The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-07-20

Tenncssee.......'''''.'''''''''' Al
TEXAS. ............'. ''.''''''''''. .'''' 100
Virginia .......... '''''''''''''
.......... los
Thoso fg,lrcs NAV not look very large III
<.o,onarisOn with the new mileage Inht ''9
non recorded for some OF the w cs'vIh
states i'm past years. Georgia ~ inhos
,nav appear trining beside the 2V'u iiii'Ss VI
,,eX line that was laid IN Kansas III -
md The 1854 miles that are sci against WI W
',rol;na may look rather lnslgnlhcahl
80, ,,,,, beside the llOl miles that were
.'radi,ad to Nebraska new mileage account
shree wears ago. but the Importance ana
signincance of the showing made by 'eoISl"
and North Carolina lies in their comparison
With what other states can snow III ne"
mileage this year. ,,- ~. loid
when il is noted that Kansas has lalu
.,,,,v tiftv-seyen miles Of new line this year
and Nebraska only forty miles ana Wheh II
- S,,rtber observed that neither Georgia nor
Nortb Carolina has ever before shown SO
,nuch new mileage in hrst SIX lhoh'hs,
,hcn the truc significance of the figures VIII
40 manifest. In fact, the entire lbs lliles
Of now railroad that have been bullt thus
lar This year in all the south are less IMAM
re ar Kansas has built IN single
- but the greater significance Of the
southern figures lies in the fact that thcA
,,o,,resont y Der cent. Of all the new mileage
.ha, has been built in thrty-iOur states ana
Territories since January J.. Ana snlaii a.
mav scem Georgia's lNi miles, Montana,
1yitb 124 miles. is the only state outside oi
Che south that has come within eishiy miles
ot that amount of new mileage during the
half year.
THEIR SIGNIFICANCE.
What is the significance Of these hsuics ;
In view Of the fact that this Is the hIsl tiihe
that the South has ever furnished - per
cent. of the aggregate new mileage oi lhc
country in any gwen period lne sISnln
canoe of these figures il an unhistakable
indication that the great field Of operation
i'm railroad building has been moved from
she West. southwest, and Northwest 10 me
s-rnth ANY man who knows the alphabet
and can spell out few words can read That
fact in the record OF the last sly
months. The records OF the past lew
wears will add to the strength oil the pres
emf position of the south. Inc southern
share Of new railroad mileage Wnlch i '"'
down at JS per cent. for the last SIX months,
was only 40 per cent. in 1889. In ISIS II
was but 3j per cent; in 1851, - per cent.
and in lSSG only % per cent 1t Is ON
scale like this that the south has h"ch
climbing into first place Tor the new ldil-
road mileage. until now. for the hrsl tm''
il stands at the head. with an aggregate ODD
new construction for its thirteen states lhd
is greater than the new mileage oil an thc
thiTty-four other states and territories.
REASON FOR THE CHANGE.
The reason for this remarkable change III
the field of railroad building is easy to mud.
The wide-spreadng prairies Of the west
have been the great battlefield of the raul
roads for more than decade. Thousands
of miles Of railroad have been pushed
across the broad country, where the Only
signs Of life were the growing blades ol
Grass or the waving trees. To reach the
vast agricultural regions, 81 encourage thc
cultivation Of the soil, IN order lIN us crops
might furnish freight, the railroad builders
ran their lines in every direction, aud scat
tered their millions, or the millions OF the
stockholders. like water in their efforts 90
turn wild country into freight-yielding re-
yions. The result Of this work is now man
itest in the troubles that confront the West
ern railroads whichever way they Turn.
GRIDIRON OF SPECULATION.
Speculation has grid-irOned Illinois, Nam
eas, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana
with railroads that no sooner settle one bit
Ter war for freight traffic than they engage
IN another fight for passenger travel. In.
.enteriug of numerous railroad lines az
common points has built up here and there
u large city. full Of life and busin -. Rail
road construction. rc;y estate speculation
and the manipulatiOns Of railroad stocks
and bonds nave yielded great profits o.
the fOrtunates who got in everywhere on
fhe ground floor. but those who have az
1lied themselves to honest and legitimate
industry have Jared hardly in the midst OF
IL all. The farmers. whose crops have ever
formed the main dependence OF the rail
roads. have gone from bad TO worse with
The continuous decline in the value OF tLc,r
products, and now the mortgages that cover
The Western farms more thickly than The
crops Of corn and wheat, can be purchased
like postage stamps in any large city in thc
country. Reckless railroad building in ihr
West has resulted disastrOusly alike 10 the
stockholders and the producers o. croi
1lpOn which the railroads have relied.
THE WEST
The great disadvantage under which o.,
Western railroads labor l. their lrn.
s,ipal dependence upon products az
1he soil for their freight traffic. At
hest this is an unstable and I'M
satisfactory dependence. \ few weeks of
bad weather spoil the growing crops, IAN
the farmers and sweep away the prospect
i've business Of the railroads, aud when
Providence deals gently with the crops.
farmers and the railroads, the bulk of ihc
traffic for the entire year crushes INTO i-W
weeks after harvest. when no human power
amount Of freight that Is offered.
The crops once out Of the way, there j.
scarcely enough business TO keep the Tlist
ofi the rails until harvest time rolls al o..
,gain. IL is obvious that a manufacturer
or mining region furnishes TO railroads "a
traffic that is not only greater in volume,
l,ut also more steady in its flow than the
freight of farm products. \ mill, furnace
or a mine is not affected by the weather
its production is continuous, and there is
no congestion Of freight by a concentration of
tue entire business OF a year in few weeks
added to these advantages OF manulnc-
Iured products a. freight is the much
greater facility in handling them and tie
absence of the "perishable' character
which forms such an item OF loss IN the
handling OF farm, field aud orchard pro
ducts.
SOME MORE MILEAGE.
1t is equally obvious that given area of
manufacturing OF mining territory will fur
,igh "A greater volume of freight than "A
similar area of purely agricultural territory
10 put the matter in different form, Il
given area Of farming country VIII not sup
port so great a railroad mileage as an equal
area OF mining or manufacturing territory
Herein lies the explanation Of the transfer
of railroad building activity from the West
10 the south. Western farm lands. those
that have formed the principal field OF ope-
FatiOns in railroad building during recent
years, have reached and passed the limit of
railroad mileage Ia which they can furnish
traffic. There are still vast areas in the far
West that art as yet practically unopened,
and great amount of railroad mileage
must be created there before long: but be-
yond this there will probably be little rail
road building in the West for some years to
come. The amount Of territory tributary
10 each mile Of railroad In the Western
states, which viii indicate with cOnsidera-
will De located, Ia shown by the table be-
low, whicb has been prepared for this pur-
pose. The mileage il corrected TO July /.
and the tributary area is given in square
miles:
Mileage. Trib area,
tlilnOih......ss.. ssss..ss..'ss.ss -',lol o.1o
kaDsas............... ............. $3.50 bll