The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-05
GREAT DEVEL0PMENl
OF OUR RAILROADS
FIGURES WHICH READ LIKE A
PAGE OF ROMANCE.
Statistics Which Tell the Story OF
the Almost Miraculous Progress
Made in the Business of Transpor-
tation in the Past Few Years.

The following statements based up
nm the latest official reports ana
brought down 60 September ], ls9S. by
means of ratios and by computations
very carefully made by Mr.. Duane
Dotv. of PullmanS Palace Car COM
psny. cannot but be of interest to all
md,1 engaged in transportation. An
simultaneous photograph CT any 40
main of human activity, says Mr-
Doty, constitutes an instructive study
and especially so. when il includes our
own fald of effort. From twenty-five
miles of railroad in 1880, and iii less
time than the Biblical span of three
score years and ten allotted TO the
life of man, our railroads have reach-
ed their present magnitude. though
still in the morning time OF their cNo-
luton. Had our country TO-DAY, eN-
elusive of Alaska, as many miles Oh
railroad proporticnately as the state
ur Illinois. ii would have 100000 miles
of such roads, or considerably more
than three times it's present mileage
or, really, a greater mileage thar that
of all the existing railroads of the
world. A good laborer able TO earn
Two dollars a day, working as car
Tier Ol IItlSnl ibtS III 1NiA'''' ''S'N
transport one ton. say Of lead. one mile
by working hard for four days. In
other words eight dollars (sS.0O) would
be a fair price for the work that would
have to be done. But our railroads
now carry one ton of freight one mile
for eight -tenths of n cent, or for one
One-thousandth of the cost of doing
that amount of work by muscular eff
fort alone.
THE DAWN OF PROGRESS.
Had the whole population of the
globe the same amount of railroad
mileage proportiOnatelv that We have
in the United States. the worlds rail-
road mileage would be four and n half
millions a, ,500OOO) instead of one-tenth
of that amount as now. Our periods
of existence may we'll be looked upon
as the childhood of the race. A retro
spective review OF our railroads, a
glance at their present condition ana
glimpses afforded OF their probabilities
and possibilities fully illustrate the
truth that We are only I'm the dawn of
our material development. The habit
able portions of the earth's surface,
comprising only about two-fifths of its
land masses, even with our present
very imperfect agriculture. can easily
support four times the present popu-
lation of the world, or $500, 900. 900 hu-
man beings, and this number will b.
reached $50 years hence. or by the
year 2150 A. y.
Length of roads now owLed
by 1000 corporations ..........lSG,jOJ miles
Double, triple quadruplc and
and yard tracks, sdings and
turnouts ....................... 5S,T)O miles
Total of all tracks in the
United States today ...."2ii, 800 mil r'
VALUES.
The average value of our railroads il
usually placed at 100000 a mile though
II is a little more than that; at thi
rate 1S65O0 miles of road is worth sl1
1871 100000 The investments in thes'
roads, including capital stock, funded
unfunded and current debts can safel!
he placed at $l1 1,5O0 O0O0 900. Our popu
lation is now $4,000, O00 If the wealtl
OF our country has increased in tn
past eight years proportionately Wit
the increase between 1880 and 1890, tn
wealth of the whole country TODAY /
$4,000, 100000 or $l150 for every mar
woman and child Of the population
$30S per capita, the increase being near
ly fourfold since then. The wealth q
our country is now increasing at tn
rate of G6, 200, ,0OO) six millions of dollar
a day. One-seventh of our wealth
in railroads or $16O for every membe
of our population.
The railroads of the United State
now employ $4,000 persons and tn
average annual pay of each is $56j.
few officials receive large salaries. bu
the 10000 station men and track re
pairers, and the 10000 switchmen, faG
men and watchmen all get small wage
though their pay is sure and their en-
ployment is, as rule. uninterruptet
There are now 450 employees to evel
400 miles Of road or Az TO every mile.
NUMBER OF CARS.
Exclusive OF sleeping cars our raj
roads now have 1,325OO0 cars of a
kinds, or ~ cars TO every locomotiv
ar seven cars to every mile of roa
Inclusive Of sleeping cars there a
now $4,000 passenger, mail and eXpre
cars in use. Considering the life of
freight car twelve years, and its ear
ings after that length of service w
barely keep 1T in repair, it is clear tn
about 100000 OF these cars now annua
~ go into scrap. In other words, ION
600 new freight cars are needed eve
year to replace those which are wo
out. to say nothing of the addition
cars required for new roads and f
the natural increase of freight bushes
The following tabular statement is II
of interest as well as OF signifcan
TO car builders. 1t is a record of I
asS.A. r., o.,
for the years indicated This table W
revised by the editor of the Railw
Age:
Freight cars built in the year 1890. .l0ll
Freight cars built IN the year 1891. e. %.
Freight cars built In the year 1899, p, 9a,
Freight cars built in the year 1885,. D.,
Irrninnf ga &c hulli in the Nlnr 1Nli -