Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-03-01

nave invested their money III tine system.
Does any one think that the owners of
Iowa railroads have realized large sums
from their investments ?
OF the railroads operated in Iowa In 1886,
seventeen roads after paying operating ex-
penses, interest and rental, earned for divi-
dends and surplus, S6,334, sS5.l5; fifteen
roads show deficit of SS14, 1918, or re-
turn from the system, OH capital stock, OF
S144, 09l, 6S0.31, or $50 per cent. Is it not
certain that economy has been studied to the
extreme in railway management.
The operating expenses for the year 1886
were reduced below those of 1885 in the sum
of S162, O25.24.
The roads of Iowa earned less in Iowa in
1886 than in 1885, as follows:
Chicago, Burlington Il Quincy, ....s S9,626.94
Kansas City, St.Joe 81 Council Bluffs, 13,296.S4
Minneapolis u st. Louis. ........... 3I6,OJ9.50
Wabash st. Louis IL Pacific. ...... 1S0,357.S0
And the whole system lost in earn
ings during the year. .............l O5, 4S0.9l
The further reductions of rates must come
from reduced wages to the laboring man. 1t
is claimed, and rightly too, that the pride of
our institutions is that they have in the past,
and do now, furnish the toilers of the land
the reduction will introduce want into the
house and home of the wage worker?
Your attention is specially called to what
TIE ir report for 1856 (tOo lengthy for quota
tlCn here, wherein they show that on ac-
count of competition, so far as the futare
seems to promise, thereis little to encourage
the hope Of materially higher prices for our
surplus, representing 40 per cent of our ton
mage. They also show that the contest
here Is between capital seeking fair return
labor seeking low rates on its products and
operative railroad labor demanding fair
wages. They say: Gould this 40 per
cent Of the Iowa railroad tonnage be deliv-
cred at tiGe-water without any cost to the
producer the profit to the western farmer
would rot be eXtreme.'
Allow me to add that
Petroleum finds rival in Russia. and it
may be that in the near future it must find
its only market at home--in fact this result
Sc ems higl ly probable. 1t is said to cost us
near fifty dollars to place a carcass of dressed
beef in London market, while Uruguay and
Argentine Republic are laying down great
numbers of dressed beeves in London at
half the amount. These same South Amer
Jean States but lately were buying bread
SUITS from us. Now they are shipping
great quantities Of wheat, corn and rye to
Great Britain.
An examination OF our business reports
reveals the fact that since 1880 we have not
increased materially our production of cot
ton, pork or mutton. The same period
shows an increase in fruits, canned goods,
coal, copper, and generally i'm mineral pro-
ducts. 1t is, or seems to be, true that in the
last seven yearssin agricultural products the
United States has made little or no progress,
while there has been great increase OF
acreage and cost of cultivation.
House building and railroad building have
absorbed an immense amount of wealth. In
that period house building has absorbed
81, COO 00O. eco, railroads 81, 500, 900, 600, so
that one-tenth of the national wealth as
shown by the census of 1880, is invested in
additional buildings and railways Is it not
evident that, with such competition as we
have now in the world from an agricultural
standpoint, it will be impossible to force
transportation rate down low enough to en-
able the American farmer to compete with
his more favorably situated rivals? Gun it
not be seen that the statement of our Rail
road Commissioners (see p. 30, report Of
1850 is strictly accurate when they say
speaking of the agricultural products OF the
State could the forty per cent of the Iowa
railway tonnage be delivered at tide water
without any cost to the producer. at present
prices The profit to the western farmer would
not be eXuCme?'
Labor demands, and justly demands, its
proper reward, reasonable hours of labor,
reat enable hours for recreation and mental
imp Ovement, and we all declare and really
believe, that it should never come TO pass In
our FREE republic that orr lab0ring men shall
| be reduced to the rank and condition OF the
pepper workmen of Europe. To meet The
situation and avoid the result, for years
Americans have submitted to the high c1s-
| = TO ,,f n IN m 10 mud
rapidly growing surplus in the United States
| treasury, and to all the inequalities of a
range of schedule duties embracing many
| thousand articles of commerce. all to protect
| The American workman from lower wages.
| Now is it not plain that thee demand for
| lower transportation rates means, or a. least
will bring about lower wages TO the 2S,O00
| men of Iowa working on railway linesP That
| a reduction of rates will affect more than
| one hundred thousand citizens of Iowa, who
| depend upon the railroad wage worker fol
| bread? Miners and tile manufacturers and
thousands Of other laboring men must suffer
! in the result 1t has been too much the
| fashion in Iowa TO discuss this question OF
| reduction as though it could only affect the
| stakeholder, and he being usually an alb
sentee, living in some other State, or in a
| foreign land has not secured from any of Us
| very Hutl SNIBldlul. Dti ~ iiuot w uD
| parent that he will suffer least from the re
| duction. The conflict then is not between
| labor and capital, but between two different
| kinds of labor.
| is one more sacred than the other, more
| needful of protection, having better and
| stronger and better claims than the other.
| Let us if possible avoid answering these EN-
| barrassing questions, but rather find whether
there is need of conflict between the diff
| ferent kinds of labor, and whether clashins
ard friction is not entirely Unnecessary L
we could know the amount of agricultural
products consumed by workers on railways
| we might find that what they consume di
rectly and indirectly is of much greater yalut
than all the transported product
regret that l have not been able to fint
| reliable data upon this matter. Some gen
| eral facts are worthy of yonr consideration
| Take TIE year 1883, we exported in round
| numbers in value SS04, 900, geo, 900; seventy
| seven per cent. of this product was agricul
| tural, amounting to the sum of $il9, 800,
40 CO; ninety-siX per cent of this agrlcul
| tural produce was made mp from cotton
| bread and breadstuffs, provisions. animal
| and tobacco. Eliminating from the list cot
| ton ard tobacco, as not Iowa PRODUCTIONS
| we find the value of products such as W,
/ SELL
| Breadstr ifs. ..s............ POS, 900, 00
| Provisions. ....................10 1, 00D, on
| Living Animals. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. lO,0J0,O
- =
| 1Otu .............s..s... 1,VVJ,VV
And this represents the total value of al
| such articles exported from the Unite;
| States
regret that | am not able TO tell how
| much Of this was Iowa product, bnt we Zee
sure 1t could not have been very large pro
portion, as her products exported coal,