The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-09-27
RAILROAD NEWS.
Frank FARRELL Tells of Publicity
Work on Santa Fe.
Believes Newspapers Are Fair in
Railway Questions.
PLAY FOR APPLAUSE.
Says Politicians Are Hunting
for Public Praise.
Other Items OF General Inter-
est in Traffic World.

j. f. FARRELL, press agent of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa F'e Railway
company, whose job embraces a wide
range of activity, from writing up the
company's side of the physical valua-
ton question, to giving out news about
the new village sidetracks, says the
newspapers along the line generally
are inclined to be fair in their treat
ment of the railroads.
THE papers have printed some I'M.
friendly. comment about the railroads,
Mr.. FARRELL says. but most of it is in
the form of interviews or speeches
given out by a few professional poll
ticians. These contributions, coming
from men well known in the commun-
1ty, are regarded by editors as legiti-
mate news, being the utterances of
public men.
I'm this strenuous age a politician
called upon to say something must
come across with a hot one, or the
public will have none of him. He does
his best to make good with the COM
mlttee on applause, and in this effort
he has found the railroad question a
fine field of operation. In his zeal to
push ahead of his competitors in the
race for fame, and not being hampered
by facts, he has made charges against
the railroads which are not true
THE newspapers haven't the time to
investigate these charges, so they
credit them to the men who make
them, and print them for what they
are worth. The Santa Fe has under
taken to defend itself against these
false charges, that there may be a
better understanding between the COM
pany and it's patrons, the public Pa
perS that print unfair attacks made by
politicians are as a rule, willing to
give the railroad company's side of the
To &c
posed to bore the newspapers by rush
ing into print about every trivial thing
said about the company, but it will ex-
ercise its right to make reply to false
accusations which tend to place the
road and it's management in a bad
light before the people.
THE public often forms an opinion
of some phase of the railroad question
by reading what the politicians have
to say on the subject When people
see it in the paper, they set it down
as so, unless the statement is ques-
toned. Unfortunately, false charges
against the railroads have not generally
been questioned, with the result that
there is prejudice against railroads,
without any desire on the part of the
public to be prejUdiced. People simply
have drifted into a prejudiced condi-
ton by reading only one side of. the
case. The Santa Fe will try to re-
move any prejudice in the minds of
its patrons by giving the other side.
That's the idea President Ripley had
when he started the Santa Fe bureau
of publicity
In addition to his work of giving
publicity to the Santa Fe's side of
questions involving the company and
the public, Mr.. FARRELL has Inaugural
ted bulletin service for the distribu-
ton of Santa Fe news He puts his
stuff out in the form of short items,
printed on slips. for the convenience
of editors, whose readers are interest
ed in Santa Fe affairs.