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Show !2Z? ,Av,v- Al.iw THE CITIZEN 11 Mines, Oil, Industries and Trades that they admittedly- had no grievance RIO GRANDE 18 HEAVY L08ER THROUGH STRIKE Unable to Handle Crops Last Fall; Fifteen Million is Raised For Repairs The strike has against this road. never been called off. The Court was therefore faced with two alternatives: either shut down and thus deprive 63 per cent of the people of the state of Rio Grande service, or: operate the road with new men. The latter alterNew men were native was chosen. employed and forces organized in the shops and the service gradually improved until today the shops are operating more efficiently than before the strike. As a result of the extraordinary expenses entailed in bringing in new men, feeding and protecting them against assault and intimidation, and damage to equipment directly traceable to sabotage, which still continues to some extent, the road was unable to fully handle the crops last fall, and a great loss was suffered by shippers of stock, fruit and other products. This condition, however, was general throughout .the country. These increased expenses amounted directly to over $3,000,000, and a much larger sum indirectly, and wiped out all surplus earnings; so that the $5,000,000 expected to be derived from earnings was not available. This caused delay and necessitated a new financial program, cutting the proposed expenditures to $10,000,000. This sum has finally been promised by parties directly interested in the road in exchange for equipment notes and receivers certificates, subject to the approval of the Interstate Commerce You are aware, no Commission. doubt, as a bond dealer, that securities of this system cannot be sold in the open market on their merits. Expenditures authorzed by court orders to March 28, 1923, $11,102,873.64. . Troubles of the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad are being smoothed over and with a substantial loan secured ft will not be long before the company recovers from the effects of the recent strike. In a letter from District Judge J. Foster Symes to Governor William E. Sweet of Colorado, Judge Symes gays: Mr. Young, the receiver of the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad, which is now being operated by this court, has informed me of his conference with you in regard to taking back the shopmen who went out on strike last summer, and of your desire for an improvement in the ser vice rendered by the road. I appreciate your very proper interest and realize that the people of Colorado are entitled to know what is being done by the court in a matter that so vitally affects their welfare. The Court appreciates fully the poor and inadequate service rendered by this road for several years past, for which there is no legitimate excuse, especdaly last summer and fall, and its direct and adverse effect upon the prosperity of the state. Upon the appointment of the receiver, July 21,' 1922, the Court publicly announced that the giving of the best service possible to the people was, and must be, the sole and paramount consideration in its operation of the road. Therefore a special master was appointed and directed to con- duct an exhaustive hearing on the condition and needs of the system. As a result thereof he reported that was required to put the road in first class condition. Realizing the impossibility of raising any such sum, due to the heavy indebtedness of the road, the Court cut this program to In addition the receiver $15,000,000. was ordered 'to carry out an gency program of $1,700,000 to be spent on new rails, bridges and improvements of way. This work Is about completed. The following plan was devised to raise the $15,000,000, viz.: Equipment $23,-000,0- 00 $5,000,000; receivers tificates, $5,000,000; surplus earnings, trust notes, cer- $5,000,000. On July 2nd, 1922, 97 per cent of the shopmen employed on this system the shopmen employed on this system doubtful if the road could even be kept in operation. They went out be- cause they were unwilling to accept the arbitration decision of the United States Labor Board. Further, at that time it was impossible, as you know, for the receiver to geit the old employees back on any terms, as they would not return until the strike was settled nationaly, in spite of the fact s Amount expended to March 1, 1923, $1,656,000.00. Included in the above are the following major items: $200,000 for 50 new four and cottages for employes at Soldier Summit, Utah. six-roo- m remiles laying rail to replace light rail on narrow gauge lines in Colorado. $227,000 for 45 miles heavy rail for relaying on main line. $230,000 for extension of yard tracks at Pueblo, Walsenburg, Salida, and Grand Junction, Colorado, and Soldier $450,000 for 160 70-pou- nd Summit, Utah. $150,000 for extensions of passing tracks and industry tracks. $6,000,000 for purchase of new equipment, which includes 20 mountain type passenger and freight locomotives, 10 heavy mallet type helper locomotives, 10 Mikado type narrow capacity gauge locomotives, 800 stock cars and 100 narrow gauge stock cars, all to be delivered and available for service prior to August 1, 1923. $2,720,000 for enlargement and improvement of shop terminals at principal points, including new and modem tools and machinery. 