Year: 1872

which legitimately not ours, but from which
| we can only gradually rid ourselves. IL Is an
Augean stable which 1t will take time to purify.
The plan OF Fisk and Gould was to delay the pay
~ - n " AZ s .hey @ co1ia our oaens
the line, paying on the men. They stop at each
place on certain day. thus making 1t a month be-
| tween each payment. The old plan was to send
| the paymasters out at the end OF the month"; thus
keeping the money from the workmen half month.
| were paid In some three months after they
should nave been paid. OF course, the couldn't
| giving orders upon the paymaster The people
who TOOK mp these orders would generally charge
Sn Ssc1mmt tns 0 ,wensynve per cent The workmen.
wages, would strike Tor higher pay, so as 10 make
up their legitimate pay. Thus Erie paying
twenty five per cent more to its workmen than any
other railroad. This plan opened the door also to
AN IMMENSE DEAL OF swINDLING.
| FISK ana Gould, by keeping the money back used
to operate upon It. The men who discounted the
orders OF the workingmen made an enormous and
illegtimate pront and 1t introduced into the man
agement plan which would have been death to
the corporation In the end. This was OF the
nrst evils which attempted to reform, and have
workingmen down to the proper date In this
manner am enabled to get men to work for the
Erie road at the same pay that they worked for
| other roads which paid promptly. II is reform
| which viii be worth millions or dollars to Erie
| every year. Our paymasters now start out on the
18th OF every month and pay the hands regularly
each month, and In future their pay Will never be
great satisfaction everywhere and cuts or a sys-
TEN or usury which was or the greatest detriment
to the road. Men work better when they sure
OF their pay regularly the day it is due. 1t pre-
vents strikes and makes


THE woRKNGMAN CONTENT.


l consider that nothing could have been more in
iquitOus than this system or cheating the lab0rer OF
his proper hire. They are the least able to stand
and it only goes to show to what devices the for.
mer managers would proceed TO cheat and de-
fraud.


REPoRrER-In what other ways have you intro


Mr.. WATsON-Two great curses have been suck
ing the very vitals Of Erie during the past lew
years-ltigati0n and legislative expenses. have
no need to explain to you the enormous legal ex-
penses which have been put upon the road, and all
10 cover up the raods s e fees alone oi
every year. Judges were bought and sold and the
courts OF law were turned into markets where de-
cisions were obtained at the price OF gold. This,
for one thing, has been stopped. The Erie Road
doesn't have M to pay for SSs % suits any
had an existence. But as great


CURSE


Legislative expenses. on the one hand Fisk and
| Gould and on the other Vanderbilt were fighting
ior a supremacy which was only to be bought at an
enormous sum. Thus 1t went on year after year, the
stockholders vainy endeavorng to get their
rights, the revenues OF the property they owned
being used to prevent them. Never there u
more inquit0us proceeding in the financial history
OF the country than this And Heaven alone knows
death OF the prime mover in all this business. The
road was being gradually impoverished by these
/ everlasting and enormous expenses. Not even so
rich o corporation as the ERIE could stand It, and
| God knows where 1t would have ended. This out
lay will occur no more !believe it Is possible to
run railroad without bribery. AT all events. the
Erie will be run without It. When men walk in
devious paths II is OF course necessary to up
their tracks In some way, and legislative corrup-
ton seems to have been the most successful ana
the most popular thus far. remember an instance
OF q member OF the Legislature from the interior
Of the State telling me that in one case


HE OFFERED HIS VOTE TO ERIE


for $1,000 II was not needed at the tline and the
offer was refused. He told me that the next time
they did want him he wouldn't sell his vote less
than $4,000, and he got it, too, few days after


kEPORTER-Have you found any other means OF


DEVELOPING THE RESOURCES OF THE ROAD
and bringing in money besides those you have


MR. WATsoN-Thc abuses have been so many that
they can hardly be enumerated. Fisk and Gould
had some interest in every department connected
with the road. found great many abuses in the
passenger department Lots of people were get
ting commissions for all Sorts OF things. There
were all sorts Of agencies which were paid COM
missions. l have already curtailed some OF these
and hope to curtail more. There never any need
oil this sort OF thing. The money which reached
the road finally was sometimes nearly halved from
" es5
for oil sorts OF swindling This, to great extent,
have reorganized. AZ present, however, ! am
applying myself particular to perfecting the
connections, which very important branch Of the
railroad service has been badly neglected But
above all


THE LOCAL TRAFFIC


has been allowed to droop. There is splendid
field not at all developed in this particular. and


REPoRTER-And now as to the earnings OF she
road; how will this year compare with last9


to answer. Since have been in my position /
have been attempting to gain some clear insight
into the This Is wok Of
OF the earnings, &C., had become a farce. There
no reason to believe that these reports were based
one to gansay them, SO that when you ask me for
comparative statistics must put you or until ]
have come to a thorough mastery OF the subject. ]
can say confidently, however, that earnings for
the months OF April, May and June have been
INCREASE UPON THE EARNINGS


Of last year. Fuller details IL Is impossible TO give
ut present.


compare with those OF last year


Mr.. WATsoN-From January !. 1872, up to this
more than they were for the same period Of 1871.
This increase is due to the reforms which have
been inaugurated and ID spite bite; OF T. the & two great
present impossibility OF fair profits upon our COAL
two items which, had they been as favorable as
made our profits greater by many hundreds OF
thousands Of dollars But these are, Of course,
| things which we cannot overcome.


THE GREAT COAL ROUTE.
In order to obtain view OF the situation from
another standpoint a HERALD reporter called at
the offices OF the Delaware, Lackawanna and West
ern Railroad Company, and was fortunate enough
to meet the very gentlemanly treasurer OF the
company, Mr.. A. j. Odell. The gentleman was "up
to hts eyes, in business and was signing checks at
a that fairly entities HIM to rank with Mayor
Hall in his ability to rattle or volleys OF mechanl-
cal signatures and talk to two three visitors at
the same time, giving due attention to each sub
ject.


Upon being informed OF the OBJECT OF the report
er's visit Mr.. Odel said he was not aware OF any
causes which had contributed very materially dur
ing the past four five months to Increase the
cost OF operating railroads. The Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and western line had not experienced any
advance In expenditure beyond probably what they
had incurred in the way of actual investment in
property or equipment for the benefit OF the
road. They had been laying down
siderable quantities OF steel rails; but this
could not be looked upon as augmenting
the running expenses. For example, suppose
o Thousand tons OF steel rails arrive and laid
down next month on the road, their cost Is o
course charged to the disbursement account OF the
line and may make the months expenditures ex-
ceed the total receipts for the month by several
hundred thousand dollars. Stll this must not be
looked upon as increasing the operating expenses
OF the road for In the next month there may be no