Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-04-13

The North Dakota state alliance recently
adopted resolutions demanding the oovernment
ownership OF Railways. great number of
alliance organizations have made similar de-
mano within the past year. Whether or not
tne government should own the railways Ia
merely business question and 1t ought TO be
considered In = business way
AT the close Of the war the debt of the United
states was e 773, 2238 172 In 1888 the debt had
Deen reduced to 81 ,105 99s, $50 It consumed
nearly the entire energies of the nation to re-
ouce the debt one billion dollars in TWENTY-FIVE
years Ine payment was only possible through
Inc medium Of constantly increasing tarirfs
me straln mas been so great that taxpayers
Ieel the burden grievouSly when to it is coupled
the other burden of extravagant administra-
ton But with all its energy and all its re-
sources the United States was able to reduce
tne principal OF Its war debt but little over a
olIlon dollars In twenty-five years. and then
the nations OF the world looked on in amsxsd
wonderment.
IN 1855 the common stock, preferred stock
funded debt, floating debt and current liabilities
resting on 10000 miles Of the 152 7sl miles Of
raIways tnen In the United States amounted to
"itnn traction of seven billion dollars None
OF the bodies which demand government owner
snip OF tne railways have as yet formulated any
plan whereby the government is to ACQUIRE such
ownership In vague way it has been pro-
posed that stocks and bonds issued in excess of
that the government shall purchase but the
securities OF the railways have gone into the
nanos OF so many innocent purchasers that even
those who advocate such measure would, On
consideration, admit it to be impossible of adop-
tion.
Assuming that within the past two wears tba
increase in value by betterments and otherwise
OF railway properties has been such that the
seven billion dollar estimate of 1sS8 NAV he
taken as at least not an overesti1nate to-day.
then the government would have to increase its
debt by at least that amount if IL were to ac-
quire the ownership OF the RAILWAYS. All the
development OF our resources and all our natural
prosperity. unexampled in the history of the
world, enabled us to pay but billion dollars Of
debt In twenty-five years and the people now
groan under the burden OF taxation At the
same unprecedented rate of payment, it would
require 154 years to pay of the debt incurred by
the purchase OF the railways of the country and
the mere matter of interest with such a debt
added to the present debt, coupled with the ex-
penses of the government, would amount to
about two million dollars day
1t is argued that the profits derived from
operating the railways would much more than
counterbalance the interest charges and pro-
vide sinking fund for the payment Of the debt
incurred by their purchase. In considering
this phase Of the question. those who believe
that the government should own the roads
should remember that in 1888 over SO per cent
of the railway stocks of the United States did
not earn one penny of dividend and nearly II
per cent. earned less than per cent The chief
argument for government ownership is based
upon the theory that rates would be greatly
reduced The statistician of the interstate
commerce commission reported that the total
income for 1888 of the 10000 miles of lines rep
resented in his report was $500, ,S9s, ,s46 Those
who demand government ownership would not
be content unless rates wero reduced at least
one-fourth, which would reduce the revenue to
of
the roads amounted to S507, 1876 345 This would
leave but little over S92 600 900 to paw the in
terest on 81, 900, 900 of bonds, amounting at
least to S210,300,000. This is based upon the
supposition that the government could operate
the railways as cheaply as they operated
to-day, which is far from certain. It is more
than likely that the operating expenses would
be so increased that the net revenue would not
meet even the interest charges on the amount
of the purchase.
Government ownership of the RAILWAYS would
make railway employees government appointees,
and the dangers which might spring up out of
such condition are apparent that they need
not be specifically indicated.
The producers who believe government
ownership to be desirable thing are earnest
and sincere in their opinions, but they will do
well to carefully consider every phase of the
question before they commit themselves to its
advocacy.-Kansas Citv Times, June %, 1884,
At the close of the fiscal year ended
June 80, 1889, the cost of the railroads
proper mot including real estate and
other investment') and deducting the
amount of railroad stocks and bonds
helds by the railroad corporations, was
something less than eight billion of dol
lars. When l say ''cost" mean cap
italization," represented by stocks and
bonds held by so-called innocent pur-
chaSerS."
While many of the roads paid no
stock dividends or interest upon mort
cages, the average rate of dividends
paid upon total stock issue, amounting
to just about one-half of the eight bill
lion dollars, was 2 per cent, while the
average rate of interest paid upon the
bonded indebtedness was Az per cent.
now want to take up and examine
this assertion, or claim, that the rail-
roads must necessarily cost the people
the sum of eight billions of dollars, be-
cause, forsooth, that amount of stock
shares and railroad bonds are held by
innocent purchasers" In the first
place the roads did not begin to cost
that amount of money. Poor's Manual
has stated more than once that the rail
roads did not cost to exceed thirty
thousand dollars mile, or just one
half of their present capitalization.
c. Wood Davis, who is considered by
experts good authority on their cost,
and who has superintended the build
ing of many roads, figures the cost of
existing roads per mile as follows:
Grubb1ng and clearing ........s 100
Right OF way and land damage. ............ 2 500
Earth work and rock cuttings. 500
Rridoes culyerts and masonrv . ooo