The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-10-19
Furnishing Rapidly Growing District With Transportation
Is Great Task, kurn Says, but the Railroads Manage
to Keep Jump Ahead, Generally.

you II i can, something ot tho rcln-
conship that should exist between
you. and me-you representing the
business interests and /, for the time
being, standing Tor the trausporto.
tlun system OF the country.
II | am not mistaken tho princi-
pal part OF the life OF Tulsa IL COW
cred in the history of the last 30
years or less, Tho most important
part OF that history includes a much
shorter period. For a time there
was no city In America that Grew
50 wonderfully, The man who went
ed 20 talk money In thousands could
get no listeners. Unless no Joined
tho drillers IN the lobby Of tho Tulsa
every evening there were. II may
quote a classic, None 40 poor to
the citys life, described in print,
reads Ike a romance. Hero was
built skyscrapers in land but lately
pcopled by blonketed Indians. Trnv-
clers telling OF marble bank build
ings, OF magnificent residences, OF n
convention hail large enough TO seat
thousands, OF a statue erected to the
memory OF Washington Irving
found themselves discredlted, so
skeptical was the outside world with
regard to the Aladdin-llke develop
ment OF this wonderful land. SO
here, today we have n Wonderfully,
cry modern facility and culture 20
be found In our older conters.
But we have not kept up with you
In your hurried march 20 progress,
and IL wasn't wholly our fault. The
war and the profits II brought TO
those who had products needed in
the struggle, did not mean prosper
ity for us. II meant the very OPP
poslte. fear, too, that In their race
for modern wealth some have turned
aside from their old allegiance and
are not so conslderate OF the rail-
roads 40 they might have been, not
quite 40 friendly, not quite so Will
ing TO look into causes, but rather
to complain of the effects,
II want TO say few words about
this, because | have enough faith in
human nature TO believe that IL we
get around a table and talk little
we may understand one another
better.
am not going 10 talk politics, be-
cause, after all, the only difference
between the two great parties is that
one is in and the other Is out. but
/ do want every man and woman I'm
Oklahoma and tho southwest TO
think over the history OF the past,
the great service the railroads have
given under pretty bad conditions.
| want him to say whether he isn't
thinking Of tho railroads in terms Of
something that happened before the
generation now in charge OF things,
then / want him TO say whether he
doesn't believe the railroads are en-
titled now, under n network OF gov
ernment regulation that Is sitting
them, 20 the most careful and
.houghtful consideration in the In
tcres, OF the whole people.
ANY business man who fairly and
consclentlously thinks over this
question will arrive at conclusions
surprising TO himself, even II he is
prejudiccd. Suppose, for instance,
at washington that in the future the
department stores OF Tulsa would be
allowed 3 u per cent return on the
Investment. suppose another govern
ment board in Chicago decided you
were to pay n certain wage, hun
dreds OF thousands OF dollars IN eX-
cess OF your receipts. with uniform
working agreements without regard
to climatic or living conditions. Sup
pose you were informed that under
these agreements one of your men
might sell 10 yards or any Otner
amount of silk or some other goods.
but that when he had sold 10 another
man must be called to cut It off the
bolt. and another TO put II in a
wrapper, and st!ll another TO tie 81
up.
Il know all this sounds absurd.
. but ls II any more silly than the laws
'and regulations and agreements un-
der which our railroads are made TO
operate? What IL you were under
obligations TO get permission before
you could add counter or another
building to your store? And just TO
make the analogy complete, suppose
the government deCreed, through its
labor board, that wages In all de-
partment stores. or at all oil wells,
everywhere in the nation must be
the same Now would you like it?
How many OF my friends here to-
day know that the railroads are
operating under precisely such laws
and rules and regulations7 You are
ready to doubt u. You hear all
kinds OF stories about m!smanage-
ment and abuses OF one Kind or
another Why believe anything,
Mood or bad when an inquiry in
Washington or Chicago will settle
the question?
There isn't one item of railroad