The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-03-31
THE RAILROAD QUESTION.
HOW SHALL 1T BE SETTLED?
Obstacle to Prevent Rates Going Down
to Where They Should Be.

The transportation is assuming pro-
portions whereby the veal or woe
woe of the people Of this country can
be determined. BY reason of the mag
nitude of the business that is trans
acted by the railroads OF the United
States and the taxing power delegated
them to set the prices for the trans
portation Of freight and passengers
from one section of the country to the
other, while at the same time it en-
ables them to fix these charges to con-
form to the fictitious valuations, is
causing the producers to be robbed Of
millions of dollars annually by reason
of the excessive freight charges to pay
interest on bonds, and dividends on
stocks that were issued to keep the
present excessive valuations and cap
italization of the roads, and to fur
ther plunder the people.
Were it not for the freight and pas.
senger associations. the freight and
passenger rates would have been re-
duced to the actual cost of the con-
struction of the roads years ago, and
making it impossible for the roads to
be capitalized as they are, especially
since the cost Of construction has
been reduced fully one-half in the past
fifteen years, to say n0thing of the
many new inventions that are used in
cheapening the cost Of construction of
mile of road.
The Statistical abstract of the
United States for 1856 shows the total
number of miles of railroad in the
United States for 1S96ito have been
1881 miles. In 1887 tue total cost Of
construction Of mile Of railroad was
$57,950, while in 1895 itla risen to
1862, 2,5i5 per mile, showing an increase
of 81, 6S5 in the cost Of construction of
mile Of road in thaa time, while steel
rails dropped from 3l8.25 per ton to
S24.33 per ton between the above
dates, showing falling off Of $23 90
per ton, and still they are on the de-
cline.
1t is not to be expected that the per-
sons interested in the affairs of those
mammoth corporations whose busi-
ueSo III OlS oSRlC6doS dluOuulS w Fl,-
093, l39, ,695 in 1895, will, of their own
free will, reduce freight and passen-
ger rates to conform to the low prices
that farmers are now receiving for
their cereals and to the actual cost Of
the cons truction OF the roads today.
The manipulators of railroad securi
ties have years ago discovered that
competition in freight and passenger
rates would have tendency towards
lowering the capitalization Of the
roads to conform to the cost of con-
struction, and they therefore caused
freight and passenger associations to
be established, giving these associa-
tions the power to fix the charges SO
| as to enable the holders of the securi-
ties of these corporations to realize
something upon their investments, re-
gardless OF the excessive capitaliza-
tion Of the roads and unjust charges
to be borne by their patrons. It is
alarming to what an extent the liza
bilities of these corporations have
grown, and it should cause the Ameri-
| can people to tremble when they con-
template that the principle and inter-
est of the Indebtedness Of these cor
porations will have to be paid at ma
turity out of the earnings Of the roads