The Elk Mountain pilot., 1909-02-25

and out OF commission, but We DC
not consider this an excuse for not
going ahead and opening the road
~ years tefore the rotary was evel
dreamed of the company had men
employed to do this work. 1t il
now three weeks since a car of con
has gone out frnm any Of the sev
eral mines here and hundreds ol
men have been idle during thi:
time and a single days work oi
these men would have sufhced tc
have opened the track frcm this
place to the main line.
1t 10 n we'll known fact that this
place has been fsr twenty years
the main shipping point Of the D
and r. G.. system and that more
cars are brought here aud loaded
out every day in the year than from
all other points over the entire
Marshall Pass system. 1t is also
known that the revenues derivec!
from each days traffic alone would
pay the wage OF Ave hundred snow
shovellers each day employed,
which , evidence that the manage
ment here 10 lacking in economical
judgement. The idle miners would
lie glad to aid in opening the road
in order to return to the work when
the tracks were cleared and the
traffic resumed with cars on every
spur ready for loading. It is said
that one Of the railway Sosses On
this division made the remark that
he vas net going to make another
attempt to open the track up into
the elaborated town of Crested
Butte. II this he true. and sucli 10
the true attidu lie Of the individual
the railroad bs.tter pension him at
$500 per day aud send him to the
Sand~ich Islsnds and pu. some
person in his place having the re-
quir,.d amount OF energy aud the
backls,ne to master every sitnation
10 wns done under manager Ridge
way during many . wors- winter
fus spa,w Aasd sas~. ssdEs 49, the
pr~s-nt one has b..en. This COM
mu nifty has had . kick coming now
Tor more thas . year regarding the
manner in which the railroad li&s
been handling the mail contract,
whereby there las been absolutely
no attention paid as 10 regularity
Of delivery. The schedule has been
wholly disrrgarded regulating the
incoming and Jut going mails and
during the past year the average
service has been from four TO six
hours la.e. Inst-ad Of receiving
the mail at l 20 p. IN. it would lie
dark or perhaps midnight b~fore
the mail train arrived. No protest
however, has been entered. an ! the
thing has b-en permitted to 90 on
from month to month AID ye1r in
and ont.
It would appear that the most
-urf-ctual method is the present
un~ in use on the system aud the
employees, realizing this, have Lost
all interest and become careless ~
to results. The s+nding of . work
train out FROM GunnisOn at four o
cI,s,k in the afternmH to jacks
Cabin ~ begin to buck seow, only
means to returo before teust IL be.
gun, ~ the distsnc- is Atsen miles.
There 10 no reason why the ssme
plan could not be employed In the
clearing OK snow from the tracks -
lin regular construction work where
the train employed has its board
ing and sleeping cars attached and
remain stationary until the work
is completed. Many reasons are
given for seeming lack OF usual
good service this section OF the
r ,sd has I.e~n accustomed with and
lth. m.in one of these 10 the lack
II motive power and equipment
for which want it IL no longer
worthy Of h+inR called q railroad
system. This town and the mines
tributary to it, are short many
thousands OF dollars in revenues