The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1907-03-16
NATIONAL COMMENT
A pisheartened Railroad Man.

!, A Disheartened Railroad Man.
New York World: w. G. Brown,
senior vice president Of the New York
Central lines, seems to be convinced
that if President Roosevelt does not
change his attitude towards the COR
porations right off, the railroads may.
have to stop running and the country
go back to OK carts. RE is SO down
heartened over the situation that he
has let his fears overflow into warn
ing letter intended for Mr. Roosevelt's
teyes.
To begin with, Mr.. Brown does not
see how the railroads are going to OBJ
tain money for needed improvements.
1t happens that his own company, the
New York Central, ten days ago sold
$50, 100000 short term notes, and since
i January l nine companies have sold
! $113,000,000 of the same class of secur-
titles, while within a few months rail-
road capitalization has been increased
l$350,00O,000 by new issues. But these
lare matters to be ignored, since they
do not prove what he wants
AS for investing in railroads. Ahow
can any prudent man of ordinary intel
| ligence think of investing money in a
business against which every mans
hand, from the president down, seems
to be raised?" Why, Mr.. Brown him-
| self confesses that at the present time
he does not own share of railroad
stock as an investment. In fact, he
| has never owned that kind of stock
| He prefers farms, banking stock and
manufacturing enterprises. which pay
| him better than would the best rail-
| road stock in the United States today
| He is a very fortunate man. even if
President Roosevelt does brighten him
half to death. The only people who
can afford, in his opinion, to put their
money in railroad bonds or stocks are
| the rich who are satisfied with low re-
turns, and the rich buy them, he eX-
plains, because they are so safe
Yet number of principal railroads.
in spite of the rate bill and the Roose-
| welt movement against corporations
| have recently raised their dividends
Most of them have more traffic than
they can handle. Some are even COM
planning of the country's prosperity
AS long ago as 1906 the railroads man
aged to earn enough to pay $270,S15,29O
in interest and $203,675,622 in divi-
dends, and their earning have increas-
| led rapidly since then although they
have added little new trackage Mr.
Harrison, who ought to know, thinks
| so well of railroad stocks that he has
bought them in $50,0O0,O00 humps from
| the inside for his corporations and re-
Ifgards them as profitable holdings. He
ieven borrows money to buy them.
Mr.. Brown and his corporation as
sociates should try to calm themselves
Even if the worst happens and Pres
ident Roosevelt refuses to cry quits,
thereswould still be plenty left for them
to do. SO long as the rest of the
country devotes its attention to rails
ing corn and wheat and cotton and Dig
ging coal and making steel the rail-
Ifoads need not despair Their bust
ness is to move freight and passengers.
| If only they viii do that safely and
Ietiiciently, abandon politics and rebates
and obey the laws, they will manage
to survive, although the stock market
may move up and down for reason
not apparent to the public.