The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-02-16
THE OTHER SIDE.
Like Everything Else, the Railroad
Problem has two Sides.
And the Operators have Little Interest
that the Legislature will be called
upon to Consider.


And the Operators have Little Interest
that the Legislature will be called
upon to Consider.
No question of u general character
will lie brought up and acted upon 1T
this session of the legislature, which
Ia now rapidly drawing to close,
that will be watched with more In.
tense interest than the settlement of
the railroad Observation-Disclosures
tions. pooling, tariffs, etr. The peo.
pie have yeveral very ardent
champions il the present legislature,
and the only real grounds that give
rise to the fear that no especial relief
will he afforded, issthe extreme. and
in some particulars, unjust demands
that the pendingsbills ::impose upon
these great and Indispensable enter.
prises. That there are existing
abuses, no one will deny, and that
some sort Of law should be passed
that will put u stop to them is equal.
ly patent. But the question is one of
great moment. not alone to the rail.
roads, but also to the future of this
growing and prosperous Northwest.
and nothing should he done to cripple
these corporations or place an en-
barge upon the settlement and devel.
opment of the vast territory North
and West.
A prominent railway official living
in st. Paul has prepared an opinion
on the whole general subject of rail.
way management. which will this
week be given to the public in the
form of IA pamphlet. A synopsis of
the gentleman's views have been
published in the papers of st. Paul
and Minneapolis, and while. of course,
the argument is the compilation of
the railroad way of eating the sub.
ject, there are many very stern and
stubborn facts given why certain
arbitrary legislation should not be
enacted.
Without reviewing the gentleman
first proposition, wherein he sets forth
the many advantages railroads afford
people for marketing prod:ce. and
the increased value Of lands over what
they were before the advent of the
steam horse into the Northwest. for
all concede these facts. he says that
unjust discrimination. If 1t exists at
all. is exceptional, and railroad man.
ayers would gladly cooperate in any
practical measure for its prevetion.
further stating, however. that DIS
does, and always will, ex.
list. To sustain his position, and, We
presume, to prove that Nature may
have had hand in this peculiar reg
the writer says that "the
Creator of the Universe has discrim
mated in favOring certain localities
with water routes, which are denied
to others" The position Is well
taken. but will he tell the people how
that fact will Justify the carrying Of
certain freight from st. Paul to Sioux
City at about two-thirds the rate
which is charged from Mankato to
the same point Here is an example
of unjust discrimination that the PEG.
pie complain of and want abated.
The difficulty Of making tariff is
upon by the railroad defender
in plain terms. He says:
mo legislative body in existence.
if each member possessed the wis.
dom of Solomon. could fix tariff of
rates that would be equitable, for no
tariff would be proper either for diff
ferent roads, or for the same road at
different times, or even for different
portions IF the same line. The ele-
ment which affects costs more than
any other. is volume of traffic, and
this cost may vary from cents per
ton per mile to y cent at different
periods.
A provision that the tariff shall be
fixed SO as not to earn more than 4
given percentage, would be folly, for
no man or set of men can calculate in
advance what the earnings of Il given
tariff at the end of the year will be.
4 rate of 2 cents per mile on one
road may he relatively more than NJ
cents OH another, when cost OF serv-
ice is considered. The train mile isa
nearly constant unit of cost, but II
the train contains 100 passengers the
cost per passenger would be one
tenth as great as il the train carried
only ten. The Northern Pacific is
compared with the Manitoba, and is
SAID to show Il slightly larger rate Of
charge per mile per passenger, but
the reason is not given, which is the
large number of second class and emf.
grants carried by the Manitoba com.
pany bound for Manitoba, and the
large local business between the cities
Of Minneapolis and st. Paul, from
which the North Pacific is excluded,
rs well as from all local business south |
Of Sank Rapids. Freight charges on
the Manitoba railway averaged %
mills per ton per mile OH the North
ern Pacific 81 while on the Lake
Shore it was only 3. What does this
prove! Twenty.eight mills may pay
ess OH the Manitoba railroad than .
On Lake Shore. The prii cipal con.
sideration that affects cost is Volume !
Of traffic, and this may be ten times !
Is great on one road AS on another. !
4 alu, u level road may carry sixty !
cars To "a train. when u road OF steep |
grades could carry only 10.
Objection is made to vest the sOver-
ign power of the State in the hands
If an individual, with power to i'm
pose penalties. as being dangerous IN
he extreme. The writer contends |
hit ..n" man living could be saf,l,
..,rm~ ~ with such powers" seeming
rno.r ~, act that no such d.
im.lIun l. k'd. The propositm
ale hy Ih.sr who favor legislai ION
,nd rest friction un railroads is to ELL
arge the powers of the Commissioner,
making, of course, his acts subordln-
tie to legislative powers.
Reference is made to the bankrupt
~ of railroads. The Railioay Age
,ives 1.-The number of railroads in the
United States that have gone into
or into the hands of re-
.eiver during the year 1881 as twenty.