Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-06-12

Montreal, . 7,5i6,39O
From Chicago and Milwaukee the ship
ments east were 1O2,695,975 bushels. and
south 73S, 665 bushels from St. Louis, east
6,597, l26 bushels, and 1880, 2O2 bushels
south. The proportion of eastern to southern
shipments from these cities appears to be as
1OJ to 16.
We give these figures to show the fact
that the larger proportion Of the grain sent
from the Western states passes eastward in.
stead of following the Mississippi southwark !;
that trade naturally inclines this way. The
improvements in canal lines which are under
contemplation, and which are certainly TO be
accomplished sooner or later, will draw a
still larger amount of traffic this way.
The committee have made Investigations
into the transportation systems of several
European countries. They find that sin
France the system of Independent corporate
management was tried and proved unsuccess-
full. The independent companies failed, and
the progress of railway development was
slow and unsatisfactory" Then the gov
eminent became part proprietor of the
railways, but this proved as unsatisfactory
an arrangement as the other. The compa-
MES have now been consolidated into six great
companies, 4.65 per cent is guaranteed on
the new lines by government, and to each
company is assigned a distinct territory.
Thus competition among railroads is out of
the question, and in some cases railways
have been authorized to purchase the canals
for the express and avowed purpose Of sup
pressing competition.
In Prussia the government is in some
cases stakeholder in the companies and in
others the owner and operator Of the roads
The original policy of the state was adverse
to competition, and section A of the Prus.
sian railway act expressly prohibited com.
peting lines. This act was found unsatisfac.
tory, and now the state permits the construc.
tion of competing lines but the companie:
soon combine and agree upon mutual rates,
which practically docs away with competi'
ton, as is the case to great extent here.
In Belgium the state entered the field in
competition with private compaaies until
about the year 1860, when the numerou,
smaller companies began to consolidate theil
strength, formed through trunk lines, and
boldly challenged competition with the STATE
itself. For time the state backed by the
public treasury, worked its roads at a heavy
loss 1t acted as the richest and most pow
ertul company against private companies
When the government was pressed by the
competition of its rivals, its first resource
was to seek for the traffic as they did. II
made special contracts and special tariffs OF
its lines, but the final result was an agree
ment as to rates between the government
and private companies. Though the result
of state management has cheapened rates
there is now no longer any competition ever
. between the state and the private lines.
In England, between the years 1874 and
lS47, stimulated by encouragement from
parliament, a great number Of companies
were formed, and oompitition, for year OIL
two, promised to do great things in the way
of cheapening rates, but the over.eompet
ton Of the numerous companies caused then
to seek protection by means of combination
and the report of a joint select committee o
both houses in 1872 states that there is no
"any reason to suppose that the progress o
combination has ceased, or that it will ceas
until Great Britain is divided between
small number of great companies"
From those examples across the watel
and from the experience in America,
seems clear that competition, which is sal
to be the life Of trade, is not sovereig
balm for every i'll in the case Of the trans
portation business. Railroads are expensiv
investments, and the men who control theI
are men Of business tact who cannot fail
see wherein lies their interest, and they nc
only will not long do business at loss with
out taking measures for their mutual proteC
ton, but having found it so easy to proteC
themselves from actual losses by combinatio
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