations. Commissioner stevens
| speech. in part, follows:
| What will have to say tonight will not be
an Official or anfh9ItatDg are not
bound by my utterances. 80 man can =, hon3raT,E % i
& he mfmber OF The commlsSion i "V9 No ought pT not
in the first place forget the impor'ant PA Rsa'S h
out them, and any action to cripple or harm them
would be an offence lot only AGAINST tne cor cor
are enacted to promote justice and prevent tnJuS
tce, and corporations have legal rights that shouu
| one wrong cannot be rghted by doing another
| the efficiency OF corporations; and when they per,
S rewsrs e t5e are "" enPad to- hnd the com
mission is entitled to the hearty support OF the
Nor is there any indication but what the cor
hc tpah %l s t a l%o to S Work is charSed To-
| fiEe men Human life seems at lines to be hTld @
! thousand killed annually and ninety-eight thou
sand injured This slaughter is terrible and APP
~ It is gnpeaSant but i is my duty 3o to say 5 H. that
thirty instances Of persons injured due to Ignorance
OF mPoyes in Their work 1t is The duty % Of the he
not not eXoctm II to have al these things done at once
| Henry ! Pierce said in his speech the electric
railway situation that the railways will Cheerfully
obey the Public Service Commission law. although
at first he opposed to it. The railways. he
| said had the dual duty Of giving the public good
service and returning to the stockholders
| sonable profit on their investment. Good prices
| for material. he said. meant good prices for the
makers manufacturer and workman.
Mr. Pierce said:
The electric street railway may not increase It's
material has advanced over 20 per cent in three
years The pubc is ever expecting greater a'n
creased power. more houses. more efficient and
therefore higher priced trainmen. better and more
frequent renewal Of pavements extension OF tracks
into sparsely settled neighborhoods while the state
tion. Under this combination OF circumstances one
| of four things must inevitably occur:
! First-Poorer service.
secoqdnPrlce Of labor and material reduced.
| Fourth-Taxaton reduced
99Pos1Tn Tnt to n o the rate Fl fare Is not
! the newest type OF cars more cars. better
dC 9@q f Sf GondSG edition on g 10 more on e
acting with street railroads than with any other
! form Of business; Public officials reflect the atti
| tude of the public IN this regard. Municipalities
we find the one feasible, and valid method Of re-
nevlng the e1iSung Slutation,, me nnniciianMty ny
| heavy expenditure yearly required and tho tire
mendous cost Of operation and maintenance. re-
| public and materially benehtng the municipality
thes.of. the added load Of taxes could or should be
The majority OF street railroads more over
capitalized than real estate IS oyercaptalized.
in eS.m2ed NJ led, 4nf lgy so per cent
paying diyidends / am not CroakinF feel that
| every man present here who is familiar with tho
truth of what have said. II IS no rumble 10 fore
tho business point Of view. between the electric
! railway and the value received which they give
the electric tiiways that are in need OF the most
| help from their father nhe state1. their mother
che unicp2X) that e they redHTe the hrst aid
! Service Commissionl To- keep them out OF the
lender. The electric railway cannot sell its bonds
| and the only money II can secure is what Il can
|
| coax from its conductors.
| WARM WORDS FOR ROOSEVELT.
DR.. Alexander C. Humphreys aroused enthusiasm
| by his tribute TO President Roosevelt for the
cess of his fight against illegal corporate power,
| which he said unmatched" He spoke in
favor of the state control OF gas companies. and
| also praised the personnel of tho Public Service
| Commission. Dr. Humphreyss speech in part, fol-
| lows:
| Public service corporations have been between
| two fires | not here to speak against reform
| that Is, true reform. There has been need of
| form in connection with the matters under discus
| sion tonight Apparently, the cue has been taken
| from Washington. With his striking personality,
| his tremendous force, his restless and almost
| sistless energy, his enormous capacity for work.
his ability impress his auditors with the belief
that his intentions honest. his supreme self
| OF the industrial corporations of the
conducting their business outside Of the law, and.
| ability as a politician President Roosevelt has
| been able 10 make a record against the power Of
! capital which is not matched, as far as know, in
the history Of the world The odds at first seemed
| to he overwhelmingly against him, but he has
| perseVered against the odds and has for the time
! won The public loves a fighter especially
one who fights against odds Roosevelt by his ali-
| daCity has the applause and votes OF tho
! people. and apparently still retains their conf
! dence.
Thus the President has done immense amount
| Of good and in the doing he has done an Inn
history to strike the balance and show whether it
rests upon the side Of harm good.
Everett W Burdett on the public control from
the corporate point OF view, expressed the opinion
that the future attitude OF the corporations
toward public supervision and control would be
| friendly and not hostile
FAST TRAINS IN CRASH.