Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1894-1895, 1895-08-22

the Worlds Fair. These passengers
travelled S9,445JS0s5 miles, or an av-
erage of twenty three miles for each
ride. This travel is equivalent to
ride Of 30i miles for every man, woman
and child OF our population, or eight
rides Of twenty-five miles each for
every person. The average number OF
persons to a passenger train was forty
four. A good idea of the density of
the passenger traffic is seen in the fact
that there were Sl,333 passengers for
the year per mile OF line, or rs many
persons As could stand comfortably on
q right of way 100 feet wide and Il mile
long. The railroads of the whole world
carried 2,6O0 100000 passengers last
year; $50, Cc0. 600 tons Of freight were
carried by the railroads of the United
States during the year ending July 1,
1895, and 63S,0oO,O00 for the pre-
ccding year, and 745,o01,000 tons for
1893. and this freight carriage WAS
equivalent 10 carrying one ton loo
miles for every man, woman and child
of our population, or five tons that dis
lance for every family. The magnitude
of this freight service may be illustrated
by saying that it is equivalent TO car
rying 26S.000, 900 tons one mile day,
or &c, S00, 900 tons ten miles Il day. Fifty
strong men serving as porterS are need
ed TO carry one ton of freight ten niles
a day; hence, to do by human strength
alone the work OF transpor;a lion per-
formed by our freight trains last year
would require the constant service for
a year of a number 81 porters nearly
equal TO the present population of the
earth, or aboni Ave times the present
number of the adult males in the world.
The average haul Of each ton of freight
was 126 miles. ana the average number
tons carried by q freight train was $50.
All the railroads of the world carried
1,600. 0O0, 900 tons of freight last year.
The remarka bic economic feature in the
evolution Of the railroad is the decline
In the rates charged for carrying
freight. Thirty years ago it cost $3.50
to carry barrel of -four from Chicago
to New York. We have rate for May.
1895, which quotes S0.40 as the price of
the same service Railway statistics
for the year ending June, 1893. show
that 93. 3SS, II $50 tons of freight were
carried one mile by the railroads and at
SIS of a cent per mile. The rate for
1884 was -SGG Of a cent per mile, and
the freight rates for Ohio, Indiana and
Michigan were only .6S2 of n cent for
carrying ton one mile. Ten years ago
the railroads carried only half the
amount Of freight per year that they
are now carrying The entire trans
portation effected By the railroads of
the country during the ten years end
ing June 80, 1893, was 113, 10. 1o3 .O26
passengers one mile and 6S1 800. 46J.-
2S2 tons Of freight one mile, and had
the average charges Of 1883 been main
tanned through the decade in question,
the public would have paid SOL ,9S1 1913
for passengers and S1,T97 ,O1S,221 for
freight transportation more than was
actually received by the railroads for
the service. The total sum gained by
the public on account OF these reduced
charges was, therefore, S2,Oi9,0 60, 034.
How can the inestimable value of the
railroads to the people be better illus
trated than By these astonishing facts
and figures?
Number OF Persons Killed and Injured
During the year ending July LIST,
1894, 1873 railway employees were
killed and 23.422 were injured Two
thousand seven hundred and twenty
seven were killed during 1893, and 3d.
123 were injured. This increase is
doubtless owing to the fact that not
so many persons were employed in
1894. and that the men in service are
growing more careful and efficient.
Less business. TOO. was transact ed,
and improved appliances for safety in
| handling cars are continually increas-
| ing. Only 324 passengers were killed
and 1904 injured. One passenger is
killed and 10 injured every day in the
year, but these numbers are small Gem
pared with the number who travel. Cne
passenger is killed for every 100000
who travel, and for 4i,000.000 miles of
travel, and one is hurt for every 200. coo
who travel, or for every 100000 mites
of travel One-fourth of the railway
employees killed lose their lives by fail
ing from trains, and ene-seventh of
them by coupling ears. One is killed
each week by some overhead Obstruc-
ton, and three a week in collisions.
That train service is dangerous and
attended with many risks is seen in the
statement that one out of every 156 in
this service was killed during the year
and one ont of every twelve was in
jured. In the operation of roads one
employe out Of every as was killed.
and one ont Of every thirty-three in
jured. These casualties extending over
a whole year attract little attention
but like number killed and wounded
in battle would attract the attention
of the whole world. Many persons
not passengers or employees. are killed
and injured by ears especially i'm cities
at crossings, bpt the number is not re