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MR. UNDERWOOD ON ULROADPROBLEM XiaSas..~Tex., Morning Star. ISYr. Underwood, whose opinions ' 'dfa* inonntry has formed the habit of -nfltwrting, even when it does not rvgnrgp with them, thinks our railroads i Jxetof- .so Jong been forced to live on a ^ribhr diet that they are in danger of bettarming anaemic. He thinks, fur- j t&piroore, that once they do come to tfcsi: extreme state or debility, there ' be no cure short of Government o-^ratrship and operation. The idea ?dr Government ownership and opera- : tauNt! ,1s not congenial to Mr. Under- j xtKt&Ps prepossessions and susceptibSmts. Than this perhaps nothing fc? more hateful to him. Hence, urged A T ^ akii'AAA? Ijj xhis prospect, iur? uuuci nwu bespeaks a more tolerant treatmentj r>? the railroads. He would have zjcejd allowed to earn more than they and he would have them disbur- ; d of some of the restrictions i t&achave been imposed on them. 7S*e diagnosis, it seems to us, is c^fcrthy of Mr. Underwood's reputa- J tasm for sagacity, and the prescrip- J feium ie would administer sustains his ififsme for statesmanship. That the ^a&raads of the country a? a whole become enfeebled w'1! hardly 'be (denied. Sufficient proof o: the' . ifiu&einent is to be foun'i in the fact | iiai transportation facilities have - /rscft . grown commensurately wiih the '???!arwth of the countrycommerce. "2Tin* is particularly true ai respecis ^construction of new mUerig-i. Chzrs as still a country of many va r-grfr spaces; but also the vacant : ^ftsces are diminishing in number and area, and those not vacant are be earning more densely populated and made more productive. So Ccqjr as this continues to be the case vrt shall continue to need the con.- Sutniction of new lines and the enlargement an imporvement of those .we have. It is, hence, evidence off ?> unhealthful condition when At work of building and improving railroads comes to a stop. It is, as . *3&?e doctors would say, in the case of . "ax individual, a pathological condition that warns that something is : aaaiss -which, if not wisely treated, become a fatal malady. That this is truly the case of the railroads .is, it seems to us, undeniraifcle. The country's commerce can crattilong continue to grow more ra gR^y than its transportation facilities without bringing us into a situ332dt> in which further growth of iMxarmerce will be arrested absolutely Already in many sections development is being retarded by this yraase. This is notably true of Tex as. When this condition becomes raan*;, .as it must become if present ien&encies are not checked, then all iMzigs else will have to be halted (pending the making of ways and ?f?anF for removing the obstruction of inadequate transportation facilities. * The reason that transportation facilities have not been increasing so traaidly as the need of them does is a .aanple one, and it lies obtrusively before the vision of any one who is not obfuscated by prejudice. It is that, primarily, the railroads can barely Gzm the interest that they are alsre&cy obligated to pay. A good Goa^y -of them are not doing even much. Since, then, they are Siard put to earn their existing inter (fe'st obligations, with what grace can fc>jiry plead with lenders to advance .fcbKni more? Their stocks and bonds '3T* no longer securities in the real meaning of the word. They do not offer the assurance crfcich prudent investors d?mam-. that .'ifaifc obligations which th<?y witness csiB be discharged. Thpir bonds are a promise to pay what is borrowed ox Them; but the promise is disoreand belied, in many instances, by ihe balance sheets of tKe railroads .offering them. For the wiv??s Ktk7 to whom they are offered has only tee consult these balance sheets to find evidence to warn him against trustV?|f to this promise, however seducfejwly it may be made. There is not amiich enticing power in the promises ?