The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-06-18
ny RICHAI,D spII,r.xNE

ny RICHARD spIII.ANE
II you go to the trouble to figure 1t
out on the railroad map you will find
the Yellow Dog has 1881 miles OF
y track. II YOU consult Il financial manual
you will discover 1t has bonded debt
= that Is a horror.
There was time when the yellow
Dog did not have so opprobrious a
name or so frightful3 ronded indebt-
edness. but that was before Jay Gould
{ became identified with It. When Mr.
Gould got through with the road there
was receircrship and later reor-
BaniZation. Then there was another
receivership and another reorganiza-
ton. AS IL that were not enough.
there was still another reorEanizat ton
With each reorganization there was q
new crop of bonds for tho road to pay
interest on. Every group of Wall Street
men that got control seemed to be pos
sessed by the same idea 10 get as
much out of the road az possible and
then dump II OH the bondholders. stud
ious men. who view railroad problems
In cold, dispassionate light, have agreed
for many years that only a radical
surgical operation could save the yell
low Dog from another attack of bank
ruptcy, No railroad like IT could sue
coed weighted SO heavily with fixed
charges, Its debt would have TO be
slashGd Bondholders would have 10
To stagger along year after year burd :
\ ened as II was. meant only a worse
disaster. for every attempt at economy
was at the expense of the physical
well being OF the property.
Many things can be viewed with
eluanimity by a bondholder, dcfaIca-
ton By the treasurer. the death Of the
president. even the reduction Of The
rate of interest on preferred or COM
mon stock, but failure to pay interest
on bonds is narrowing. and a PROPOSE.
ton TO calmly wipe out one fourth OF
one-half Of such a sacred obligation as
bond Is raGeous Rather than
consent to such a wicked proposal
bondholders Will trust TO time and
Providence to work out their saliva
lion.
There are some persons who de
nounced the bondholders as a lot Of
+ selfish creatures and declared the man
ncr In which The road was allowed 10
deteriorate was little short of criminal.
+ Everybody came to think badly and
talk badly of the line. That is how it
y "a me to be the Yellow Dog OF the rail-
road world.
There was a time when it bid fair 10
be II transcontinental line. There were
plans TO link IL with one or another of
the trans mississippi roads. Few East
ern trunk lines had greater natural ad-
vantages. It's main stem travels one
one OF tile most productive freight dis
tricts. Branch lines spread out In var
tous directions. tapping good territory.
AT various points In the West and
Middle West II was in a position TO
get profta ble traffic from many lines,
x but somehow the other roads never
cared to give business 20 the Yellow
Dog unless competing lines were I'M
able to handle It. This may have been
because the Yellow Dog had a bad
name or because it's roadbed. bridges
and general equipment were supposed
to be running down. It may have been
too, because In the community OF
interests which controlled most OF the
big trunk lines the Yellow Dog CUT a
small figure. At any rate the Yellow
Dog was the last of the railroads TO
feel the effects OF good times and tho
first TO be affected BY bad. There is
little charity among railroads. and It's
rivals never seemed to sorrow If the
( sidetracks OF the Yellow Dog were
Il crowded with t'empties and the round
houses were packed full OF dead en-
gines. w
Good or bad management reflects it
self throughout q railroad, The Yell
low Dog, poorly nurtured. scoffed at.
ridiculed and staggering under Its
weight of debt, offered little inspira-
tion to its employees. They knew other
competing roads spent more on main :
tenance OF roadbed. on engines. on cars
and In every department OF railroading
They knew the yellow Dog had been
all the sins OF the robbers had been
+ to look upon their work as just COW
VI. y + . 8 . . . 4