The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-12-19

money with which Il was built.
Railroad securities are to-day the
worst class of securities in The
country, aud monied men are not
going TO invest in them
a late number of the PhIfidel-
phia North American, one Of the
Oldest and best papers in the east,
gives list of dfty.tov,' railroads
which are in default for the inter-
est on their bonds. The total of
the bonds so neglected foois up
S2l7,959,3It. What a picture of
overdone railroad building, caused
by the crazy specializing fever of
the last fifteen years.
If the roads which the weepers
for moro bonds fear will injure En-
poris, were built they wonld not
and couId not do business enough
to pay for their fuel. IL is an as
founding fact that only one or two
of the railroads in Kansas, ,oith al
thei,' rich franchises, have paid the
interest on their bonds this fall. In
the face OF these facts does any sane
man suppose monied men, are go
ing 10 build railrods I'm Kansas or
anywhere else, where there IL no
business for them and no possible
demand for them, merely because
few county or township bonds
are offered as the only inducemcnt
The Commercial and Financial
chronicle, in discussing the condi-
ton of the defaulting railroads, and
the general aspect of the railroad
business in the west says:
THE weak point of the whole
system is in the west. OF the de-
faulting lines iu that section thu
majority centre in Chicago and st
Louis, and this fact fairly illustrates
the reckless and extraVgant way II
which these cities have been help
ing themselves at the expense 9f IN
DeOple. In speaking upon thi
point the Chronicle observes tina
every mile of road constructed q
the west has generally cost one
third more than the same piece o
work would have cost if done for
private individual, under his owl
: superyision and for prompt casl
payments, so that IL 9 road coui'
have beOn built for SI5OIOOO cash
we find when il Is completed, tina
IL is burdened with a debt o
SI,OO0,O00 and the necessary inter
est charge thereon of seven pc
cent. per annum. But even this
drawing it mild, for we find tina
. twenty-six OF the defaulting com
ponies issued their bonds at eigh
\ per cent, two at ter per cent! an
nearly all the rest at seven.
The default of so many wester
roads shows clearly that they wer
built ahead Of time, and in man
cases were mere parallel and CON
petine lines, intended to build U
local districts without much regar
To solyency or the interests OF bohC
O holders In nearly all cases the
appear to have been kept up by
constant increase OF their bonde
! debts, to await the progress OF Sc
e Element, the increase OF agrlcultnl
, and general business to make thel
!, profitable, and the moment the bon
y market was closed against the
. they were In default. As to II
a prospect of their soon becomir
Is able TO do paying business,
!. seems III most cases to be remot
:. as the number of competing lines
u now so great that there Is sma
h chance of directing enterprise aloI
d so many routes. We have for yea
~ mast yainlv called attention TO th
point, but the whole west was
o railroad mad that there was
=. chance OF getting q hearing, al
" nothing but such n Revision as
"A have been suffering under won
have put a stop to the movement.
8 Our impression is that 1t W
re take ten gears steady emigration
ID render q majority OF these lines 81
~ ficiently prosperous TO make the
desirable Investments. The excess
y of st. Louis and Chicago have be
Up The widest and the results are I
nc most calamitous. Yet even in I
~ midst of the revulsion both Cit
arc making strenuous efforts
~ build new railroads. If the emit
s. population, wealth, industry a
he trade of the middle States, we
of transferred to the west they COZ
IN scare ely do much more than rend
> the enormous railway system
Up that section remunerative and re
In sustaining"
ne In view of these facts, let us wa
IL the people once more to be carei
how they load themselves do'
ne with further debt for wildcat ra
IT. road schemes. Let the bond "
OF in. business be forever "played GU
IL Let the next legislature see to til
ig No one could be- more thorough
'te devoted.