Norwich bulletin., 1910-08-26
ARTHUR s, BARNES.
The Connecticut Editorial Association

The Connecticut Editorial Association. The New York, New Haven and Hart
 ford Railroad Company.
 Presidents ORce
 New Haven, Conn. Aug. 24, 1910. Messrs. Everett G. Hill, President, Ar
 thur s. Barnes. Secretary, Connec-
 ticut Editorial Association, New
 Haven, Connecticut:
 Dear Sirs: I have received your let ter of the Sth instant. in which you ask me for my opinion about proposed leg islation to regulate public service cor
 Corporations.
 In the country at large, legislation upon this subject seems to be inf1u- enced to a considerable extent by a prejudice against corporations. But a corporation is in general only a finan- cial arrangement adapted to permit many individuals-men women and children-to use their separate savings in large business undertakings, under a management which they can trust. If it had not been for this financial ex- pedient the industrial history of Con necticut would have been much humber To test this proposition one has only to imagine what any city or industrial village in Connecticut would he today without corporations. Where would the wages paid in Connecticut come from if there were no corpora tfons to pay them2 Who if these wages
 
 of the merchants. and where would be the market for farm produce?
 Railroad Corporations.
 Tn the country at large there are also appearances Heating the influence of a particular prejudice against railroad companies. I wish very much that every man. before indulging in any vague prejudice of this sort. would stop to think what a railroad really is.
 In the first place, it is an enormous physical plant specially adapted to the performance of services of great gen. eral importance, which has been ere ated by the money of investors and the earnings of that money In the sec ond place. it is an enormous and com plicated human organization.
 Organization.
 The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad company Is an or ganization of 35.OOO men, every one of whom plays an essential part in the operat tion of the railroad. Acts of omis- sion or neglect. often slight and gener- ally very human, on the part of any one of thousands of these men may cause discomfort and often danger to a considerable number. Bad judgment or i'll temper shown by individuals may be very annoying. Experiences of these kinds do occur, they must always where human agency is relied upon- Yet ignoring entirely any personal con tribution of my own. I may with pro priety say of this great organization. taken as whole. that it's results will bear careful comparison with the re- suits achieved by the organization Of any railroad in this country. or of any similar body of men in the world.
 The Plant.
 The plant of this company is not perfect. I can see. perhaps more clear ly than anybody else. how much money needs to be spent on it in order to n. ake it fully adequate. Yet I am not aware of any railroad in the country which has a phantom the whole more adapted to the service of the public. Is There Prejudice Against Investors7 Since early colonial days the govern neent of Connecticut has been charac- terized by exceptional steadiness and business of judgment. There is today no more thoughtful people in the world than the people of Connecticut. I have a right, therefore, to hope that the quire will not be promoted or framed in response to any populistic clamor aga inst railroads. Against what or whom would such a clamor be really directed? Against the investors? over tY erty thousand stockholders of the company hold less than fifty shares Of it's stock. Most apparently large holdings are really for the benefit l of many individuals-men. women and rhiiCTer. None of the investors in the securities of this company receives which they have paid for these securi- 1 ties.
 Is It Against the Organization? Is tEere to be a clamor against the opel atlng organization? If so it is fair | 10 ask against what element of tlfe or ganization this claror is directed. Il presume that very many can suggest