The age-herald., 1898-01-02

Eleven million people, at a low estimate, are more or less directly dependent for their livelihood upon American railways. Therefore, the outlook for the transporta- tion companies for the coming year is a matter of deepest interest to a large part of our population. Will the new year, whose threshold We have just crossed, be one of prosperity to the railways, or will 1t be the reverse?
 Will wages be increased, or remain as they are, or be reduced?
 Will the army of railway employees, now perhaps s5O,OOO strong, be enlarged or di- unfinished?
 Are the security owners, the people whose money built and equipped our railroads, to get interest and dividends, or are their in vestments to pay them nothing?
 Will the coal mines, steel rail mills, the great wheel shops and shops, the spring makers, the locomotive and bridge builders, the sawmill, brass and bronze, lamp, paint, varnish, glue and plush fac- tories, the stove foundries, the paper-mak- CTS and printers have plenty of work to do for the next twelve months, or will they run on lhalf time, or shut down altogether? If you can tell me whether the railroads will make enough money this year, or lose it, can answer for the industries named. Just as surely as the railroads prosper the
 
 the railroads have a bad year, the mines and furnaces, the mills and shops will re- duce wages and workmen, and perhaps both. Hence, the condition of the railways concerns millions of people. And why should it not when the companies spend sieS,OO .0oo a year for salaries and wages, and $300,oo0, GOO more for other necessary expenses of operation? That is one and half times more than the United States government spends in a year.
 The S5O,O00 employees feed with their earn ings more than 5000 900 mouths, and clothe 100000 bodies in addition to their own. Then there are GOO people who have invested money in our railroads hoping to get an annual income therefrom. These investors and their dependents figure up certainly 5,0o0,0 900.
 It is a low estimate to say that 50o,O3o more people are digging coal. making rails, engines, wheels, springs, cutting ties, saw ing lumber, forging bridge iron and steel, quarrying and cutting stone, and making a hundred other things which the railroads buy every day.
 These workmen and their families num- Der fully 2,000, 900 souls.
 So there are approximately Il ,OO0 000 peo- pie whose bread and apparel depend in whole or in part on what the railroads make.
 Now, what is the situation? At best it Is but a guess One-sixth of our population may be happy for the next twelve months or they may be rendered most miserable by the good or bad fortune of the rail transportation companies. Work and wages may remain as they are, or they may be increased or diminished with all the consequent sorrow and suffering which that would cause. My own belief is that there will be no worse condition, and if there is no marked improvement for the roads at least there will be no depression.
 There are some encouraging signs and on the other hanhs there are some which are discouraging. One thing we all know and rejoice over, and this is that the situation today is far better than it was one year ago. Then the earnings were light: com merce was paralyzed; the movement of traffic was small. The people were not travelling. Everybody was economiZing to the point of personal discomfort. Now we see the business world is active money is circulating. The companies have six months of increased earnings to show against decreases a year ago. Then there was uncertainty. Now there is a measure of confidence. Then there was rate demor- alization everywhere. Now we have reaS- unable stability of rates throughout the southern states. though in the north and west the condition has not improved. If anything 1t is worse there. Warning ele- ments in the south are on peace footing. If northern and western lines will tear and rend each other, it is to be regretted, but it will not necessarily decrease the earn ings of our roads to any great extent
 The western farmers received more for their last wheat crop than they had obtain ed for any previous crop in years. They have more money now with which to buy, and this is going to stimulate all branches of business in their section, and in the north and east, too.
 The southern farmers made an immense cotton crop, but made no profit on it. AL ready some of the railroads note a marked falling off in the movement of bread stuffs i11fn Df cates that our farmers and great many other people who are not farmers, arc economizing. Still our farmers are pre- pairing to plant another large acreage and the fertilizer manufacturers say their tia1e will be very heavy The output of manql- factured cotton goods from southern mills will be increased by new factories and the