Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-12

Georgia and we have system Of Southern
roads which includes about s, 900 miles of
track"
'Tell me something about the railroads
of the country, Mr.. Brice," said /. "When
will the next great era of railroad building
be?"
II think the dav for great railroad de-
velopment in the United States has passed"
replied Mr.. Brice. "There will be no more
great trunk lines, for the country has all of
these it can carry. The building will be
in lateral lines and in the extension of the
present system. The only great trunk line
now in course of construction is the Great
Northern, which is to run from st. Paul and
Duluth to Seattle and is to extend north to
Vancouver. Ten thousand men are now at
work on this road and it will be put through
very soon. 1t goes through rich country and,
though 1t touches the Northern Pacific at one
or two points, it has its own territory and
it will have trade of its own"
Railroad Trust Impossible.
"How about great railroad consolida-
tion, Senator Brice? Will we ever have a
vast railroad trust which will control all
the railroads of the United States?"
'No." replied the railroad Senator, "I do
not think such thing possible, and if it
were possible the people would really con-
troll it. No rich man or corporation of rich
men is to-day as big as public opinion, and
public sentiment really controls the rail-
roads of to-day. Railroad presidents and
railroad managers realize that they are only
the servants of the people, and the people
and the railroads are coming closer together
every year. The roads are now managed
more in the interests of the people than
they have ever been, and their wants are
studied by the managers As to consolida-
tions, these occur only along the natural
lines of business, and combination upon any
other principle would result in an unwieldy
mass and would break of itself"
SHOW about the roads of the United
States? Are they prosperous?"
"Not as Q rule" was the reply. "Only
comparatively few of them make more than
their running expenses, and many do not
even pay the interest on their stock or their
bonds. We feel here the depression that
exists in Europe, and this affects the rail-
roads 1t has brought about the low price
of cotton, and I attribute it somewhat to
the Mckinley tariff bill, which angered our
foreign trade and broke up our business re-
lations in many parts of Europe
From Continent to Continent by Rail-
"How about the Intercontinental Railway,
SENATOR"
81 have no doubt but that it will be
built" replied Mr. Brice, land that you
will see it a fact in our generation. AL
most half of 1t is already constructed and
we will 60 by rail from the Mackenzie River
to Buenos Ayres Why, as it is, you can
go from British Columbia to below Mexico
City by railroad and there are more than
1000 miles of road in Central and South
America in operation right along this line.
The Nicaragua Canal will be completed and
this and the Intercontinental Railway will
tie the two continents together"
"How about railways in the Southern
part of the United States? Will they
pay?"
Eyes, the south is the great coming field
for development and I believe it is the best
investment field for to-day. The West is
filled up and from now on the tide of emf
grafton will be southwark. The south is
full of resources. 1t has vas. areas of good
conceivable. Yes, look for an immense
development all over the South"
"How about the change in our railroads?
Do you think that the rates of our freight
and passenger fare will be lower in the tu-
ture than they are now?"
''The rates of railroad fare have been 90
ing down for the past twenty-five years.
replied Senator Brice, "and it would seem
to me that they had about reached the bot
tom. Take two-thirds of a cent q ton for
freight and two cents mile for passengers
and this would seem to be about the mini
mum. We have now as low rates as any
country in the world, and we have only .
small margin on which to rum"
Canals as Competitors of Railroads.
"How about the canal and water traffic of
the future? Will this affect the railways?"
mo, 1 think not" was the reply, "thoueh
1t Is wonderful what an immense shipping