Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-01-28
JUST RAILROAD MEN.


dining room tomorrow night
with their guests, there will be four
classes represented, the lawmakers,
the law breakers, law abiding citizens
and few newspaper men by the way
of salt and condiments. When we use
the term "law breakers" we, Of course,
allude to the railroad men. We so
classify them, not because they are
really any more "breachy" than other
citizens, but because up until very re-
Gently, everybody has looked upon any
one connected with railroad, as little
less than a criminal. We use every
endeavor to get railroad and then
turn our attention to kicking about it.
The Southern Pacific has come in for
more than its fair share of this kind
of treatment We point to its great
steal of public lands, when It built the
first railroad across the continent for
getful of the fact that we gave 1t the
lands to induce 1t to build the road,
and that the men behind 1t were the
only bunch in the United States that
had the sand" to build the road with
all the bonus propositions thrown in.
The lands at the time were valueless
and would be so today If the road had
not been built. We class this corpora
tion as q gigantic robber, because 1t
accepted the terms we offered 1t, This
is but one Of hundreds Of examples
that might be pointed out, where we
have classed the railroad companies as
id rascals, for doing what we beg
ged or bribed them to do. The writer
used to have this idea, to a small eX-
tent, He used to run little paper up
at Hood River, and about the only
thing in the way of profit he made out
of Ii, was pass issued by the o. r. &
N. permitting him to ride over its road
free, other than such local advertising
as he gave IL. When the law was
passed making It unlawful to issue
passes, that heartless corporation
obeyed that law with such cheerful
alacrity and took the pass that had
been next TO his heart for years, away
from him so suddenly that he caught
cold
Fortunately this old idea concerning
the railroads has been discarded, and
we have all learned that the railroads
are the country's best friends and most
persistent boosters. The railroad Is
moro interested in the territory It
serves than any one. The prosperity
of the community means the prosper
ity of the railroad, and when the COM
munity suffers, the railroad aches in
sympathy.
Tomorrow night gentlemen will at
tend the banquet, representing the
companies that will grldiron the valley
WIN ldllludN0' lllhI III luN WY H'hl
future will spend S12OOOOOO in accom-
plishng this They are braIny wide
awake men. those railroad fellows, and
they are locking into the future The
needs Of the valley just now do not de-
mand these roads but when theey are
built, they will create their own de-
mand
The Willamette valley Is one Of the
richest in the world II has the most
prolific soil, and an elasticity Of eli
mate that permits the widest range Of
vegetation Of any country in the world
in like latitude. 1t Is as fair to look
upon as was the Garden Of Eden, after
Eve appeared and completed the per-
foctncss Of the scenery 1t is hardly
begun to be settled, for In a short time
II will be q section Of small farms, Of
blooming orchards and clinging vines.
Tho time is not far distant when these
lands will be 80 valuable Ns 10 make
railroad building almost prOhibitlyc on
account Of the costs Of rights Of way
That Is where the companies are wise
In building now These gentlemen,
pouring out their money like water
look to tho future for their reward and
that reward will come with Increasing
population, The business mon here
have already gone on record Us favor
ing any effort to increase the popula-
tion and bring about the upbuldng Of
the valley The newspaper men here
in their quiet way stand with the rail-
roads and the business men, for the
uplifting OF the valley, Of filling II with
thousands Of happy homes, and these
three classes are all enthusiastically
I'm favor OF the state making n first
class exhibit at the Panama exposition
that more than anything else will aid