>f an institution that is already hard sput to earn the wherewithal to pay -existing obligations. Not one of aoi>, if governed strictly by business rti.rijyderations, would lend to the Nearest friend if we had reason to --suspect that he was headed toward bankruptcy, with the precipice not ..... . , . .j many days off. Hence investors show merely a reasonable sense of pru- ? dence when they decline to give up their money in exchange for lithographed scraps of paper which, though purporting to be "securities," are in reality insecurities. Some securities are being sold, but in all but few instances they are being sold to replace existing ones. They evi- , dence no increase of obligation. It is a mere exchange of new for old, | and the transaction effects merely a temporary easement of embarrassment rather than an enlargement of abilities of the railroad. And there * is a further and highly significant cir- ' cumstance atending these refundings of existing indebtedness. It is that ( | the new bonds, in most cases, express a higher rate of interest than the old ? ones. This phenomenon, occurring at a time when money is the most * plentiful commodity the country has, attests the misgivings of those who 1 grant this accommodation. Interest rates of new securities ought to be lower than those of the old ones; but, for the most part, the reverse of this ; is true, and by so much as the interest rates of the new bonds exceed those of the old, we have the measure of uncertainty that has grown up in the minds of investors as to the future solvency of the roads. It is th6 premium they demand in consideration of the risk which they conceive themselves tc take when they buy these bonds. It is not wholly an investment that they make in 1 I these cases. It is partly a speculation, and the increased interest rates are the odds which they think the hazard entitles them to. Now if the supply of capital, alJ ready diminishing, should become dried up?and that prospect threatens the railroads?then it is evident, J even painfully palpable, that either the country's commerce must limit its growth to the transportation facilities, or the Government whose credit is much better than that of the railroads, must supply the capital that investors decline to lend to the railroads. Hence, it is no prophecy, but the mere statement of a logical conclusion, that Mr. Underwood makes when he declares that unless we allow the railroads to earn enough to re-establish and maintain their credit they will shortly sink into a state of debility from which only the heroic prescription of Government ownership will revive their. But one might, at least or. technical grounds, demu.* *"0 Mr. Underwod's further statement that the present condition, an-i the rnucn wor. e prospective one, a^-e the consequence of regulation. Strictly speaking, we have not been pr:*cl.tcii g a policy of regulation. What a*j have been practicing is a policy cf reprisal. The railroads have been put, an i : ?r a long time kept, on a diei thn enouprh to cause the debility they sufir. and. if continued, the emaciation that tliam Ruf if Vtf)Q h??rn r. I bill catcno VUVlli* ?VIW ?V kind of lenten fast imposed on th*m. one, not of forty days, but of ten years at least. It has been a lenten fast, because we have imposed it more largely than we have been conscious of as a penance for the sins the railroads were guilty of in the days of their freedom from restraint. Our many and variegated Railroad Commissioners were meant to be, in part at least, judicial bodies, as obligated to conserve the rights and welfare of all the interests connected with railroading ?the people who run the railroads, the people who furnish the money and the people who use or need the railroads. But, in actuality, their members have acted, for the most part, as if they conceived themselves to be the attorneys I nf tVioir V A VllVtl Vi VM VV1 W UilU VVIltfVI VUVliVW) the people, as detached from all | other elements of the problem. Animated by that spirit, and perhaps more largely so than they have at all times been conscious of, it was inevitable that they should become unmindful