The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-31
RIPLEY DENOUNCES CUMMINS
SANTA FE PRESIDENT ItLLS
SENATOR'S TAM UNTRUE.
Deelares mat Iowa InsurGenir state
menus About railway Captt alisa tIoa
aud Fronts Are Misleading anu N-re
Made Only to Raise Public t1amor.

CHIcAoo. July So.-In an open letter
! to-day President Ripley 81 the Santa re
Railroad branded as untrue and unfair
stAtenleats made by Senator Cumnlns
| In his Peabody. Kan. ChautAuquA speech.
I and then asked him a number OF parti-
/ merit questions. The .etter in part 10 A.
| follows:
y hold no brief for senator Aldrich.
The hin he introduced In Congress was
I in no sense in the interest 90 the railroads
On the contrary. IL was intensely disliked
by them. According 20 your account
he has sins enough 70 answer for-and he
certainly should he Absolved from the
sin tin your eyesD Of having IN any manner
favored the railroads. II 10 true that
the So-called Administration bill was
shown Co some OF the railroad presidents
after IL was drawn, and Il IL also true that
they unAvailingly protested against it,
terms.
You say that the railroads Of the
United States are capitalized at seventeen
billions and that you have not heard IL
claimed that they Represent an actual
investment 81 over eight billions: that the
remaining nine billions represents money
earned by the railroads Csxtort.d from
the people 10 your way OF expressing
IL and invested in tn. properties. Also
that in ten years Cyou do not say what
tsn years) the railroads issued securities
Of tho face vaie Of three and a half
billions without the investment OF
single penny % original capital.
III you had cared TO max. fair state
nient instead OF an innammAtory and
partisan speech you would have stated
that Of the seventeen billions Of nominal
capitalization only thiTtsen and a half
billions u In the hands Of the public. and
you would have stated that substantially
20 per cent. OF this capitalization paid no
return and that the entire return OF out
standing capital was SIS per cent
These figures were just As readily
obtainable from the report Of the Inter.
state Commerce Commission a. those you
selected for your purposes. II you had
cared To tell the whole truth | do not
think II would he possible to ascertain
o. this date just how much original
Investment has gone into our railroads
Millions on millions have heen lost sight
OF: millions wiped out by foreclosure.
Yet ! am willing to venture my opinion
against yours that this original invest
ment FAR exceeds the eight billions you
allow. but even II Ne admit this distorted
view the earning. were lees thar 10 per
cent. on this eight billions
We know land you know. because you
have admitted in that tn. existing capital
probably does not exceed the cost OF re-
production. Your idea therefore seems
TO be that tbs railroads alone Of all the
industries OF the country are not to he
permitted 10 share in the country's PROS
perity and growth. though they have
been the chief means OF creating IL: that
those who riskei their money IA railroad
securities ia the early days are entitled
20 no profits beyond simple interest:
that although the Kansas farmer has
seen his land advance In value 40O OF 500
per cent. due 70 the building OF the rail-
road. he should contribute 10 its support
nothing more than interest on the origin al
Investment regardless OF the risk the
Investor took and Of the years when hfs
return was nothing Permit me to ask
how you reconcile this position with the
statement that you are not opposed to
the railroads.