The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-04-22
TALKED IT OVER!
Cooperation Brings Customers
to Santa Fe, Says Ripley.
Road Maintains Departments to
Help Towns and Farms.
PLAN IN CHANGE SUGGESTION
Officials of Line Take Part in
Officials of Line Take Part in
"HarmOny" Meetings.
Road Also CO-Operates With
the Agricultural Colleges.

steps taken by the Santa Fe rail-
nav 10 increase its business ~ help
ing towns and farms along III line are
described by L. p. Ripley, president
Of the Atchison, Topeka & santa re
in an article appearing in the current
issue of the system" magazine. A
chance interview Mr.. Ripley says gave
him the idea of the policy that he be-
lieves has had much to do with the
success of the road in increasing ITS
passenger and freight business and
maintaining friendly relations with
its customers.
Mr.. Ripley in his article, How 1
Got Customers to My Side" says:
Prejudice against the American
railways is due largely to the work
OF a certain kind of politicians in Civ
ing the people an erroneous impress
sion of the business of transportation
These politicians, like ordinary NOR
tails. always have followed the lines of
least. resistance. Casting about some
years ago for a paramount issue"
they fell upon the railroads as the
least likely to reply when attacked;
and they made a good guess. 1t was
a sort of unwritten law among rail-
road men to decline to be interview
ed" The result was that in a short
while all classes and conditions of
politicians were hammering the rail-
roads from Maine to Lower California,
and from Portland to Tallahassee. The
smartest politician was the one who
could tell the biggest yarn about the
railroads. and as the railroads did not
come back" the people naturally be-
lieved that the things told to them
were true. Candidates invented the
most terrible railroad wrongs on
which to ride into office, and once in
office, they had to make good by
righting the wrongs so vigorously ex-
plotted during the campaign. The
ha6
until the railway industry of the coun-
try was threatened with humiliation.
Receiverships were common, and gov
eminent ownership was seriously sug-
gested as the solution to the problem.
Government ownership. for that mat
ter. still is under discussion, but as
people study the subject. the senti-
ment favoring il seems to decline.
Began to Take Notice.
About five years ago men who were
responsible for the management of
railway property began TO sit up and
take notice. They saw that the old
fashioned methods of trusting to luck
for public sentiment and relying upon
lobbyists to look after their matters
in congress and the legislatures. had
tailed dismally. and an effort was
made to find a new remedy for the
trouble While on an inspection trip
over the Santa Fe lines in 1910 I stop
ped at a small stream in Kansas to
examine a bridge. A farmer blowing
in a nearby field asked several cues
tons regarding railroad operation. and
/ answered him frankly. After PEN
Cling some notes on the back of an
envelope he remarked, IF railroad
men would go to the people with their
story there would be less prejudice
against their system of doing business.
The people want both sides of every
case in which they are interested, but
for some reason they have never heard
the railroad side of the transportation
problem"
That farmer gave me an idea. Upon
my return to Chicago, 1 called a con-
ference OF fellow officials of the sew
cral departments of our railway, and
expressed to them the opinion that the
hostile public sentiment against trans
portation corporations would abate tc
a considerable degree if the people
could get a better understanding OF
the railway situation. I also expressed
the opinion that those of us who man.
age the railroads did not take suffi-
cient time to familiarize ourselves
with the troubles confronting the peo-
pie. I asked for the cooperation OF
all departments in the Inauguration OF
campaign for the purpose of bring
ing our officials and patrons into g
closer relationship, with the view OF
changing this feeling of hostility into
one of friendliness.
Met With Favor.
As everybody in our official family
long had felt the need of measures t.
overcome the prejudice against oul
business, the plan I suggC<ed at the
conference met with hearty favor. II
brief it required that general man
ayers. general freight and passenger
agents. financial and accounting Off
ciais, attorneys. and others, in add
ton to the division officers. visit thu
cities and rural communities alon:
our lines, and net better acquainted
with merchants, manufacturers, farm
ers, stockmen, bankers and every 9th