The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-02-08

the Santa 20 In private equipment
~ was not Mr. Rtpicys intention
tu let Tulsa remain ai the end OF u
branch line as at present. hut 10
build from Tulsa to Jennings u con -
Meeting link. making a direct route
from Kansas city 10 Fort worm ana
Houston n IL hoped this line viii
bc completed as soon aH the raiiro1ds
are returned as it viii place TULSA
on a through line from Chicago TO
tho gulf
lie was on. ~ The few remaining
railroad hracs who was trhftic
man first lest and all the time, re-
cciViug his early trimming IN the so
netting department of the g., -. A
O. becoming freight traffic manager
uf that limo ana iu 1883 general
manager holding this Offica through
The great Burlington strike when
they trounced the brotherhood ~ 10
cOupiito CnginccrH.
when Mr Ripley became prcsi-
dent Of the Santa Fe In 1896 the
country was but slowly recovering
from the panic Of 1903. when Santa
10 common stock sold down to ~
a share under the present depression
J., lg selling around 3SJ on a parity
with Chicago A Northwestern Whicp
has sold as high as $3.50. business
had been so poor during tho panic
that some ~ the branch lines were
operated 80 irrcRularly They drlftcd
over with sand and had to be dug
out sCmi-mOnthly
"Ilcs was democratic on all occa-
siOns ana on his trips over the line
talked with many men. frequently
Inviting them into his private car.
A story rs told OF Hipley's picking up
/. farmer on leaving Wichita, Kan,
The farmer proved to b0 from Hugo
ton. Kan. whore Ripley owned a
farm, which he bought during wet
spring and had not made a crop
since. Ripley asked the farmers
opinion of tho value of tho farm. To-
ealing u by tho name OF the tenant.
The farmer said Yes. ! know hat
place, II is a hun section, the~ two
south quarters Is u prairie dog town
ana the north one ~ one Of those
DANCED sand blows you can't even
mortgage
"llls first step In taking charge was
to prepare for increasing the ton
mage and service to build up the
earnings great elevators anI flour
mills were built or sromoted with
ronl practical men TO operate them,
encourage agriculture and stock
raising. supported tho development
Of the mineral resources especially
In Arizona and Now Mexico, build
ing a great fleet OF refrigerator cars
to handle California fruits and pro-
vided "a service superior to the other
Pacific coast lines. And when oil
came In Oklahoma and Kansas Mr.
Ripley was right there with men and
rails even ahead OF the oil bunch,
bringing In the field boilers. rig TIM.
hrrs and the great tonnage ncces-
a. To-. g.NI
fields. lie was little ahead of the
radical bunch or railroad rate fiXers
and the traffic was handled at -
profit.
"And above all look at the passeu-
ger and freight depots along tho
whole line built permanently OF sur
faced brck or concrete and they are
not In tho sticks" two miles from
town. but generally right on the
main street. as the freight house is
on State street in Chicago, and again
the Santa Fe passenger trains are
n luxury not only to Frisco, but a
ride on tho Drillers do Luxe to
Drumright makes you feel Ike a
million dollars.
AN departments on the santa Fe
are subservant to traffic the COM
mercial end of railroading. Mr.. Rip
ley expected his general managers,
general superintendcnts and superin-
tendonts TO keepstho track up out oi
the mud and get the trains over
the road. or Tom. BIN or Joe could
look for another job. They wer,
there to do and not TO dictate. lie al
ways had available timber for OPP
Grating Officers and did not recruit
from walking delegates OF the Bip
Four. His traffic men from chief Of
ficer to passenger solicitors under
tho Ripley administration must be