Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-06-21
OVERRIDING the hing.

OVERRIDING the Thing.
The Chicago Railway Age is respon-
sible for the statement that since the
first OF January 666 new lines OF rail-
road, with an aggregate contemplated
mileage OF So, 436 miles, have been
projected, 14.SlS miles are under con-
struction or contract, 9,Gl7 are sur
yeyed and 29,00l are Incorporated. This,
that paper says, is equivalent TO al-
most one-third the mileage OF the
country. IL the business OF projecting,
incorporating and building contin uesA
in the same ratio, before 1889 is done
nearly as much mileage will be under
way as the entire mileage OF the coun-
try, now in operation, amounts to-
The Age thus tabulates the length OF
The lines proposed:
Miles
Twelve New England and Eastern
States ...............-........ 0,H4
Five Central Northern States. ........ BEES
Seven Northwestern States. ..........l2, 1913
Five Southwestern States. ...........11,50
len southern States. ................. l2.SND
Seven Pacihc States. ...,.............. 5,Sf5
There can be but one outcome TO
this mad imitation and that is whole
sale bankruptcy. Railroads that run
from somewhere TO nowhere or as in
many instances. from nowhere to no.
where, can not but have disastrous
financial history. There are to-day
five trans-continental lines in America
with II sixth well under way. The
Canadian Pacific which constitutes
the fifth, does not find business
enough 10 warrant but six trains "A
IL 20 10
But for the tremendous subsidy from
the Canadian government it would
probably be forced TO reduce even this
number. One trans-continental line
could do all the Pacific business. still
the work OF eXtention goes Industrious
ly on. One railroad now being built
in Washington Territory will be from
two hundred and fifty 90 three hundred
miles long. One hundred miles are now
completed. The most difficult part OF
the engineering Is TO overcome the
mountain passes. It's advocates CON
WINGED lot of New York capitalists
more than fortnight ago that the re-
naming distance could be constructed
for about three million dollars and in
consequence two million dollars worth
of the bonds were placed. When these
two millions are exhausted there will
be n call for couple Of millions more
to take care of them and then further
calls for more millions. A man not in
terested in the enterprise says not less
than ten million dollars will be re-
quired before the first locomotive can
roll from Seattle to Spokane. Necessa.
rily before this interesting incident
takes place there will be numerous ex.
capitalists in the northwest and i'm
New York engaged in the mouotonous
occupation of holding a bag.
This case Is not au isolated one.
There are hundreds of others that will
show as wide a discrepancy between
estimates and the actual. Before the end
of 1889 the public will have been urged
to subscribe more than billion dollars
TO further these schemes. The business
of paralleling lines is now as active as
il was when the Nickel Pate and the
New York West Shore were constructed.
The projections are for the most part
speculations. They can not be other
wise in a country where there are al
ready so many railroads tn It a large
minority OF them are I'm the hands OF
receivers. There is no conservatism
in the business. Capital which in most
of cases is exceedingly timid in railroad
business is wildly reckless 1t re-
quirs no more than highly colored
map of the Frog Point d Blu
gletown railroad, accompanied by the
unsupported statement that a good
deal OF wheat is grown along this line
10 make capital clamorous TO buy the
+. d b. bonds at par or possibly at {.
slight premium. One of the North
western railroads, opened for business
not many moons ago was built for
about $4,000 a mile. Bonds OF tina.
railroad were placed in New York AZ
$1,000 "A mile OF course the builder
made money, big money, but what is
to become of the bondholder this year,
or not later than next?
There has been no railroad crisis in
America for sixteen years. This tre-
mendous railroad imitation NAV be
but the precursor of another crisis more
disastrous than the one of 1873. Ii is
high time to call halt. Cincinnati
VipnG