Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-12-04
RAILROADING, OLD AND NEW
Great Changes in Management as Well
as Equipment and Speed.
PHYSICAL AND FINANCIAL SIDES
Two Problems Must he Considered in
Discussing Announcements which
Have Been Made in n
decade
Decade.

In the history OF the Erie-and more than
any other American line the Erie has
history-the reorganization of 1895 stands
as a dividing line between the new and the
old The "old" was the time Of Jay Gould
and Jim Fiske ct al, who used to carry
the offices OF the road around in their
pockets, and OF old Dan Drew. whose
printing presses used to be run overtime
turning out uncounted reams OF stock. The
new is the time OF the sober operation
OF the company by a group Of highly
efficient traffic men. handicapped, it is
true, by their legacy Of msmanagement
ard Decentralization, but striving with all
the power that is in them TO make their
great property what il ought TO be.
When the present management came in
a few years after the reorganization. it
was tremendous task with which they
found themselves faced on its record
people had no faith in the Erie. Its credit
was gone. Its equipment and its roadbed
We're IN a lamentable condition. Worse
than that the new management soon
enough came TO find how difficult was
economical operation Of a line whose rails
had been laid along the route offering the
largest subscriptions instead OF the least
grade resistance. To build the necessary
eut-offs. and to eliminate the killing grades
on this uphill and down-dale route was
possible enough, but required money-lots
OF IL. That the company did not have and
could not borrow Capitalization ana cap
ital are two mighty different things. The
company had plenty OF the former but
lack OF the latter on more than one oc-
casion during those early years Of the re-
organization came perilously near sending
the whole property back into bankruptcy.
AS lately as only three years ago Indeed
lack OF working capital came near bring
ing TO naught all that the new manage
men has done for the property and throw
Ing a into receivers hands. The panic hit
the Erie particularly hard. Gross earnings
fell off tremendously while expenses In
creased Between that upper and neither
milestone net revenues, which had beer
SSH. 900 in 1907. fen off 70 SO2U,Oo0 IN
1893. with big issue OF short-term notes
coming due il looked very squally for q
time. But at the very moment OF danger
strong financial interests stepped in and
provided the necessary cash.
Remarkable Earnings.
How well justified they were in theii
Judgment that the road ough TO be puulet
through is seen in she remarkable earnings
shown since that time. Probably there q
not another road In the country that ca
show so complete a right-about-face II
condition and outlook during the last couph
OF years as can the Erie. For the yea
ending June, 1905. there had been de
flcit OF s.. $4,000 During the next twelv'
months gross earning were so increases
and expenses were so cut down that insteas
OF a deficit the road had a surplus o
81 566 600 And during the next fiscal year
ending June, 1910 the recovery was carried
stl further Gross earnings reached th
surprising total OF 50 SCI. 900. while operating
expenses were only very slightly increased
ire result was that total met income ex
ceeded Se0O0000O as against less than $4,000.
o0a d 1904 and that the years operation