The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-11-11

The beauty of it all is that the evil
dence was furnished by the Union
Pacific Railroad Company, the owners
of the road.
J. J. Hill of the Great Northern
testified before legislative commit
tee that the average cost per mile in
Minnesota was some thing like $1,000.
The superintendent of the st. Louis
and Iron Mountain road under oath
declared, before the Arkansas state
board of assessors, that his road could
be duplicated for $11, 900 per mile.
It is safe to say that $25, 600 per mile
is a very liberal estimate Of the aver
age cost of the railroads of the United
States. Ex-Governor Larabee of Iowa
places it at those figures, and Gov.
Larabee has had considerable expert
ence with railrods, having also written
a very valuable book entitled, 1.-THE
Railroad Question" We have also
the opinion of number of expert
engineers who testified before the
Congressional committee, known as
the Patterson committee, as to the
cost of Union. Central and Southern
Pacific roads, and none of them place
the figures above $4,000 per mile.
These roads it must be remembered,
pass through the Rocky Mountain re-
gions, the toughest section Of our
country.
Taking then $4,000 as the average
per mile, we would find that the rail
roads of the country-about 10000
miles-would cost At billion dollars.
Add to this about I Of billion for
| locomotives and cars, which would be
| a liberal sum, and the total swells to
about five billion dollars. But the
railroads of this couatry are capital
lied at over ELEVEN BILLIONS.
| Where do the other six billions come
from? That is watered stock-fcti-
tious capital-upon which the people
of the country are compelled to pay
interest. THE PEOPLE PAY interest on
eleven billion dollars, schen they should be
paying on less than foe billion. Wouldn't
government ownership be cheaper?
The government would buy the roads
for what they are worth, and they are
worth what they can be duplicated
for, that is, about five billion dollars.
The government could issue its bonds
for that amount at 2 per cent. The
people then would be paying only
per cent interest on only five billion
dollars, instead Of or 6 per cent on
eleven billions. That would be saw
ing Of $3.50, 0O0, 900 a year on this one
item alone, enough to pay for the
roads in ,eleten years. Then there
would also be an enormous saving in
attorneys fees and legal expenses, in
ADVERTISING, insalaries for numerous
presidents and other officials, in con-
solidation of depots and stops, and in
many other items.
9. The. postmaster general, managing
3OO, 600 miles of mail route and en-
ploying about 5000 men, receives a
salary OF 5000 per year. II the gov
eminent owned the railroads we
would have a transportation general,
managing 10000 miles of railroad
route, for the same salary. But what
do railroad presidents and managers
under private ownership receive?
There are not a few who receive
}25,OJO per year, and, we believe, sew
eral who receive as high as $50, 900.
The $500 fellows are as plentiful as
flies on dead and putrid carcass on a
hot summers day, and they live on
carcasses far more putrid.
Could we detail all the savings tina
could be effected under government
Ownership, we would show you a sum
reaching nigh onto billion dollars
annually.
] Bnt then, that's rArERNALIsM; and