The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1897-03-18

Year. Revenue passenger of freight
per mile. per mile.
1881 49, 9 .se5
1892 2.126 1893
1898 2.1O8 1878
| 1894 1886 800
1895 2.O4O S39
| And further reduction for 1896.
| With the exception of 1894,
passenger rates reached their
| lowest in 1895, while freight
rates, save a small rally in 1892,
are steadily coming down.
When compared with foreign
countries, our rates are indeed
low. It is said that if the Penn
sylvania Railroad could secure
the same rates as the London
and Northwestern Company,
the annual earnings would be
increased 12,OOO,OOO. Mr.. Geo.
r. Blanchard, in his recent
testimony before the Interstate
Commerce Committee of the
Senate, said that had our rail
ways collected the lowest of
the European charges, we
would have received 1910, 100000
more than we did receive. This
calculation was based on the
figures of 1892. The figures of
1896, which are lower for the
United States, would make a
greater difference.
The impartial student of these
data must be struck with the
necessity of commercial as we'll
as industrial reconstruction.
The census report of 1880 and
1890 and the statistics of the
Interstate Commerce Commits
sion, all of which are uniform,
together with the valuable re-
port of H. Y. Poor, give us
material on which to base a
thorough inquiry. The presi-
dents and other officers who
have charge of these great
properties should be accorded
the same opportunity to be
heard as the manufacturing in
dustries. So far as 1 can learn,
there is no desire on the part
of railway managers to gener-
ally raise rates. There is, how
ever, a widespread belief that
rock bottom prices have been
reached, and that anything
even the merest shade lower
will be absolutely ruinous. The
people of the United States,
including the million who
should be directly engaged in
transportation, the shippers
and manufacturers, might as
well realize now as when de-
struction has set in, that our
railway system cannot lose an
other $15O,OOO,OOO of income in
ten years-an average of $15,-
100000 per annum-without
sweeping down with it the
very interests which sustain
these roads. The fact is, an
other twist or SO in the down
ward direction will simply kill
the goose that lays the golden
eggs. When the revenues OF
railways are insufficient to
keep up the properties, to pay
the Legitimate interest, to give
even small return on the
stock, to pay American wages
to the employees, to give en-
| ployment to an increasing
number of people, instead of q
lesser number, allied industries
must anguish. And the in
dustries dependent upon rail
ways are numerous and take a
wide range.
/ The case against the rail
ways is familiar one. Those
who realize these new condi-
tons have no excuses or apollo
gies for past mismanagement
nor for the methods by which
some of these roads were built
Whatever may be said of those
who built railways far in adj
vance of population, or for pur-
poses other than Legitimate
trade, we have, on the other
hand, equally to. blame, the
cities and towns and counties
and individuals who were ready
to mortgage. the future to help
along the work. In a large
measure the wind and the wet
er and the fraud have been
squeezed out Of these proper
ties. In their place new and
honestly acquired capital in
the shape Of enforced loans
| from bOndho1derS and forced