Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1899-10-19

'eS MONIES. IA, oct. l9.-At the
close of this year Iowa will have about
$500 miles of railroad. Lines project
ed for next year by the big systems,
and whose building is now assured.
and in some cases under way, will IN
crease this total to at least 10000
miles. According to Poor's Manual,
the states which lead in railroad mile
age are:
pennsylvania ........................... 1855
Texas 9'579
Kansas Observation-Disclosures. t8S43
Ohio ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 8766
Iowa Observation-Disclosures. S,513
The building that is being done this
year will place Iowa i'm the lead of
Ohio and Kansas. 1t is not improb-
able. in view of the remarkable activ-
lily in this direction at present. that
Iowa may in the next two years be
placed i'm first place among the states,
and it is probable that Hawkeyedom
will at least take second place.
The Iowa railroad commissioners
are just now compiling their annual
statistical report, which will present
an explanation of the great increase
of lowa's mileage. Last years report
placed the total earnings of Iowa
roads on lines in this state at $4G,000,-
COO. This years report will place The
figure little above $4,000, 900, on the
basis of statistical reports which are
admitted by everybody to give Iowa
decidedly less than it should have
credited to it. The statistics furnished
by the railroads to the commissioners
are VIGOROUSLY incomplete and mac
curate. Different roads employ differ
ent methods of getting at their esti-
mates. Some employ the train mile
age basis. That is, they figure the to-
tai amount of mileage made by trains
on the entire system, and the total
mileage of trains in Iowa. The total
earnings of the system are divided in
the same ratio as the train mileage,
and Iowa is credited with the same
train mileage. This showing gives
Iowa decidedly the small end, and it
is the best system used by any of the
roads. Another system is the mileage
basis, by which Iowa is credited with
the proportion of total earnings which
Iowa mileage bears to the SYSTEMS
mileage. This gives Iowa an even
poorer showing than the first plan
mentioned. Some roads use one, some
the other; still others seem to merely
estimate it.
\ Difficult Problem.
There is, of course, great difficulty
in determining how to divide up the
revenue derived from interstate traffic.
Nobody has yet developed system
by which anything like fair distribu-
ton can be made. In Iowa trains are
heavy because the business is largely
through interstate traffic. Iowa trains
average much heavier than those of
other western states; but on the train
mileage basis this is not taken into
account, and Iowa's showing of earn
ings is greatly cut down. The man who
will figure out system of railroad
statistics which will be fair to all CON
cerned will deserve at least a seat i'm
congress. The interstate commission
has almost as much trouble i'm this
way as the state commissions. The
statistics are only valuable as they are
accurate; and no official statistical
publication now made can claim a
large measure of accuracy.
But without going into these details
the fact remains undisputed that Iowa
is one of the most profitable railroad
territories in the world. In propor-
ton to area and population. Iowa
.cads in mileage of roads. Thus, in
proportion to area, a comparison of
he six leading states shows. per
square mile of area, these mileages of
Dad: