Weekly journal-miner., 1909-03-31
(From Saturdays Daiiy)

At the recent rate nearing DeloIe Special Examiner Lyon of the Inter state Commerce Commission, President F. N. Murphy, General Superintendent w. A. Drake, and Traffic Manager P. P. Hastings of the s. F., P. & P. Com pany were witnesses and the testimony they gave was of an interesting char aeter.
 MT Murphy described at some length the story of the building of the north and south road with which most per sons living in the central and north ern par. of the territory are familiar. He spoke of the efforts to raise sub sidy and of the failure of the effort; of the final voting of bonds to the amount of $4,OOO a mile; of the con gressional approval of the legislative act authorizing the bond issue; of its veto by President Harrison, the pop ular indignation that ensued and the subsequent passage of the first railway exemption act.
 There were then two bond issues and later a third, amounting altogether to SIO,OOO,OOO. Then came the taking over of the line, which had been under independent ownership, by the Santa Fe at a cost of about $9,O00,000.
 The North and South Road
 President Murphy described his con- neetion with the road since, the i'm provements which mad been made and the new enterprises which had been instituted and of his earnest purpose to serve the people of the territory.
 He said there had been the heartiest accord on the part of the people of the valley with his efforts until recent ly, when the epidemic which had swept over the country had seemed to strike here.
 MT. Murphy was asked by MT. Nor ton if he had kept in touch with rates. He said Lot intimately, though ne was in frequent conference with the traffic men of the line as to matters closely affecting the valley which he had de- sired to encourage as much as possible. Regarding the 20-cent grain rate of which so much has been heard within the last four days, he said that after it had been in force for some time MT. Jones, the traffic manager of the Maricopa Commercial Club, then gen. eral freight agent of the s. F., P. F., came to him and wanted to raise the rate on grain. Mir. Murphy replied that the rate should stand, but he said Mir. Jones was very persistent about it. "I gathered from what he said, v said MT. Murphy, "that he wanted to establish some sort of scientific rela- tionship between grain and hay"
 The Microbe of Disturbance.
 Speaking further of the subject of rates and the efforts of the company to give the people served by it the best service possible, at the minimum of cost, and of the general apprecia- tion which his efforts had met until lately, he said:
 "There seems to have been just enough grounds for complaint here in Phoenix to germinate the troublesome political microbe that lives off the en- orgies, prejudiees, and jealousies found in every prosperous community. After all. they are rather a harmless lot, and possibly entitled to be classed with sO- called necessary evils. They should not be taken too seriously. We have so good country they can't hurt il much. They will pass like our las' legislature without accomplishing mucf of consequence. Their greatest achieve ment being the unfavorable impression made throughout the country as re suit of lot of foolish talk.
 "It is perfectly ridiculous to clain that individuals or railroads shoul' invest large sums of money in con structing branch lines gratuitously Il order that different communities, no as favorably situated may be place upon an equal footing. Just at tn present time l am the unfortunate own CT of a resort hotel in the foot of tn Bradshaws. Coat that I am using fo
 fuel costs S23.75 a ton, and I pay tn Phoenix merchants and the Prescot merchants their prices for supplie without. so far as I know, offering an complaints. I am very sure it doesn' cost Mr. Adams or Mr. Luhrs an! where nearly as much to supply an manage their hotels as it does me.
 have simply picked out a hard plac in which to do business under existin
 conditions, but I am confident ever