The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1882-05-04

ally In direction from north ~ south,
In u largo degree, the course "
lac streams The former road, because OF
he facts stated, requires q larger cxpcndi
ure Of money In the maintenance OF its
bridges and oulycrts, It's high banks ANA
leep cuts.
The Texas 4 Pacific and international &
Great Northern have longer haul for their
fuel than the Houston IL Texas Central
Therefore, If YOU establish rate Of freight
whereby the Texas Central can barely
its property and pay its liked
charges, you have established u rate that
will put the other roads into bankruptcy. a
rate that YOU may now fix, may, because Of
friendly seasons and bountitul crops, yield
a fair return to the transportation lines OF
your state, while the next succeeding year,
because Of drouths and other adverse
causes, may fail to furnish the same trans
portation lines with one'half OF the bust
ness,
CAUSING THEM 10 DEFAULT IN INTEREST.
But the fact that | desire most earnestly to
impress upon you il, that under the pres
ent transportation rate adopted by your
in 1870, the earnings OF your
lines Welded no return for the capital IN
vested The reduction in the rate Will not
make another bale of cotton, or another
bushel of wheat, or another cow or another
pound of merchandise, or another man, or
woman or child, to be transported by these
lines. 1t is impossible in the very nature
of things to increase the volume OF freight
upon transportation line by any
change of rates, either by increaSa
the Volume of business. But
what | think should be the primary end
and aim of the people of Texas, cooper
ating with the transportation lines, is TO
adopt and foster just such measures, and
those alone, as will increase the carrying
trade of the country-l mean in its volume.
This can be done only by rapidly increas-
ing your population, blowing up and en-
closing your prairies, charging the acreage
of cotton, and of corn, and of wheat, and
of sugar This, in turn, will increase, in
the same ratio a demand for the products
of your forests. New saw-mlllS Will be
erected The volume OF property to be
will multiply as human habi,,
tatiOus and human wants are III demand
by increased emigration. Then, my word
Tor il, will the rate of transportation be di-
minished by every carrier in the state, not
through the arbitrary methods of statutes,
but through the natural and inevitable
laws which pervade commerce and trade.
How can this legislature know, with GER
tainty,
THE COST OF TRANSPORTING
a ton of freight for a given dis
lance, or through one, two or three
years, or even approximate 1t, with
out reference to the actual operations
of and an accurate knowledge of the de-
tailed cost and expenses of the lines to be
affected by the legislation d? Would you, if
you had the constitutional authority, arbi-
trarily declare the commission which fac
tor should charge for handling bale ofcot-
tnn pr a pon,rreas cpfnpaDV for cOm DrpSS-
ing it, until you were advised of the actual
cost of the service rendered, that you might
leave a reasonable margin tor profit?
As well do this, as to fix arbitrary rates
for the transportation OF this and other
freight.
A moments reflection will satisfy
any intelligent mind that gross and
injustice will be done all
railroads in .oi sp nisd yrr,ss pop,
applied to them as to those in the centres
of commerce, wealth and population.
Texas has, repeat, pa, 356 square miles,
with million and half population, and
one mile of railway to every eighty three
square miles of territory.
PENNSYLVANIA has 10000 square miles,
with population OF 4,2S2, S0l, with one
mile of railroad 10 every seven and 36-lOO
square miles of territory.
New York has AZ 900 square miles of ter
ritory, with population of 5,0S2,S7l, and
one mile of railroad for every nine and
$1,000 square miles OF territory.
Georgia has 5000 square miles, with a
of !, 542, $50, and one mile of
railway to every twenty-five and S1-lOO
square miles oil territory.
Massachusetts has 1900 square miles of
territory, with population of l,7e3,OS5,
and one mile of railroad for every four and
one-hundredths square miles of territory.
Massachusetts has ., 1913 miles of railroad,
costing $l52, S43 100. They earn gross, $780,
555, 600 the working expenses were Sl7,-
33i 900 and the net earnings were S9,22l-
900. They paid interest on their bonds and
dividends OF over $4,000, 900 on their stocks.
Texas at the same time had 3,2l9 miles of
costing Sl62, $4,000. Their gross
earnings were $l0,5GS,0O0 working ex-
penses, 1924 600; net earnings, 81, 723 900;
interest due on bonds, over S60OO,O0O, or
81 $50, 600 more than the net earnings.
You will see by reference to the special
report of your comptroller dated March
%, 1882, that on the Both of Septem her, 1881,
the amount of indebtedness of the Texas
was then Sll7,9b2, 273.76, besides
the capital stock actually paid in, which
added, makes an Indebtedness of $1S7, 2i2, :
072; and yet the earnings, the gross earnings
from all sources, were only SIG, l3i, 509.74.
The operating and maintenance expenses
for the same period were Sl0.2S3, 43i72,
leaving deficit of 81, 225,O00 for the pay
ment ofinterest on their Understanding
debt of Sll7,962, 1876.
Pennsylvania has 6,0Sl miles of railroad,
at a cost of S420 400, 0O00 90; with gross earn
ings, $S7, 667 900 90; working expenses, $47,-
III 600 co. net earnings, S4l, 2l9 10000; inter
est paid on bonds. 1884 10000; dividend
paid on stock, 81, T33 900 %.
New York has 800 miles OF railroad, at a
cost of S572, 7S6, 600 gross earnings, s72 1874, :
10000; working expenses, S44 l7S ,OO.C0: net
earnings, S27 900 10000; interest paid on
bonds, Sl2,O0O,OOO; dividends paid on stocks,
Sll, 7l3 10000.
The middle and southern states have
each about the same railroad mileage
that is, each have about 1900 miles and
while the gross earnings, in the middle
states, were $3.50, 200, 10000 in 1850; in the
southern states they were only S4s, 0O0,-
5000. The net earnings of the middle
states were $4,000 ,OO00O as against SlS,-
900, 10000 in the southern states.
The distance across the state OF Texas,
from east to west, is about so miles and
from north to south-that is from Red
River to Galveston-it Is about 400 miles.
Massachusetts, has population Of 2ls 10
the square mile; Georgia hiss pOpula-
ton Of 90 TO the square mile Pennsylvania
has o.; New YORK, lO5: while Texas has a
population Of on y 81 to the square mile.
Massachusetts, has real property valued
1t Sl,ls9. 465, $500; personal property
valued at S49S, IA, 1890; altogether 81 ,647,-
I39. 9S4 90.
NOrE.-I beg TO say here that the appar
emit earnings Of the railroad companies, n
shown on page p Of the comptrOller's re-
port, Of fl9. 933 800 "a. Is 10 be credited by
he proportion Of earnings upon the nile
age basis Of the Missouri, kangas a Texas
railway company, Of 81, 7ss, 30 earned upon
ts lines beyond the borders % the state Of
Texas. the report or that company having
been made for lie entire lines, in and out Of
he state, and Inadvertently complied
without making the necessary deductions
This calculation will show that the gross
earnings Of ali the railroads In Texas. for
he Period specified, j. only flG.13f. SD a.
Instead Of 81 .9i3, So "a, 81 shown in the re-
port. ID l. due % the COMPTROLLER, however,
10 say that this error was not bis fault.