St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-19

ayers, who by their policy of fierce and
unbridled competition demoralized the
entire railroad business of the country.
Had the rates received in 1887 prevailed
in 1883, the difference of about II mills
per ton per mile would have given the
railroads N increased revenue of $780,
1889, sufficient to pay more than 2
per cent upon the total amount of capt.
tai stock outstanding at the end of 1858
upon all the roads contributing toward
this grand aggregate. The Manual
says:
1.-THE causes which led to this I'M
looked-for result are now thoroughly
understood. The sentiment is unani-
mously expressed that the chief ele-
ments of disturbance in the railroad
situation in the West have been-frst,
the unprecedented activity with which
the railroad systems OF that section
have been extended, as a result Of the
desire to secure entrance to the newly
developed lands in the West and South
west: second, the partial failure of the
crops and the consequent loss of a large
proportion of the traffic which had been
calculated upon; third, the complica-
tions resulting from the application of a
new and radical law-the interstate
commerce act; and fourth, the spirit of
hostility and repression evinced by
the legislatures of some of the Western
states.
"IO these several causes, which were
in themselves sufficient to demoralize
the business oil even so powerful a
system as that of the railroads, might
be added a fifth, and perhaps most po-
tent cause of all-that is, the very
mightiness of the contestants and the
magnitude of the interests involved.
In no period of the worlds history have
there been such vast aggregations of
capital engaged in commercial enter
prises as are now to be found in this
country. Nor is there any country in
which competition in business is freer
and sharper than in ours. In this gen.
eral competition the railroads of the
country have taken active part. The
construction of new lines has been en-
couraged in every part of this country
in no section more strongly than in
those which are now displaying the
most violent ~antagonism toward them,
Nowhere were greater inducements
held out to capital to supply railroad
facilities than west Of the Mississippi.
between the close of the wal and the
early seventies; yet in those very
states, which owe their present pros
perlty and development to no cause
more than to railroads. we see the most
rampant hostility displayed toward the
creators of their wealth."
The falling off of revenues in the
states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Hill
nois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Da-
kotas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and
Kansas for 1883 alone amounted to an
aggregate of S73, DOC, 900. Poor cannot
understand how it is that, with these
facts before the people of the West,
the extraordinary antipathy to railroad
corporations now prevails in this sec
ton. The railroad mileage of the West
has advanced in far greater ratio than
the population, and the wealth and
commerce of this section have kept pace
with the railroad mileage. The value
of railroads to this section of the coun-
try is set forth in the following extract
from the Manual:
lover ordinary earth roads wheat
will bear transportation for a distance
of only $50 miles when its value is
$3.50 per bushel at the market. Indian
corn will bear transportation only 125
miles when its value is rs cents per
bushel. When grown at greater dis
tances from market these products.
without railroads. have no commercial
or e%xportable value. The railroads, by
transporting at one-twentieth the cost
owe earth roads, give a marketable
value to wheat grown 5000 miles in
land; to Indian cor grown 1850 miles
inland. Beyond a certain limit, conse-
quently, these works are the sole in
ducement to the production of these
staples in an amount greater than that
necessary for consumption by the pro-
Queer. Railroads are as much the con-
dition of their production as the ship is
for the production of wool in Australia.
The effect of cheap production is we'll
illustrated in the extraordinary increase
in the production of wheat and corn in
the Western states, and the correspond
ing impulse given to the construction of
railroads. the increased mileage of
which has only kept pace with that of
other industries.
1.-The railroads of the country have
been the instruments, of all others, in
placing it in its present position before
the world, by enabling the wheatgrower
in distant Dakota to compete success
fully with the wheat grower of Western
Europe in his accustomed markets. The
railroads of the United States, by V
lutlonizing the agriculture, are revolu-
tionizing the political system and insti-
tutionS of the old world. The vast
crowds of immigrants now focking to
our shores testify the appreciation, by
the people of Europe. of the institutions
of our own country, which have no other
warrant than their utility, and having
such warrant, palpable TO the meanest
understanding. require no vast and OPP
pressiye ornaments for their support.
"ln view of these colossal operations,
it is difficult to say which excites the
greatest wonder and admiration; their
vast magnitude, their uniform regular
ity, or the beneficence of the result-all
due to the entire freedom with which
our railroads have been constructed and
managed. The sole object has been to
secure the greatest Profits from the
least outlay. When such conditions eX-
ist, the best results of which man is
capable are achieved. In all this, the