Background
Edward Payson Ripley was the son of Charles P. and Anne Robinson (Payson) Ripley. He was born on October 30, 1845 at Dorchester, Massachussets.
(Excerpt from The Railroads and the People Take, for exa...)
Excerpt from The Railroads and the People Take, for example, its attitude toward secret rebating. This was the most pervading and pernicious abuse that ever devel oped in the railway business in this country, and the public was justified in adopting measures for its suppression. But the pub lic has been unfair in that it has habitually refused to give due weight to the fact that no rebate was ever given which was not received by some one; and that the recipients were just as guilty as the givers; or to the further fact that the railways tried repeatedly to stop rebating, and did more than any one else to get passed the Elkins Act of 1903, which did more to suppress that evil practice than any other piece of legislation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from Texas Welfare Commission: Address of Mr. E. ...)
Excerpt from Texas Welfare Commission: Address of Mr. E. P. Ripley, May 21, 1912 And yet, so far as our own business is concerned, while we expect and hope for better conditions than we have had for the last two or three years. It is nevertheless a fact that we can not hope to increase our business sufficiently to make it a profitable one. I am proposing to tell the exact truth as to our conditions. I have already done that in my letter which I addressed to this Com mission, and I can only amplify somewhat on that. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Edward Payson Ripley was the son of Charles P. and Anne Robinson (Payson) Ripley. He was born on October 30, 1845 at Dorchester, Massachussets.
He attended the local high school at Dorchester, Massachussets.
Except for a few preliminary years spent in the dry-goods business, his entire career was devoted to railroad service. His first position was that of contracting agent at Boston for the Star Union Line. From October 1870 to 1872, he was clerk to the general eastern agent of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; and from the latter date to 1875 he was New England agent of the same company. He then became general eastern agent, and on June 15, 1878, he was made general freight agent. In 1887 he was appointed traffic manager, and in the following year general manager of the Burlington. In August 1890, Ripley left this road to become third vice-president of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway.
On January 1, 1896, he became president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé Railway. This position he held until January 1, 1920, when he was named chairman of the board of directors. His death followed a month later, at Santa Barbara, California, where he maintained a winter home. Ripley was already well and favorably known during the years which he spent with the Burlington and with the St. Paul. His reputation mainly rests, however, upon the skill, integrity, and energy which he displayed in the management of the Santa Fé after he became its president. The road had just emerged from a receivership preceded by a period of mismanagement that has never been excused or explained.
A considerable portion of the system was in poor condition, equipment was inadequate, and during the first six months of 1896 the company earned only $141, 720 above its fixed charges. Twenty-one years later, when the federal government temporarily took the system over for war purposes and Ripley's term of service was nearly done, the lines of the Santa Fé had been repaired and its mileage increased from 6, 435 to 11, 291 miles; the equipment in service had been enlarged from 962 locomotives and 28, 360 cars to 2, 069 locomotives and 74, 252 cars; and the annual surplus had risen to $7, 057, 000. The best energies of Ripley's life went into the transformation which these figures represent. Among his larger transactions for the Santa Fé during his administration was the sale of its interest in the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, and the exchange of the company's Sonora branch for the line of the Southern Pacific reaching from Mojave to the Colorado River.
Time has shown the wisdom of both decisions. Extensions of the system up to 1919 included the construction of the Belen cutoff, affording a through line from Kansas City across Oklahoma and the Panhandle; the addition of a route across Texas, linking the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fé with the western portions of the Santa Fé system; and the purchase of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad, making possible access to San Francisco Bay.
Even more important were the improvements in plant, methods, and internal organization for which Ripley was responsible. These included reductions in grades and curves, building new terminals, and the like; but special attention was also paid to such matters as the handling of stores, and to the relations between the railroad and its employees. Ripley had a fixed policy of promoting only from the ranks of his own organization whenever possible; he established a pension and insurance system, a shop-bonus plan, and an excellent apprentice system. Such methods helped to build up an unusually loyal and efficient organization.
Ripley's active life covered the entire period from the beginning of federal regulation of railways in the United States to the close of federal railroad operation after the World War. In view of his training, it is not surprising that he was skeptical of the wisdom of government control, especially during his early years. He could not see what the public had done for the railways that entitled it to so large a voice in their affairs. He maintained that railroads should be treated either as private or as public, that they should either be left free to manage their own affairs or be protected against outside attack, as the post-office is.
Yet he was one of a very few railroad presidents who were willing to accede to President Roosevelt's demand in 1905 that the power to fix a maximum rate be conferred upon the Interstate Commerce Commission. Ripley did not take this position publicly, because he yielded to the opinion of his friends, but he argued for it in the conferences in which the railroads reached their decision to refuse the proposal of Roosevelt.
Before his death he had become one of the railroad men whose influence reached beyond the limits of their own system, and who spoke, after a fashion, for the railways as a whole in matters in which their interests were involved. He was active in carrying through the project for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893, serving as a director and on the committees of ways and means and transportation. He was for many years trustee of the town of Riverside, Illinois, and served as its president.
(Excerpt from The Railroads and the People Take, for exa...)
(Excerpt from Texas Welfare Commission: Address of Mr. E. ...)
Among Ripley's personal characteristics were quickness of decision, willingness to delegate authority, aggressiveness, and skill in selecting men.
On October 4, 1871, he married Frances E. Harding, of Dorchester, Massachussets, and by her had four children.
