The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-10-09

SO per cent of the new mileage
| will be west of the Mississippi
river.
When the 1907 panic overlook
! the country there were under con
struction 5000 miles OF new rail.
road which had been contracteH
for and could not be postponed. This
, new construction was made up
partly of l,400 miles in the South
west, with which | was associated,
the Pacific Coast extension of the
Chicago, Milwaukee and ST. Paul
and the Western Pacific from Salt
Lake to San Francisco. Most of this
work was completed during 1909.
The money for its construction had
been provided before the financial
trouble of 1907 came on. If any
one could have foreseen this panic.
the money for these 5000 mites
would have been hard to get. This
is borne out by the statement that
there has been no large construc-
ton undertaken since the compile
ton OF the above contracts.
The present policy of many of
the western states in stopping rail
road construction is not inimical &c
existing railway securities. AS a
matter of fact, if We are TO have
no more now railroad construction,
the existing securities are made bet.
ter as the development along eX-
listing roads adds to their value.
While the present stoppage may
be to the interest OF the satisfied
railway investors. 1t is against the
interests of the western country
which needs the development. In
New England and most of the East.
ern states railroad building was
practically finished before the Da.
kotas. Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Wash
ington, Oklahoma and Montana were
admitted to the union.
The effect of the 1907 panic on
railroad employees alone furnishes
interesting information on what chat
temporary stoppage of business
meant The government reports show
that there were, on June 80, 1907,
"a employees per mile of railroad
in the United States. One year lat
err although the railroad mileage
had increased over 300 miles. there
were only Ga employees per mile,
so that instead of an increase OF 81,
600 employees to >)erate the new
mileage, there was a decrease OF
1900 employees The loss to rail
road labor alone on account of this
reduction in employees and their
short hours OF work amounteG 70
s556,000 per day, or the enormous
sum OF $1Si000,000 in one year.
Including the families of railroad
employees, more than one million
people were affected.
While we are all in favor OF con.
servation of our natural resources
we are not in favor of conserving
them by non-use. The railroads are
the largest purchasing powers of
the country Prior to the panicky
conditions of 1907, they were pur
chasing one-half of the steel prod
ucts of the United States made from
the ore-beds and coal mines of the
country, and onefourth of the hum
Der.
1t Is not the people who own the
ore-beds and coal fields and the
trees of the forests who are the
mos. seriously affected, but labor,
commencing with the man who
lnields the axe to cut the tree TO
make the tie and the man who uses
the pick to take the ore from the
mines to make the rails and spikes.
This decentralization extended to
manufacturing, industrial, agricultu-
raj and mercantile lines, and it is
not necessary to tell you what fol-
lowed Never in the history of the
country were the bread lines so long
or so many people out of work. AS
| said, we cannot always tell what
Is going to happen, but we know
what has taken place in the past.
! The cessation of railroad construc-
ton should now be taken as
warning to the west.
Manufacturing, commercial and la
Dor combinations are so intrench-
ed in the business life of America
that we may accept them as per-
manent organizations with which We
must deal In the future. They make
for economy and expedition in bust
ness and increase the returns OF
| the members, no matter whether