The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-02-12

stop more bullets than the ordinary
soldier"
PRESIDENT E. P. RIPLEY DEAD
Last Wednesday night the tele-
graph wires flashed the news from
Southern California, that the Grand
Old Man" of the Santa Fe Railroad,
E. P. Ripley, had died at his Cali
fornia home after a short illness, at
the age of rs. He was born in Mass
achusetts in 1845. He had an oper-
alton, in Chicago, about month ago,
went through Topeka about three
weeks ago in his private car, on his
way to his California home, but never
recovered and for a couple of weeks
his death was expected at most any
time. On Saturday, at the time of
his funeral, every train, every man of
the Santa Fe Railroad System stop
ped work for five minutes in honor of
the man and his memory; for to every
employee, to every railroad man of
the great United States he was known
as "The Grand Old Man" His word
was his bond; he was the friend and
upbuilder of every man under his
employ, from the trackman to his Of
flee associates. He was anxious that
every man should succeed, every man
get to the front.
When he was 21 years old-53
years ago, he entered into railroad
work in Massachusetts,. From there
he came to Burlington, under Pres
ident Perkins, rising from minor
position to General Manager. In jan
uary 1896 he took charge of the
Santa Fe system with its 6435 miles
of track and in debt of over four mil
lions, besides its mortgages, but Mr.
Ripley put business management into
force in the whole system, and in
June 1917 the net earnings were
over fifty million dollars, with Il, ASS
miles of trackage. No wonder they
called him ''The Grand Old Man"
His was the first and only road
that had continuous track from Chi
cago direct to California, entering
the state east of Los Angeles, and
then on to San Francisco, no land
grants to work on, but the best laid
road in the west and in that state.
Working with that splendid Rail-
road President, Perkins of the Bur
lington, he learned his business ideas.
One of them was to never build a
railroad into any territory for senti-
ment sake, but wait until the Freight
traffic would support the proposed
road. This was the answer the Bur
lington gave to Ellis County people
when they wanted that road to ex-
tend its Concordia branch in 1887
down through Ellis county to Garden
City. His answer then was its crops
were too uncertain, its freightage
would not pay expenses, and until it
would they could not build the road,
no matter how much bonded aid was
voted, and the proposed road went
glimmering.
The Little River-Holyrood road in
Barton county Was another of that
same kind by Mr.. Ripley. No matter
how much Ellis county wanted the
road, with the continual uncertainty
of crops he would not extend it to
Hays. When he found the freightage
of crops would pay to GaIatia, he
built the 81 miles without any bonded
help and the road is run every day.
When Garden City showed it needed
the Scott City ROADS, miles, for
their sugar beet raising, Mr.. Ripley
had the Santa Fe buy it and it is run
every day.
In 1887 the Santa Fe, under the
name of ''The Chicago and Great
Western Railroad" proposed to build
from Great Bend to Scott City-119
miles. and from Holyrood to Hays, 81
miles. The Great Bend crowd let
them build it; it has now been run
over 80 years, every day, the bonds
voted have been paid off, the road
has every year paid taxes into the
county treasurers and will for many
years to come. Here in Ellis county
the people monkeyed with the propo-
sition submitted, bonds defeated, the
road was never built, and for over so
years Ellis county has not enjoyed
the benefits of the road or the taxes it
would have paid into our Treasury.
What effect on the new proposed
Golden Belt Railroad from Hays to
Plainville to the Santa Fe system and