The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-09-25
RAILROAD news.
Reading Rooms am Important
Feature Of Santa FO.
Help the Employees to Become
Experienced i'm Railroading.
HAS COST OVER S25O,OOO
Superintendent Busser Working
to Attain Greater Results.
Other Items of Interest in
Railway Circles.

! Apropos OF the rapidly growing
troll of honor Of railroads which have
gone through the entire year without
| the loss of a single life among their
vast armies of passengers, and the i'm
| portant place given to the care and in
telligence Of the rank and file of rail-
| road men in explanation Of the records
it is interesting to note the extent to
which one of the great systems has
gone to provide for the careful and
| Intelligent use of its property.
The Santa Fe which claims to be
pioneer and leader in this modern de-
partment Of railroading after eleven
years has come to look upon the great
organization of reading rooms and
| club houses with which it exerts an
employees as one of the prime neceS-
stiles of it's operation, for which ap-
| propriation is to be made as regularly
as for track and rolling, stock.
The reading rooms have long since
passed the stage of being an expert
ment and one of the greatest hardshipS
possible would be worked out upon the
men were the abandoned The work
is not a philanthropic undertaking,
and is not entirely unalloyed unset
fishness. The successful operation of
railroad depends largely on the
character and efficiency of the employ
are raised the returns are great. That
the directors of the road are salts
fed with the returns which they have
been receiving as they appropriated
more this year than ever before.
The system of reading rooms and
club houses was begun in 1898 and
was the idea of President E. p. Ripley.
The plan was launched at meeting
the purpose in Chicago. The first
buildings were small. badly lighted and
poorly ventilated. At present one OF
the most palatial club houses. Recrea-
ton Hall, at Needles, Cal, cost $50, 600,
has three bowling alleys, billiard
hall, card rooms, reading room, gym
nasium, auditorium, nator1um and all
the appointments of a complete cruz.
On the entire Santa Fee system there
are now five reading rooms and club
houses, and thirty-five reading rooms
The cost of operating these is about
$4,000 a year, exclusive or renewals
iodicals The yearly cost of papers
alone is $2,5OO. During the entertain
ment season of six months the exc
pense Of providing entertainments Is
and Improvement entail an outlay or
Counting the first cost of the build
ings and furnishings, the santa re
has over a quarter of a million invest
ed in this department. In thke IL
braries of the reading rooms there
are now nearly 10000 volumes, OF
which forty per cent are fiction, TWEEN
ty per cent history. fifteen per cent
biography. fifteen per cent technical
and the rest general. 1t is estimated
that on each calendar day of the year
an average of 1000 employees use the
reading rooms.
During the last year nearly 500 en-
tertainments were given on the line,
and an average of one first class con-
cert was given every week at the read
ing rooms For the coming year, Rev.
S. E. Busser, who is in charge OF the
reading rooms intends to provide |
smaller number of entertainments but
to make them all better than before. |
1t is likely that several college glee |
clubs will be taken over the system, as
was the University college quartette;;
High-grade talent in the professional
concert line is also to be provided, |
and negotiations are on with two con
cert companies in Berlin and one in
Paris Many lecturers will be heard. |
among them being DR.. Arthur J. Fran |
els of Chicago, who will give a COM |
plete illustrated lecture on "Oxford |
and Its History