Conservative.
CANADA'S EXPERIENCE IN RAILROAD
OWNERSHIP.
The experience of Canada in govern
ment railroads does not offer much en
couragement to the advocates of public
ownership. During the session of the
Dominion Parliament , just closed , the
charge was made that $13,000,000 had
been added to the government railway
debt since the minister of railways had
come into office. The minister had been
able to show a surplus , but he had
charged the costs of renewing rails to
capital instead of revenue. This is an
old trick where officers in charge of
public utilities feel that their tenure of
office is dependent upon the financial
showing they can make at the end of the
year. Had the Canadian minister of
railways done wliat every private corpo
ration does , that is , figure renewals of
rails as part cost of maintenance his entire
surplus would have been wiped out.
One member of Parliament pointed out
that the expenditure upon rolling stock
and other accounts of the Intercolonial
had been starved to produce a surplus.
These tactics are not peculiar to Canada.
They are common in Europe and in
many of our cities. The manager of the
city lighting plant of Taunton , Mass. ,
recently reported that the plant was near
ly worn out , that the buildings were in
danger of tumbling into the river during
any heavy stormthat the machinery was
out of date , and that the power needed
to run it could not be secured with the
material on hand. In a word , the plant
is a complete wreck. Yet it has been
ardently claimed that the plant has been
"operated at a profit , " a fictitious profit
the kind of a profit that the Canadian
minister of railways has juggled o\\t
Two years ago the Journal made an
inquiry into the cost of running city
governments , and one of the cities con
sidered was Allegheny , Pa. , which own ?
an electric lighting plant that is the
pride of all advocates of muuioipa
ownership. It was at that time remarked
by a city officer of Allegheny that the
profit shown for the plant was in reality
no profit at all , as the item of "depreci
ation of plant" had been ignored.
Albany "Evening Journal. "
WILLIAM 6. CARLILE.
William B. Carlile , resident manager
for the Mutual Life of New York , a
Chicago , is by birth and inspiration i
Kentuckian ; s evinced by the force
ful activity of his business life , a citizen
of Chicago , strongly imbued with the
spirit of her citizenship , and loyal to
her interests.
Early in his career as a solicitor in the
field , Mr. Carlile conspicuously dis
tinguished himself by securing for his
company the largest single premium in
volving an individual life that to that
Time had been paid for life insurance ,
this remarkable contract , requiring the
immediate deposit of $130,850 as a pre
mium , was personally negotiated by Mr.
Carlile for so notable a client as James
J. Hill , president of the Great Northern
railway , a man widely and prominently
known , because of his pre-eminence as
a financier , as a builder of one of the
world's greatest railway system . - ,
Encouraged by so practical/a demon5
stration of ability , the coh jiany with
which Mr. Carlilo had assooiatd'dQiim-
self gave evidence of its appreciation-
by appointing him Inspector of Agencies
for the United States and Canada ,
which position ho held until sent into
the West , with headquarters at Chicago ,
; o organize the Western Special De
partment for his company , which agency
during the eleven months of its exist
ence produced six millions of new busi
ness.
Appointed to the management of the
Chicago General Agency , following its
merger with the Western Special De
partment ( a field in territorial signifi
cance second only to that of Metropoli
tan New York ) , Mr. Carlilo gave
further evidence of a peculiar adapta
bility for the profession of his choice
by placing upon the books of the Mutual
of New York as the record of the first
year of his incumbency fourteen mil
lions of additional business.
To ably manage men is one thing ; to
win their esteem and honest affection
another. In this respect William B
Carlile has been most fortunate , as may
be gathered from an inspection of the
elaborate memorial , of which , recently ,
he was the honored recipient at the
hands of his entire agency. So delicate
an expression of their regard for a
manager , never too busy to look after
and care for their needs , enables one to
understand how it was possible for this
man , a stranger , to come into an un
known territory and make there a
record not surpassed in the history of
life insurance achievement. Surely ,
such accomplishment suggests some
thing more than mere business ability-
something that tolls of a personality KV
strong and attractive , clean-cut and of 1
no uncertain calibre.
Asa member of Chicago's representa
tive clubs Mr. Carlilo has made many
warm friendships and enjoys a popular
ity quite in keeping with his charming
( individuality.
. THE CONSERVATIVE is much pleased
to announce-that Mr. Carlile will con
tribute to the Symposium which will bo
published in THE CONSERVATIVE next
week , up6u > th'e ' 'Chances of the Young
Man in the Insuraiice Business. "
A FABLE.
BY CIEOUGE ADE.
The owner of a furnishing store gave
employment to a boy with dreamy
eyes , who took good care of his nails
and used scented soap and carried a
pocket looking-glass. It was his de-
ight to stand in the doorway and
watch the girls all color up when they
aught sight of him. He was said to
be a divine waltzer at those balls that *
est the gents 50cents each , and the ladies
; et in free.
There was a girl named Essie who
was hanging around the front of the
store about half of the time , waiting to
get a chance to speak to Bert. She
chewed gum and kept her sailor hat
pulled down to her eyebrows , and had
her name worked in wire , and used it as
a breastpin. After she had waited an
hour or so , and he had broken away
long enougli to take her aside , she
would want to know what it was that
Ned had said about her , or else ask why
ho had not answered her note. It was
always just about as momentous as
that.
If Essie did not come , she sent some
one with a message , and sometimes other
floor managers with red neckties and
forelocks would come in to see about
the arrangements for the next grand
hop by the Eucalyptus Pleasure Club.
Bert was so engrossed with his love
affairs and the Pleasure Club and the
bundle of correspondence , that ho
earned with him , that he had little
time for furnishing goods. It used to
annoy him considerably when anyone
came in and wanted to spend money.
He would set out the goods in a manner
that showed it to' be something of a
come-down for him to be compelled to
wait on outsiders. While the customers
would be asking questions , Bert would
be working the flexible neck to see if
Essie was still waiting for him. Some
times when there was a rushhe would get
real cross , and if people did not buy in a
hurry , lie would slam the boxes around
and be lippy and give them the eye.
Yet he wondered why he did not get a
raise in salary.
During the Holiday season when the
Eucalyptus Pleasure Club was simply
in a delirium of all-night dances and
fried oyster suppers , and when Essie
had worn a path in the snow , coming
down to tell Bert not to forget , the
proprietor decided that the boy's job
was interfering with his gaiety. So
when Bert got his envelope the furn
isher told him he needed more outdoor
life and exercise , and he had better find
it by moving around town and looking
for another job.
Moral : Omit the Essie proposition ,
The Bookworm.
