The Pulaskian., 1917-02-02
R. R. Rates as Viewed by GuyF F.
 Williams Of the Darragh Company

! the countries he must pay a tax rang l ing anywhere from i've per cent to sixteen per cent, which tax accrues to the government.
 Another of the disanvantages Of European travel is the frequent chang ing of cars that is necessary owing to the varying gauges of the railroads. l As rule the railroads of Continent al Europe were constructed primarily
 as an adjunct to the military effective ness of the country which they tra- versed, their utilization for passenger and freight transportation being an after observation-disclosures. each eoun- ] try has adopted distinctive gauge so that in case of military reverses one
 country could not run their equip ment into a conquered territory. This necessarily means a frequent change of cars at all hours Of day or night
 What would you think if this same system was in vogue in this country and at each state line you had to change cars? Imagine yourself mak- HIS el ttIp u ANE9# i Oi h LII h1eill ]. c1li7 : cisco under such conditions
 It has been noticed that our charges for first class accommodations are tn reality about half what they are in Europe. while their second and third class accommodations, which, so far as cost is concerned, are about the same as the American cost, that the i equipment and accommodations are such as to render it practically no service at all compared with the American service.
 It has been stated by one author that the engineers who operate trains between Liverpool and London, a dis tance of practically two hundred miles, are paid approximately $200 a trip, while the engineers who run the trains between Boston and Albany, similar distance, receive $7.60, and it is reasonable to assume that all the other employees are paid in proportion with these figures. The average ne- gro porter on the American railroads is paid more than the average engi- neer in Europe according to these figures.
 In business, in politics. in sports, the American people are insistent upon a square deal and it is only when they come to dealing with the railroads or other large corporations that the aplication of this principle shows a sign of 1axness. I cannot be- l lieve that it is out of a spirit of unfair ness, but rather due to an unfriendly | feeling that first existed years ago and has been handed down from gene ration to generation, and the views l then expressed have been accepted by ! the multitudes as being true and az gravated in some cases by previously 1 mentioned circumstances The aver age man has been too busy with other 1 matters to investigate for himself and | has been contented to accept the | views of others, which too often origi- i mated from a prejudiced standpoint 1 On the other hand, some men have found the subject an easy means to 1 prominence in the eyes of the public i and without regard for anyone but ] themselves have lambasted the "heartless corporations" from all sides. The public has had opportun- ity to hear of all their shortcomings, but the good that is in them or that they do is seldom mentioned, and if it is it never receives the same prom- nent mention that the bad receives. How, then, could one be expected to form a favorable opinion when noth- ing but the worst is known and con- tinually paraded before their eyes? It has only been during the last ten or fifteen years that the subject of trans portation has been made subject of study by American business men and this has only been in a limited way and you might say has been forced upon them.
 Each year finds the carriers taking the public farther into their conf- dence and eventually they will be | looked upon as benefactors, which they truly are.-G. F Williams.