The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-01-29
MINNESOTA RA4LR0ADS,
Report Off. B. Commissio ners for 1874

4AOUVtV VI 1ke xGS NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. AVA 4Os
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The Minnesota Railroad Commissioners
have just issued their. annual report from
which We make the following suggestive
extracts. ~ -? n ,ss,s; J;
The result of these preliminary obser-
vations and inquiries, which occupied the
months of April and May, was the belief
: that largely the evils Of railroad manage
ment complained Of in this State haks
been unjust determinations, from coWfe:
tition between roads at certain points
where rates were reduced, and excessive
charges ct the more numerous non.com-
peting stations. That it has not been So
much cause Of complaint, that theeag-
gregate charges and revenues Of the COM
papics were too great, as that the above
''.diec1lia n h th.le been Haaa, and the
imposition Of excessive charges by one
road on freight transferred from another
read in order to induce the carriage Of
freight over the whole line of one road,
even though that was the longer roafS
to the best market, or led only to an in
ferior market. TO these causes Of just
complaint should be added that of rails
road companies by their officials engag'
ing, directly or indirectly, in the traffic
buying and selling-of commodities, which
cannot be regarded as legitimate func.
ton Of transportation companies. !,
uNRExuNERA11vE CONDITION or MINNESOTA
RAILROADS.
In determining reasonable maximum
rates for the transportation Of freight
and passengers, the commissioners found
that they could not be guided by any
rule Of remunerative interest or dividend
on the legitimate cost Of roads and the
expense Of maintaining and operating
them, for the reason that the tariffs es-
tablished by the companies themselves,
excepting the river division Of the Milwau.
kee Il st. Paul company, have not produced
revenues that were At oil remunerative.
Of those companies having lines wholly
within the State, two are in the hands Of
receivers, three others have defaulted in
interest upon their debt, and two have re-
sorted to funding interest for q term Of
years, while the remainder Of the roads
within the State have maintained their
credit by continued assessment upon
stockholders in one form or another. The
lines within the State constituting parts
Of lines beyond the State, are enabled to
lean for support on the longer lines, having
larger traffic in the older States, to which
they belong.
The newness of the roads in this State,
having light traffic from the sparseness
Of population in our large territory,
many Of the roads extending into the
scarcely yet settled western and north
ern frontiers, sufficiently accounts for the
small revenues Of the railroad compa-
MES.
PREPARATION OF SCHEDULES.
In view Of these facts, it was left to
the commissioners, guided in main by the
rates previously charged by the compa.
MES, reduced and modified where shippers
gave evidence Of higher rates than seemed
reasonable-to so graduate rates in con.
formity to the law, in the schedules they
established, as not oppressively to reduce
the revenues Of the roads and yet TO eff.
feet material savings to the people, and
to do away with the evils of discrimina-
ton which have been referred to.
The reductions which they mainly ef:
fected we're in rates Of passenger fares,
ond freights on the great staples of pro.
duction Of the State, grain and lumber !;
these indeed constituting more than
three-fourths Of the business of the roads.
The work involved in preparing SEIZED
ules for the several roads, Was exceeding
" difficult, involving m almost infinite
number Of complex considerations. The
commissioners called to their aid A. j.
Mead. ESQ.,, of Winona, who had large
experience in railroad transportation.
The result of their labors was embodied
in schedules for the several railroads in
the State. published on the Oath day OF
July, and revision az to the First Di.
vision of the St. Paul and Pacific Con-
pany on the 9th Of August, which sched-
ules, in sheets, accompany this report.
There has been = general and substan.
tial compliance with the law on the part
Of the railroads, no we'll founded COM
plant having been made Of violations.
REDUCTIONS EFFECTED BY THE COMMISSION
Frs SCHEDULES.
From = table elsewhere, will be seen a
reduction in passenger rates, varying
from ten to twenty per cent. on seven Of
the railroads. This does not include the
st. Paul and Sioux City road and connec-
tons on which former rates were re-
restored December l.
II these rates are continued enc year,
and the business equals the last year re-
ported, the aggregate reduction to pas
sengers would be 800, 722.42
1t would be impossible to tabulate the
innumerable changes in freight rates, but
NO have approximately estimated the re-
duction to shippers on the two articles of
grain and lumber at $4,000, for one
year. We are confident this is below
rather than above the result. (Bv analy.
sis of the business of one Of the roads it
was ascertained that about rs per cent.
Of passenger earnings was derived from
sale Of full fare tickets, Is per cent. from
mileage and other reduced fares. BY
the same procd. the proportion of freight
earnings from grain and lumber Was found
to be IS per cent. Of the whole.l
Pro RATA FEATURE OF THE LAW.
The pro rata feature Of the law, that
provision which forbids greater charge
for transportation over 4 given distance
on any line Of railroad, than over the
same distance elsewhere on the line for
like freight or passage, is shown in prac.
tice to be unequal and Objectionable in
certain cases where special circumstances,
like those hereafter indicated, seem to At:
ford IN exception to the general and alb.
stract justice Of the principle. For ex.
ample, the First Division Of the St.. Paul
and Pacific railroad company. main line,
extends from St. Paul to Minneapolis.
and thence to the western boundary of
the state. The first eleven miles of the
road, between the cities of Saint Paul And