The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-10-18
American Railroads.

Inc New World IL IA world OF railroads.
More than $4,000 miles of track are dis
tributed over the surface of North
America alone, and of this length II 40
miles fall within the United States. Be-
tween third and half of the railroads
of the world are included within the
limits of our territory. The 1928
miles of Great Britain, the 1929 miles
of Germany, the 1902 of Russia and
the 1922 miles of France are inconsid-
cradle in comparison. The develop
ment of the railway system of the
United States, though it has already
reached vast proportions, and has in the
excitement of flush times of the past
sometimes extended in Improbable di-
rections, has not reached its highest
point. Unless the invention of some
means of cheaper and more rapid trans
portation than by steam shall supescede
the locomotive, the work of laying rail
way tracks in this country will not be
brought to an end for many years The
advantages of railways in opening up
new and undeveloped sections of the
country and binding together the more
densely settled portions do not need to
be dwelt upon. One of the great Offices
performed by them is the transporta-
ton of the mails. From the time when
a single coach first gave way as mail
carrier to the postal car, the railroad
mail service has steadily grown, and its
growth has been commensurate with
that of the railway system in general
The only check to its increase was at the
time of the breaking out of the civil war,
when mail service was discontinued in
the South over some 1000 miles of rail
road. All this was regained Mt the
close of the war. From 34,015 miles of
railway service in 1867, the total is now
"A, 546 miles, or not far from the entire
langth of the railroads of the country.
Of the ten years in which this growth
of 10000 miles has taken place, only
five have been prosperous. The in
crease in new routes was more than
5000 miles in 1872, while for each of
the last three years it has been less than
$500 miles. The extension of our mail
service has not only been in the area of
territorial distribution, but also in re-
spect to the weight of articles that are
W Dc anu III tuc
ter of such articles themselves. This
latter fact the express companies well
appreciate. Corresponding to the
growth in its population, there has been
an increase in the cost of the railway
mail service up to last year, when the
amount required for this purpose was
less than that for the two preceding
years, owing to reduction in the rates
of pay made by Congress. It is not
impossible that a year may soon be
reached when the railway service must
be curtailed instead of increasing as it
has from the beginning. AS the amount
paid the railroads depends on the
amount of mail carried, and as this
weight cannot be regulated by the Post
office Department, the appropriation by
Congress of sum insufficient to pay
for service over all the lines would make
necessary the discontinuance of mails
on some of the routes. The constant
reduction by Congress of the rates of
compensation for mail carrying to rail-
roads might also have the same effect
by bringing the rate offered below the
amount for which some of the railroads
would be willing to perform the service.
-Wdshington Star.