of changing conditions which have rendered inadequate rates that may have been just at the time of f their making. They have made de scending rates the evidence of the efficiency of their efforts, and it was inevitable that, obsessed by their de- t votion to that criterion, they should " have become somewhat oblivious to ] ! the fact that meanwhile the transportation facilities of the country were suffering a progressive deterioration. ^ Imagining themselves to be engaged " in regulating, they have in reality I been retaliating for the grievous Wrongs and injuries the railroads were guilty of in the days when they knew no law but that of their greed. It would be easy to inveigh against j I Host! The Red j Where Dry Goods j :an be bought else^ sell Merchandise s< a class all alone wl DUA+ 11CU11UI READ Hot Hustler's Specials 0 [44 Rice Buttons J|| 36 Safety Pins.. .. Jb 2 Spools Thread 7 Balls r Thread UU 5 Paper CPins.v Ju 6 Collar Cp Buttons Ju 2 Bars Cp Brown Soap Jl 15 Fresh Cp Nutmegs Ju 2 Pounds Cp Keg Soda Ju 3 Sticks # Cp Blueing . Ju 1 LamP Ep Chimney, Nos. i or2..iJ(j 7 Packages Hair Pins vJlf i Quire Paper and 24 Envelopes t|(j 1 Box PPaper ij|f 1 Bar Soap and one Stick Blueing |J(j 24 Clothes jJJ'n Pins llll 5 Clay Ca Pipes \JO 2 Jelly r Glasses ill; 12 Jar Cp Rubbers (Ill 1 Wire Cn Fly Killer Jv 1 Chair |P Bottom tJlj 2 Pie P. Plates y(f 3Tin Ep Cups iJtl 1 1 Half Gallon Cup DC Save your 5c, and come and see what you can buy at the Hot Hustler on the Corner. Trunks and Suit Cases Matting Art Squares, Oil Cloth, all colors, pe 2 in 1 Shoe Polish 8c, i Buy something from t time you are in town, i e sure to tell The Red on T1 H 0 T 0r Ri Store on ti are sold just a little ivhere. We buy wi ^ rhean we have nr len you take prices - Summe AN_D WC Ladies',, Misses and Girls 0 I Gauze Undervest %||| 1 r.air fir nose vu I Hair C_ Net Jw 1 Ladies' C|l Collar Ju 3 Ladies' Handkerchiefs 2 Ladies' Handkerchiefs Jw i Ladies' P-l Handkerchief J|f Ladies' Hots ! IOC i Pair OCp Ladies' Hose 4.UU i Ladies' OCa Shirt Waist ZvU i Ladies' Ijr Shirt Waist 48c to ^ |J i Ladies' OCa f-nrset Cover lfie and LmM\m I Ladies' QDf* Underskirt 48c and..|JQ|j i Ladies' OltA Slips ZvU i Pair OC. Ladies' Draws &UU Tango 1ftHair Pin I Uu Tango 1 Cp Waist Cord | Ladies' ?Q JQ Dresses 98c to Misses' JQ Dresses.. .25c to ^ | B^f0 Ladies' CO ilQ Slippers...48c to Bath OCn Towels Z.UU Face 1 Towels 10c to I 3Q White CI QQ o.iJifc* (w.. n I nil yy uii 10 ?/v7v tv ^ | ^ a Sheets y)Qn 72x90 inches tOu Cloth! Cloth! Cloth! All names and shades. . 5c per yard to 48c. , See the White Window ... at the ... -RED HOT HUSTLER5 : : : : : 75c, 98c. 108 inches by 144 inc >r yard, : : : 1 "U/WAfl 1 An 1 C UUADO lux AW. A v he HOT HUSTLER, on and if you do not get rE, as he always make ii . iff T not Jtiustk ~tL E CO] acket lie Corner ) CHEAPER than ith the CASH, and > competition. In into consideration r Prices )NDER Men and Bovs -0 1 Pair Pe Suspenders U 1 Pair 1flf> Suspenders | y . Pair 1 r e Suspenders 5 Pair . Re Shoe-strings V 2 Plain Cp Handkerchiefs V Collar and Cuff Buttons 3 2 Wh'te r Cravats i Washable 4 Cravat |U^ 1 silk lie Cravat | 1 Suit Mp Underwear NJUV i Suit B. V. D. Qrp U nder wear i Pair Elastic Qf?S> Seam Draws fcV_Work Q0/? Gloves 25c to JJO Work Aftp Shirts.. 25c,3Sc sod HO Dress QRe Shirts..25c, 48c and |||J^ Palm Beach ^ I QQ Suits 3TmvO Boys' and Men's 1} Sox... 10c, 15c and /[3 Silk ?rp Sox 15c and \ Men and Boys J A Slippers 48c, 98c and ^ | Q Handy Tools [and Utensifs for the Housekeeper. See our Window?Tin, Wood, Glass, Enamel,' Agate and Crockery. , $1.10, $1.48 and up hes, : : : : $1.98 : : : : 15c )0 yds. Silk Thread|5c t the Corner, the next your money's worth is satisfied customers >r Racket ^NER [ those wfro ftarve titers puruartit5 their functions. But also it would be easy to exaggerate their sinning;. Their ^ elevation to their places; of pwwer did not wholly divest them of th* sense of grievance and prejudice which they had when they were but private citizens, and