Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1914-09-25


Under conditions mentioned ir Number One
single lines of railway operated as entities, by of
ficials selected of the stockholders by the stock
holders, for the stockholders, in some cases. perish
ed from the earth, as it were. and, in other in
stances, went into desuetude abrogatng compel
ition, so far as they were concerned as entities al
completely as though they had been swallowed III
by the sea.
They evolved, so to say, into parts of system
Into units of system.
The system was comprised of number of diff
ferent lines. sometimes some of them being com
peting lines, combined under one management.
These combinations were made, it was claimed
(and ostensbly the claim was true) for the pro
motion of efficiency and the reduction of expenses
of operation to minimum.
But the claim was, in measure, more of pre-
tense than fact-the real, primary, underlying
cause being greed of gain on the part of shrewd
ly scheming promoters, bankers, and capitalists
whom the lure of quick returns with big profits
tempted into the realm of speculative enterprise.
Those curious to know how the trick used some
times to be turned, need not bother to go al
through the pages of Lawson's Frenzed Finance.
They can have their eyes opened by simply
reading the published reports of the testimony
given under oath by men who knew whereof they
spoke, in the recent investigation of the New
York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company
The facts brought out in that investigation, moi
only show the methods the power the influence
and the arbitrary spirit of the late j. P. Morgan
but the abject fear in which he was held by the
high officials of that road.
Thus it happened, that some of the lines tray
ersing Mississippi passed to the de facto control
men having little, if any, personal knowledge o,
conditions in the state; men with slight sympathy
and small interest, in the social aspira tons, witt
no particular for the political wants or econo
mic needs of her people, further than existing ne
cessities could be utilized to the pecuniary advan
tages of the aliens and strangers governing the
system.
Under that sort of organization. the active
managing officials-the gentlemen who were the
executive underlings of the men higher up-o1
the railways in the state were by the public hello
responsible, and blamed, for msdoings and short
comings in railway management which they coulc
not prevent, andwere poweress to remedy, inasmucl
as they were under the control and directly respon.
sble to the authorities higher up-the heads of the
system that pull the strings to make the wheels &C
round-to whom they were indebted for their jobs,
and at whose pleasure the jobs were held, and by
whom they, the managers, are kept to the strict
est accountability for the execution of the policy,
the rules and regulations prescribed and the orders
issued, for the government of the system.
1t is not the purpose to argue that the public
complaint at that time, or at any other, were I'M
founded and altogether unjust.
Nor would we, on the other hand. be guilty of the
folly of holding that steam railroad general mana
high endeavors school.
But we do believe the public is sometimes cap
ricious.
And we do believe that now and then the pub
lie permits it's intelligence to become clouded by
the passions and prejudices which designing de-
magogues arouse to warp its judgment and mold
its sentiment on uugenerous and unjust lines.
Let us illustrate:
Way back in the 7O's of the last century, years
before the times of which we have just been writ
ing; when the M. & O. r. R. management was in
the hands of and under the control fmen thorough
ly identified with the best interests the growth
and prosperity of the section its line traversed;
when the lamented Mr. Abram Murdoch was its
president, and his equally lamented friend and as
sociate, Mr.. A. S. HUMPHREYS, one of the controll-
ing spirits of it's drectory-both old residents and
great complaint of the charges exacted by the
railroad of the public.
It's management even then, was.not satisfactory
to all the people along its llne and ungenerous
ly assailed by the demagogues of that day.
The writer also remembers that in those days.
when it was popular to abuse the railroad nothing
was said in public of the wrongs committed against
the railroad by shippers.
It is recalled that then it was quite common for
shippers to overload cars and under-bill them.
This practise was especially frequent in the
shipment South of corn from Missouri, Kentucky
and Tennessee, and of lumber, shingles, ct cet
North from the Southern end of the line and in
other classes of freight
The practice was very general for time.
It was not only dishonest in ITSELF because