The great West., 1889-11-15
age OF $58.135.59 Der mile. and

ldUlOnS on Gnat basis, When there Is
no person in the country who pre-
tends longer to believe that the roads
cost any such sum of money. 1t has
been demonstrated too often that
roads can be, and actually have been,
built for SO much smaller sums as to
make Mr.. Robinson's estimates
ridiculous at the outset.
He asserts that 6421 per cent. of
the roads in Minnesota are absolutely
unproductive, paying nothing on the
investment. This is one OF the very
evils OF which the people complain.
Avaricious corporations have greed
lily rushed in and built roads that
were not demanded by the people or
the business of the country, and now
they complain because the people are
not willing to pay them large divi-
dends on investments that they
never asked for and were never war
ranted by the business OF the coun-
try This effort to saddle useless
and unnecessary roads upon the
state is one of the most prolific
sources of discomfort and injustice.
We wish to remark that the state
ment to which Friend Carpenter re-
fers, that there are any railroads or
ONE RAILROAD in Minnesota
that is not paying a big profit, is a
lie, and the man who says it is a liar,
and the truth is not in him. This
inane doggerel is getting tiresome.
Why don't they mention the road
that doesn't pay? We can point
them to a "branch road" included
in that estimate OF 81 per cent,
which is put down as "burden to
the parent road and it pays a
profit OF 800 per cent. on operating
expenses every week OF it's existence,
and ten per cent. on cost annually,
besides it's $3,OOO,OOO in lands!
Now some men like to cuddle and
caddle little lie, and the average
granger will let a small falsehood
snuggle down in his bosom and keep
warm. But this monstrous untruth
has become offensive in it's greatness.
We repeat-that this liar cannot pro-
duce the road.-ED. GREAT VEST
Again the author endeavors to
bolster up high freight rates by say
ing that "a ton of hardware being
hauled from St. Paul to Anoka has
to bear not only the cost of it's own
hauling but it's share of the cost of
the general managers salary and
the expenses OF the immigration
agent who may be drumming up
business at the time 5000 miles
away" This is another just source
of complaint. The salary of the
general manager is altogether too
large, according to the ideas of most
people. And if the business drum
med up by this immigration agent is
not profitable of itself, why should
the domestic freight business of the
country be compelled to make up the
loss? Mr.. Robinson might well have
added that the freight business had
also to bear it's share of the cost of
writing and printing such pamphlets
as the one under discussion
The author then gives table
showing that the net income of all
the lines in the state during the year
ending June 80, 1888, was over $2,-
900, 900 less than for the year next
preceding. Well, what of it, Mr.. Rob
inson? The roads still have left a
net income of over $1O,42O,OOO! 1t
would see to a farmer, living in a
sod shanty, paying II per cent in
terest, and wearing his old clothes
in vain and endeavor to come out at
the end OF the year without a net loss,
; that the roads ought to be able to
scrimp along through hard times on
a net income of over $1O,OOO,OOO a
year! It is probable that the entire
farming interests of the whole state
did not have during that same year,
a net income OF one-half or one fourth
, that amount; and it is doubtful, in
deed, if they had any net income at
all.
He refers to the fact that our own
railroad commission has estimated
the over-capitalization of the roads
of the state at 1874, 100000, leaving
the cost of the roads and the equip
ment at $155, ,622,656. Coolly tax
ing out thirty million for rolling
stock and twenty million for termin-
. al facilities, he then estimates that
. this would leave the actual cost of
the roads per mile little over $685.
600, which he scouts as a ridicul-
ously low estimate not to be thought
of for minute This in the face of
the fact that it has been clearly
proven that roads in this state have
been built for less than $4,000 a
mile, including all the rolling stock
and terminal facilities. Then he gives
us lot of rot about the practice of
railroads charging all cost of i'm