The age-herald., 1898-01-02
Railroad Outlook
 For Present Year

widened field caused by the shutting down of New England factories. Our lumber n- terests are feeling the stimulus of better prices and the mills have all they can do. The advance of cents a gallon last year on turpentine is going to increase it's pro- auction, and of course that of rosn.
 Goa. mining in the north cannot well have more disastrous year than 1897 was and the mine operators up there can reasona- bly hope for an Improvement In the south the coal mines, except in the Jelico dis trict, had large production in 1897, and they have good prospects for 1898. The iron industry is better all over the United States than it was twelve months ago. It is well, though. not to be deceived about the export business which the southern fur naces are doing That dots not mean so much for prosperity as it appears to shew
 on it's face, because the profit in it is ex- trlemely small However, there is hope for our iron people to hold their own against
 the powerful Carnegie Rockefeller compe-
 tition, which is running the smaller con- cerns in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
 The south is growing in diversified manu- factures in metal, wood, textile, clay and stone products. This and our monopoly of cotton production are building up the south ern states, giving them substantial pres perity and the railroads all-the-yeaf-round
 traffic.
 Atlanta, Louisville, New Or.eans. Mem
 
 Augusta, Columbus, Columbia, Spartan burg, Greenyille, Winston, Charlotte, Dan vile, Lynchburg Richmond, Tampa, and Jacksonville are a few southern cities which are not only supplying the local de- mand, but are shipping homemade pro- ducts north, and west, to Mexico, South America, Europe and Japan. The southern states are breaking into the markets of the
 world, and the railroads are enabling them
 to reach the markets by giving them the lou get faC sl,l ol.1
 portation. Our railway managers are en- couraging the home manufacturers to reach out. There are complaints to the contrary, but this is true generally speak ing. These are some of the conditions
 which promise fairly good year to the
 railroads.
 The interstate commerce commission wants to get absolute control of the earn ing power of the railroads and wants it bad There are five of the commissioners, most of them very good lawyers and suc- cessful politicians. They have taken the position that they ought to have the power
 to say how much or how little a railroad shall be allowed to earn in year. Inas- much as only $15 of every $100 invested in railroad property is paying any interest at all, the 1,250000 people who own the
 roads and the S50,O00 who manage them and run them, and the 300 900 who sell coal steel. iron, wood and hundreds Of other things which railroads have to buy, are op- posed to giving this authority to the five gentlemen. The whole II 00O. 900 people who
 are directly and indirectly dependent upon the railroads for living arc of the opinion that it is too vast a job for five men to undertake to handle Besides that, the people who own the roads, and who have been selected to operate them, do not want any five men in whose selection they have no voice. to administer upon their affairs. i They say that the merchants of this coun- | try would not consent for five lawyers ex-nlembers of congress, ex-judges or doc tors, preachers or members of any other profession. to be empowered to fix the price | of cotton. corn, wheat and fertilizers. But it is just such power which the | commission is after. The commissioners have asked congress to give them the pow 1 CT to fix maximum railroad rates. When | congress reconyenes the country wiu see | the friends of the commission attempt to | get bill passed giving the board that | power. That will bring on determined opposition.
 Competition is more intense in railroad | ing than in any other line of business. A
 railroad once built has to keep going and i it must have freight and passengers. If l the rates are high, the Kansas farmer will not ship his corn. but will burn it. Some | times he burns it. That is not because the rate is unreasonably high, but because | the price of corn is unreasonahly low and l the roads are not expected to haul corn at a loss to themselves, any more than | they can be expected to haul coal and iron or dry goods at loss. But they often do carry grain, coal and iron without mak- | ing a cent of profit on trainload. i Summing up, the situation is about this: On the bright side are increased earn | ings for the last six months.
 | Business of all kinds is better than it | was year ago.
 There is more confidence as to the fu- | ture.
 | Everything points to larger volume of ] business being done by the railroads for | the next six months than they did in the ; first six months of 1S97.
 Against this is the danger of absolute 1 control of their financial fate by five. gen. | tlemen whose salaries of $7 300 year would | go on if the roads did not make a dollar. | There is the possibility of all kinds of