The Grange advance., 1875-01-26
MINNESOTA RAILROADS.
Report Off R. Commissioners for 1874

" 1AAoAA VIC nas~o t1e 1OAloWluo SuS6coS'0
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 have
been unjust determinations, from compe-
tltion between roads at certain points
where rates were reduced, and excessive
charges at the more numerous non.cOm-
peting stations. That it has not been so
much cause Of complaint, that the ag-
gregate charges and revenues Of the COM
panies were too great, as that the above
have been made, and the
of excessive charges by one
road on freight transferred from another
road in order to induce the carriage Of
freight over the whole line of one road,
even though that was the longer route,
to the best market, or led only to an in
ferior market. 10 these causes of just
complaint should be added that Of rail-
road companies by their officials engag-
ing, directly or indirectly, i'll the traffic
buying and solling-of commodities, which
cannot be regarded as a a legitimate func-
ton of transportation companies.
UNREMUNERAT1vE CONDITION OF 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 remuncrative interest OF dividend
on the legitimate cost Of roads and the
expense of maintaining and operating
them, for the reason that the tariffs cs-
tablished by the companies themselves,
excepting the river division of the Milwau.
kee & St. Paul company ,have not produced
revenues that were at all 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 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 the Sc 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 ef-
feet material savings to the people, and
to do away with the evils of discrimina-
tion which have been referred to.
The reductions which they mainly ef-
fected were in rates Of passenger fares,
and freights on the great staples Of pro-
duction of the State, grain and lumber !;
these indeed constituting more than
ofthe business Of the roads.
The work involved in preparing sehed-
ules for the several roads, was exceeding
ly difficult, involving an almost infinite
Of complex Considerations. The
called to their aid A. j.
Mead. Esq, Of Winona, who had large
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 as 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
ERs' 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-
tlons on which former rates were re-.
restored December l.
If these rates are continued one year,
and the business equals the last year re-
ported, the aggregate reduction to pas
sengers would be 500, ,722.42,
1t would be impossible to tabulate the
innumerable changes in freight rates, but
we have approximately estimated the re-
duction to shippers on the two articles of
grain and lumber at $230,000, for one
year. We are confident this is below
rather than above the result. By analy-
sis of the business Of one Of the roads it
was ascertained that about Is per cent.
of passenger earnings was derived from
sale of full fare tickets, Is per cent. from