40-to- n for improvement and rebuilding of steel and wooden bridges. $250,000 for improvement to exist$400,000 - ing equipment, including locomotives ' and freight cars. In addiiton the monthly cost of maintenance of equipment required to bring it up to the highest efficiency Is running two or three hundred thousand dollars a month over normal. It is doubtful if the road will earn the interest on its underlying securites, to say nothing of providing any surplus for further much needed improvements. This all shows that the strike has had a very disastrous result, both temporary and permanent on this system for the Court would have had at least $6,000,000 more immediately available for much needed equipment and rehabilitation. It necessarily follows that the resulting losses to its patrons and the stock and agricultural interests of the state were far greater. In order to secure woikmen to operate the road it was necessary to promise them peimanent employment. The receiver has been directed by the Court to keep this promise and not to discharge efficient men for the purpose of taking back strikers and there will be no deviation from this policy. The Court is not concerned with the merits of the strike; its one idea being service to the. people of Colorado, irrespective of the strikers or those who have mismanaged the road in the past. Any helpful suggestions to that end will be welcome. . MUCH BUILDING. When Senator Reed Smoot returned to Washington he immediately got busy on the proposed federal reserve bank to be built in this city with the result that he has been successful and work will start in the near future. The building of the bank wras authorized in 1922, but was held up because local people had not secured the construction contracts. California contractors were the low bidders and wiiile a big part of the money will go to the coast, yet this city will reap a big benefit because the work is going to be done here and the people who do it will have to live here. With this large building going up and the Continental National bank under way, together with several big apartment houses and hundreds of cottages, this city will soon be enjoying a welcome boom which will prove a life saver to many. From a business standpoint the winter has been a very hard one, in fact there wras no business, but the future is looking very bright now. Little Girl (in theatre) Mother, when do the Indians come in? Mother Why, there are no Indians in this show. Little Girl Well, then, w?ho scalped all the men in the front row? Yale Record. PLATINUM DISCOVERED IN COEUR D ALENE, IDAHO Valuable Metal Strike Creates Na-- t lonal Interest; Metals at Top Prices. Idaho miners are all excited over the. recent discovery of platinum in Idaho and a thorough investigation of the extent of the discovery is now under way. Should it prove true that platinum exists in paying quantities in the Coeur d Alene district, big interests are contemplating the mining of this metal on an extensive scale. Most of the platinum has been imported from Russia and during the world war it rose to prohibitive prices as far as the average person was concerned. If it can be found in any quantity in this country it will mean much to several industries which depend upon it to finish off their pro. ducts. The investigations will be attended, also, by a committee representing the Columbia section, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, by Ravenel Macbeth, secretary of the Idaho Mining association, by a committee of Coeur d Alene operators and by a group of disinterested citizens from probably Coeur d Alene and Wallice. Work is progressing in all the Utah mining camps in nearly all of which there is a demand for good miners. Bingham has come back strong and was never busier than at the present time. Everybody is at work and there are many jobs still unfilled and there is a demand for good men. The camp which a year ago wTas practically dead today is enjoying prosperity. Silver has dropped about three points during the past wreek on the foreign market, but our market remains steady at near the dollar mark. All other metals are up and in big demand, and this is the year that the mines ought to reap a natural harvest. Those familiar writh the metal market claim that prices will remain up for at least several years. COLUMBIA OFFICIALS ARRIVE. A party of prominent business men and Columbia Steel company officials have arrived from San Francisco to inspect the property sites of the Con lumbia Steel. In the party are E. Creed, president of the steel company; J. D. Grant, vice president and general manager; W. Eaton, chief engineer for Freyd & Brasert of Chicago, and J. F. Thompson, chief engineer for Koppers company, blast furnace builders of Pittsburg. Vice President L. F. Rains of this city has accompanied the visitors on their tour of inspection. Wig-gingto- Getting coal this winter has been a matter of long waits for the big consumers and short weights for the small. Boston Herald. |