N&W in 1911--President

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
March 16, 1911

EDITORIAL
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President Johnson
    The Roanoke World in an editorial commenting on the control of the Pennsylvania over the Norfolk and Western says among other things that it is a reasonable conclusion that the Pennsylvania is largely responsible for the broad, liberal and progressive policies which mark the management of the Norfolk and Western.
    [On the contrary] President L. E. Johnson should be given credit for the broad liberal and progressive policies which have marked the management of the Norfolk and Western.  It was his master hand that took the Norfolk and Western when it left the hands of the receiver and brought the road up to its present high degree of efficiency.  It is generally believed in this section where the greatest revenues of the road are derived that President Johnson has been and is still the very life of the road.  Eight years ago when he took charge its stock was scrambling for buyers at laughable prices.  He organized his forces and went to work to build a railroad which would be able to meet competition and what he has accomplished is best shown by comparison with other roads of practically the same mileage.
    Dividends began to appear regularly, money commenced to be spent for improvements and the road was able to enter into new fields where increased tonnage was found.  Mr. Johnson was able to get money and succeeded in making traffic arrangements which netted his road profits in spite of the fact that it was struggling in the days of the "survival of the fittest" and "rebates."  Costs were reduced by improvements, millions of dollars were spent for additional improvements and when the 1907 panic came on the Norfolk and Western stock went down with the rest, but in spite of this the road continued to make money and when the smoke had cleared away the stock went to par and now stands beyond that mark.
    President Johnson in spite of foreign stockholders was able to procure permission from his board of directors to make more improvements and in a very short time the Norfolk and Western will be the cheapest operated mountain railroad in the country.  The Pennsylvania which secured large tonnage from the Norfolk and Western, via the Panhandle, saw that the Norfolk and Western was worth while and they quietly secured control.  What inside help they received can be best told when it is recalled that thousands of shares were thrown on the market when the stock reached par, but it must be admitted that it took a man of calibre and force to hold that treasury stock until the stock went to par, only a few years after the road came out of the hands of a receiver.
    The Pennsylvania influence is widely feared by the coal operators who know the interest which Pennsylvania people have in shutting Norfolk and Western coal out of a competitive market.  They remember what followed the shutting of our coals out of the New York market and can readily believe that the reason the coals from this section have not been shut out of western and northwestern territory is due to President Johnson who equipped his road with such improvements that he was able to ship coal to western points and meet competition and still increase net earnings and pay increased dividends.
    If the Pennsylvania were to use its influence to decrease Norfolk and Western profits it might be necessary to use all the profits to pay dividends instead of using a part of them for improvements necessary to meet competition. This would mean more bonds at an increased expense and eventually President Johnson would be forced to turn himself into a ????* builder and make the cultivation of industries along his lines the chief feature of his efforts.
*Letters indistinct on the microfilm.
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Gordon Hamilton
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