The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1881-12-01

These statistics give faint idea Of the
tremendous amount of capital that is being
employed in tue railroad enterprises of the
country, and the mighty influence it would
be capable of welding in commercial or
political way, provided it could he concen-
trated upon q given object. But this
danger is not nearly SO great as many peo-
BILE apprehend who take a ones ided view
Of the case. Many of these great roads are
rivals, AMI will continue to be as long as
they exist, from the nature Of their work
and the object of their projectors. What is
for the interest of one is not always for the
interest of another, and the Inducements that
one holds out to secure trade and travel for
it's line often force others to make deduc-
tions that inure to the benefit of tho COM
munity. great corporation is not neces-
sarily great monopoly, but may be so
conducted as to be Il benifcient institution
comforting and dispensing blessings upon
all within the reach of its influence. The
great gain to the farmers of the West, and
to the produce consumers of the
East in the decline of railroad charges
dnring the last ten years is enough to
astonish the farmers themselves. A re-
duction of a few cents per 100 pounds upon
freight between Chicago and the seaboard
signifies a saving of SO much
ducer or consumer. To make this matter
plain, Mr.. Edward Atkinson bases some
estimates upon the business of the New
York Central and Hudson River railroad.
and the calculation is astonishing. He
says:
The total saving to the whole country
in the cost Of moving merchandise from
1870 to 1879 inclusive, period of ten
years, as compared to the rates charged
from 1866 to 1869 inclusive, has been
81 200, ,0O0, 900, or $100, 1000, 900 more than
the reduction Of the national debt since
the war ended. In the case of the Cen
trail the charge for moving 9.441 ,213 tons
of freight in 1879 was $1S,27O, ,05O,
the rate per ton per mile being 1854
cents. Had the charges been as high as in
1868, the transportation of the same
freight would have cost S44, ,92O, ,O5O, or
1.6567 cents per ton per mile. The New
York Central line does about one-twentieth
of the railroad business of the United
States. The conclusion is obvious that the
reduction Of the transportation tax adds
vastly to the amount Of capital avail
able for use in further railroad con.
struction and in other ways. I"
Mr.. Atkinson thinks that the farmers of
the West secure a large proportion of this
reduction, as the statistics Of the New
York market clearly show. "The average
prices in that city of given quality Of
flour, whest, corn, oats. beef, pork, lard,
butter and wool in 1880 were only frac.
ton less than in 1869. The cost of NOV
ing thirteen tons of merchandise made up
of these nine articles from Chicago to New
York in 1869 was $1S5 dollars, and in 1879
$61, the difference being 1924 AS the New
York price was about the same in each year
the Western producers and sellers received
the gain"
In the most of the Western States the
railroad corporations have been put upon
their good behavior 1) bv the construction
Of rival lines; (2) by the right of the Leg
islatures under the constitution to take the
property and franchises of incorporated
companies and subject them to public use,
the same as private property; (3) the police
power OF the state can be exercised at anv
time to prevent corporations from SO con-
Quoting their business as to in
fringe upon the equal rights Of
individuals AMI the state at
large; ~ the power Of the legislature to
annul any charter that it has granted when
ever the business of the company is so con-
d"cted that it becomes injurious to the pub
lic welfare, and (5) the popular jealousy
that exists in the community against the
overreaching policy of corporations. Herein
lies the safety OF the people.