which as private citizens, they had been entitled' tb by the * conduct of the railroads. They were incited by the recollection of the wrongs done by the raiTroadby and if their decisions were ih\ many instances inequitable, they were not altogether void of justice? as nteasiires of punishment. If they have made the railroads pray and fast, they have but imposed a penitential season which their sins had made seasonable^ and not unsalatary. JBtit a season^ of fasting, however suitable for the renovation of the spirit; will, if unduly prolonged and made too rigor- i ous, result in the death; of tie sinner. And it is not his death, But his repentance, which it is out interest to accomplish. Undoubtedly we have come to the point?and this is particularly true of us. fir Texas?where we can not continue the penalty without ourselves sharing in the punishment. We must modify out policy of reprisal into one of regulation, and we can quite agree with Mr. Underwood ^ that unless we do very shortly make it undergo this modification we shall before a great while be in the posi tion of having to call on the Government to supply the further transportation facilities that we shall ne?d if our industrial and social growth is not to be arrested. JUST LIKE A WOMAN. (From the Kansas City Journal.) A girl in town had a proposal of marriage Sunday night, and aaked a week to consider it before filing her answer, testified T. A. Sawhill. She then organized herself into an investigating committee and beganr : taking testimony from the marrieq women of her acquaintance. The'v first one she visited used to be a belle and the most admired girl in the town before she was married six years ago. The cross-examination brought out the fact that she had three children, did all her own work, including her , washing and ironing, and hadn't been down town for four weeks, and tha$ her husband had given, ber but $2 since she was married and that he I had borrowed and forgot to pay back I $10 which her brother once gave her Hj for a Christmas present. He bought H| a new overcoat with the money, while she wore the same plush coat fl that she wore when he was courting |^H her. U Another woman whom she visited fffl quit teaching school three years ago to marry "the handsomest and best> BH dressed main in town," and she is now supporting him. hH A third didn't dare to say her soul MH| was her own when her husband was around, though she used to write some lovely esays, when she was at Mm school on the "emancipation of worn- H en," and the fourth woman she visited was divorced. After visiting them and summing |fl| up the evidence she went home and HH wrote to the young man. She will be married to him next month. Too Much Terror. Hflj | Owners of dogs, and they certain- Hflfl I ly know something about them, are protesting against the muzzling law. We read in the New York Herald: Hfl "Dr. De Mund is a well-known HH physician, and his opinion concern- BH ing the new law and its effects in BH the matter of preventing a rabies epidemic in the city is interesting>^^^^n In an interview for the Herald," Dr.^^^H Tv. Hf 1 *J Xt-.J. ? ? lib luunu saiu mai it was aDSOlutely unnecessary to place a muzzle upon a dog which is held in leash, and that so far as rabies is concerned, it is one E^H of the rarest diseases known to medical science and very few cases have been positively diagnosed. The only positive case that was ever brought tn hie oHon+iAn qo o w?A/Ji?nl wv i4.w uvwviivivu wo a liicaivoi man was caused by a cat scratching the vie* tim on the hand. "Another case," said Dr. De Mund, fl^Hj "was that of a boy in Brooklyn five years ago. It was said that the boy had developed hydrophobia, but^^^l when an autopsy was performed itH9H was positively established that theH^^H boy died from tobacco poisoning." HHf This might be a more enjoyable world if the instigators of all panicky laws were muzzled and law-abiding^^JB dogs let alone.?Ex. 9^H|| If you want a nice flash light or an ex.^^^H tra battery go to Speed's Drug Store.