Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-03-23
Hartman and Gould Men Discuss
Affairs, Present, Past
And Future.
BOTH STATEMENTS DIFFER.
One Says Business is Not Available
While Other Says Improvement
Is Noticeable.

Julius KruttsChnitt, who is making
an extended tour through the west, has
this to say of conditions generally:
Business has reached quite a low wa
ter mark and any faint hope is eagerly
seized. We have hopes, however, of
business soon recovering from its pres
ent state of fright and getting back
into the old channel Some lay the
cause of business depression to one
thing and some to another and can
not say myself, what the cause is, We
hope the revival will not have to wait
until after the presidential election.
FEWER MEN NEEDED.
THE most distressing thing to me in
this case Is that the splendid new shops
the Union Pacific has In Omaha are
idle. IL does not take as many men to
keep up the equipment as 1t did six
months ago, owing to the number of
engines out of service and not requir
ing repairs.
HARD TO LAY OFF MEN.
"'ro men who are responsible for the
operation of these lines. II is harder
task TO be compelled to lay men off
than most people think. one year ago
we were handling vast volume of
freight and doing it on a small mar
gin, but the amount was so great that
we made money and barrels of 1t. Now
the business Is not available and we
have to move freight on the same mar
gin, and therefore, cannot show prof
it's"
Asked whether new work and inn
provements would have to wait for a
resumption of business activity, Mr..
Kruttschnitt said he did not think any
railroad manager was now thinking of
starting any new developments. They
were still busily engaged in trying to
keep down operating expenses and
make them conform with the decreased
business of the country.
An official of the Missouri Pacific
discussing the present situation and the
outlook for the future, says;
our traffic is larger and l look for
further gain. Merchandise movement
should expand because dealers let their
stocks run low. Commodity tonnage
shows slight Improvement in the in
dustrial situation. Agriculturally we
are between seasons,
MISSOURI PACIFIC GAINS.
Farmers will soon begin spring
work which will mean more business
for the railroads. Winter wheat has
| done well There is u good deal of corn
| in the country, most of IL in bad con-
| dition. Dry March winds would make
| much of IL merchantable SO that we
| might get considerable tonnage. Mis-
| souri, Pacific territory is very produce
| tive though only half developed.
we cannot advance rates to an eN-
tent worth mentioning, but we can get
along If we are not compelled TO reduce
| them. The Nebraska railroad commits
| sion asks us to show cause why they
should be reduced. In Kansas the rail-
| roads have had to go to court to protect
| themselves against an arbitrary and
| sweeping reduction. In Nebraska we
| hope this will be unnecessary.
| Throughout the west politicians are
| finding out 1t does not pay to attack
corporations indiscriminately, as It US
ed to. ! believe the anti-railroad cam
| paign in most western states Is near
| the end.
Operating conditions are satisfac-
| tory. Wages are too high in relation to
| earnings, but the men at work are pro
| ducing more units of effort and in a
better spirit than for a long time"