Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-05
FILE nArIRoAps AVE THEfFARMs.


In our review yesterday OF w. NJ
Grosvenor's paper ON the railroads and
the farms, we only prepared the way
for the most important part of his ar
gument. In examining the effect of
railway progress upon the value OF
farms since 1860, it is to be observed as
before that the rates on the East and
West trunk-lines have been constantly
and steadily forced down Nv ~ com.
= peululon between the roads and canals,
and between the roads them
selves. The through rates are
now actually lower than they were
in 1860. This has been possible to the
trunk lines in spite of the cdraes which
have forced all other roads to increase
their rates since 1860. Immense and
constantly increasing business has rem
dered it possible. Deterioration to farm
values, then; has hot resulted from in
crease of thorough rates since 1860
there has been no such increase. 1t
has resulted from the enormous increase
Of rates on the thousands of miles of
gathering, non-eompeting roads which
collect the grain to the great centres of
shipment, like Chicago, St. Louis and
Cincinnati. Ali this immense network
of roads have raised their rates since
1860, some of them two and three-fold.
Says Mr.. Grosvenor:
''The railroad commissioners of Massa-
chusetts point out the fact that the roads of
that State had increased their average
charges to and from connecting points from
2.61 cents per ton per mile in 1860 to 2.90
cents per ton per mile in 1870, and to other
points from $40 cents in 1860 to 1852 cents
in 1870 The New Y ork and New Haven
increased its average rate from Ala in 1862
to $50 in 1871 The New York and Har-
lem increased its average rate from 3.74 in
1862 to COG in 1871. Many other illustra-
tions might be given, but the fact that local
rates and charges upon short roads or to
nOn-competing points have generally in
creased since 1860 is not disputed and has led
to very great complaints at the West"
But we shall show that this has been
largely a necessity with the non-com-
peting roads. Unlike the trunk lines,
their business has not been large
enough to enable them to exist, without
raising their rates since 1868. Since
that year the cost of building, repairing
and maintaining railroads has been far
greater than ever before-due to GER
tain kind Of legislation, which we shall
mention after we show the fact. This
has necessitateda certain increase of To-
cal rates, which Will largely explain the
great evil of the day. Mr.. Grosvenor
asks:
'.What is a railway? 1t is an iron track,
nailed to the earth with iron spikes, cross
ing streams on bridges wholly or in part of
iron, over which iron engines draw cars
whose wheels, axles, brake-rods, and braces
are of iron. Now, the average cost Of rail
ways bars was SIS per ton in 1860; but the
average for the seven years 1S63-1S69 in
elusive was $S9.71, while the average in
1872 was $50. 129a per ton. Iron laid in rail
roads, from 1868 TO 1869 inclusive, cost Sc
per cent more than in 1860 One hundred
tons of rail to the mile cost 81, 500 in 1860
SS.971 during the seven years preceding
$50, and this increase of over four thousand
dollars mile in the cost of building roads
is in effect a permanent tax of $3.50 a
mile yearly upon all traffic passing over the
road Roads built in 1870 paid 1925 per
mile for rails, and S7,037.50 per mile in
1871, and $S,512.50 in 1872. At one humid
red tons to the mile, the cost of the iron
rails alone in roads built since 1862, at the
average prices given for each year in tables
published by the American Iron and Steel |
Association. has been as follows: