The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-18
PRAISE THEMSELVES
PExNsYfyANrA HAILRO1D DE-
 CLAREs ALL EMPLOYEES HONEST
Assert that Rank InJustice Hes Been Done system By Interstate Commerce Commission in
 various Reports.

New York. Feb. 17.--"A mistaken ! public opinion. misinformed as to the facts because of the publication of portions and not the whole of the tes- timony of the witnesses before the In- terstnte Commerce Commission and. therefore, passing its conclusions upon Insufficient premises. has done grave | lintustice to the whole service of the | lPennsyivania Railroad Company.
 That service is of more than sixty years growth; it is constituted, in the main. of educated. trained and self-re- specting men whose honorable lives have won the esteem of those who know them best; 1t has it's traditions of loyalty and 1t has had. in its suc- cessive officers examples of unseltsh devotion to duty and steadfast adhe- renee to the right" This. in brief. Is the report of the special committee appointed by the Board of Directors of the Pennsylya- mia Railroad Company nearly a year ago to examine into the facts connected with the acquisition and ownership by officers and employees of the company Of stock or other interest in any com pany, the holding of which could affect the performance of their duty or the company's duty to the public. The al- legged acceptance of gratuities by em- p1oyes of the company was also in-
 
 result of it's examination of 2,055 of- ficers and employees. including every officer of the several companies whose individual action or whose order to any subordinate could effect any discrim- ination, the committee reports 1t found that 266 had interests in coal or other corporations or firms, or with individ- uals.
 With the exception of fifteen, all ot these had acquired their interest by purchase. The fifteen admitted that they had received gifts of shares or interests in various corporations and their names have been reported to the Presidents of the several railroad com- panies for appropriate action.
 On the whole, the report vindicates the officers and employees in all depart ments of the Pennsyivaia system. The committee expresses itself as satisfied that the purchasing department had bee-. administered with marked ability ana with unswerving fidelity to the in- terest of the shareholders. Allega- tions of favoritism to certain shippers of freight, mainly coal. are treated with considerable length by the com- mittee, which sums up the results of It's investigation Of these subjects with the statement that there is not and has not been on the part of the rail. road company any discrimination as between shippers In the facilities given for the exercise for that legal right.
 Much of the trouble which led to the allegations the committee believe was due to the so-cailed Individual cars. While recognizing all the disadvan- tages. however, the railroad company has not yet seen its way clear to do away with the individual cars. The principal reason given for inability to discontinue the individual car servce is that equipment cannot be provided rapidly enough to meet the growth of business
 On charges of discrimination to favored shippers in the bituminous coal fields the committee quotes the report of company of expert accountants who made an investigation of the mat ter. The accountants report declares ''That the officers of the railroad com pany have fair operating or other req s0ns to present in explanation of such seeming preferences and discrimina- tious-"
 With regard to the charges of favor itism In car distribution to the Her wind White coal mining company, the cnmmittee's report says that the Penn sv1vania's relation in no way constitu- tes preference to the coal mining company.