Mr. Neville Priestley, an English gentleman and Under Secretary to the Government of India, Railway Department, came to this country in 1904 for the purpose of investigating our American railroads. His report was submitted to the English government and printed.[C] Among other things he said: "American railway men are quick to see a new idea. They are quicker still to try it. They take a great pride in their profession and are striving to get at the science of it. That their methods are not always perfect is what might have been expected, but they have managed to do what no other country in the world has done, and that is, carry their goods traffic profitably at extraordinarily low rates, notwithstanding the fact that they pay more for their labor than any other country. It is in the study of how they do this that much benefit can be derived by other countries." Mr. Leroy Beaulieu, a distinguished French economist, who visited this country in 1905 and made a careful examination of American economic conditions, wrote as follows upon his return to his native country: "All in all, the prosperity of the American railway system as well as the excellence of service it renders, is undeniable. If, therefore, one were in search of model railway methods, it would be wise to turn to those practiced under the free American system, not to those illustrated by a system operated under the debilitating control of the state." It has been well said that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house." FOOTNOTE: [C] A condensation of Mr. Priestley's able report was made for the Bureau of Railway News and can be had on application. THE RAILROAD SITUATION OF TODAY BY FRANK TRUMBULL PRESIDENT OF THE COLORADO & SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY. An Address to the Western Society of Engineers at their Annual Dinner, Chicago, Jan. 5, 1909. _Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society_: I shall not attempt to deal with any technical phase of the railroad industry, and in saying this I am emboldened by a declaration which I find in the Constitution of your society, to-wit: "This Society shall neither endorse nor recommend any individual or any specific or engineering production, but the opinion of the Society may be expressed on such subjects as affect public welfare." The American railroad administration of today has abundantly demonstrated its ability to solve all engineering and mechanical problems, and we may rely upon it that the same American enterprise and valor which have gridironed the continent with shining bands of steel will solve any technical problem that may be ahead of us for which money may be had. I therefore proceed at once to engage your thought for a few minutes, if I may, upon what seems to me to be the great problem of the American railroad situation of today; that is, how to satisfactorily settle the relations between private capital and the users of the railroads.