The morning call., 1890-09-30
A YEARS RAILROAD PROGRESS.

The second annual report Of the Inter
state Commerce Commission has made its
appearance. 1t contains the usual valuable
statistics. From these it appears that the
aggregate mileage of the railroads of the
United States on the 30th of June. 1889, was
157, 7j9 miles. The mileage of all the rail
roads in the world is about $4,000 miles.
OF these 157, 759 miles of line $3.50 miles are
in California. Thus this State, which is the
second State of the Union in respect of
area, and the twentieth in respect of pOpu-
latinn, is the fifteenth in respect of railroad
mileage. Considering the varied resources
of the State and its unequaled advantages in
point of climate and fertility, its scanty
transportation facilities are strange. Wis
consin, which was admitted to the Union
two years before California, has nearly
twice as many, and Minnesota, which came
in eight years after California. has over
twice as many miles OF line as this State.
The reasons why we have Jagged behind
were worth discovering.
1t is agreeable to observe that steps are
being taken 10 supply the deficiency. In the
wear covered by the commissions report 5J6
miles of new railroad were built in Califor-
mia, more than in any other State in the
Union. The current year vii not show so
we'll The snow blockade of last winter
cost the roads so much money that their
resources for the construction of new roads
were diminished But railroad traffic is i'm
proving, and by the beginning of next year
construction Will probably be resumed on
number OF the branch lines, which are
needed as outlets for localities which are
increasing their outputs.
The 157, 759 miles of railroad in the United
tod Inv 0f
stocks and bonds; so far as appears. the
roads cost this sum, or in round numbers
| S6o,ooo a mile Roads can now be built and
equipped, in an ordinary country, in this
State, for less than half this sum. Sixty
| thousand dollars mile would build a road
through a very difficult Country. indeed.
| The report gives the average gross eNrnings
| of the whole system at $3.50 mile, and
| the net earnings, after payment of in
terest of the bonded debt, at SOP mile.
These averages are misleading. few
| roads built through well-settled country
cara a handsome income, while a large
number Of roads, built in anticipation of
the future, do not earn the interest on their
bonded debt. and some of them do not earn
expenses. We see how il is ia This State
The road from San Francisco b. inc Sierras,
tAe road from San Fraocisc, lo Fresno. and
the coast branch line. make money; hut
! the line lr2 lr.ete- HE lie
line from aa a I'm
working su Jinc io do
that
Stin, o. -IOsd sg- q s southern
Pacific, With gli rs Lean spris nd in
earning capacity among .io ms
| of the county. l4v 4vI.y...., 49,, wv
ing the gross earnings of the Leading lines. is
interesting:
Roads Gross ear earnings in
PennsyIvania s57,7I90 s6
Sew yar 43292 6s2
| Northern Pacific. ~. 10 2O3.264
Atchison. Topeka ard Santa Fe 5'ssz
The small earnings of the Union Pacific
seem d fficult 10 reconcile with its large
mileage; the explanation probably is that
It's extensions report separately and their
earnings are not included it the general
system.
The Interstate Commission estimates that
the railroad system employees an average of
704,743 hands. This is an army of itself.
Estimating that each of these is the head
OF family, the commission reckons that
not less than 100000 persons get their
bread out Of the earnings of the roads. In
Europe the proportion of employees to mile
age is larger than here. Railroad engineers
and brakemen run greater distances here
than there, and there are fewer trackmen on
our long roads than on the shorter lines of
England and the Continent. So here the pro-
portion Of hands employees to mileage is
hiocn greater in Pennsylvania, New York
anu New England than it is on the long
SteVch roads west of the river valleys.