Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-09-20
LOWER RATES THE RULE
Extent to Which Railways Touch
Lives of the Pecple-New Capital
Vitalizes Old Investments-A Won
derful COLLATION. Of Interesting Facts
and Figures.

Nevertheless, 1t is hoped that the fol-
lowing facts about the railways of this
country, drawn from the twelfth an
nual report of the statistics of rail-
ways in the United States for the
year ended June 80, 1899, may be
found interesting to the general
reader;
The length Of the railroads of the
United States on June 80, 1899, was
1S9, 295 miles. In addition to this there
were:
11,547 miles of second track.
Loaf miles of third track,
100 miles of fourth track.
1885 miles of yard tracks and sid
ings.
There were employed on these rail-
ways:
1884 passenger locomotives.
20,72S freight locomotives.
$3.50 switching locomotives.
COL other locomotives.
1880 passenger cars.
: 1,295,510 freight cars.
46,556 service cars.
These freight and service cars would
stretch more than one-third around
the earth at the equator
To man and manage this system re-
ouired an army of 92S,S24 men, or
nearly five men for each mile of line.
The total wages paid this army was
S522, 967, 1896. These wages were two
fifths of the gross earnings of the rail-
ways; that is to say of every dollar
received by the railways for trans
portation 40 cents was paid directly to
their employees FOR wages.
The total earnings of these railways
was 1,313,610,11S, an inconceivable
sum of money Estimating the total
population of the United States at that
date at seventy-five millions, these
earnings were $17.52 for each man,
woman and child in the country. The
wages paid to railway employees by
each man, woman and child in the
country, therefore. equaled s697.
There was no other source for these
earnings, no other source for these
wages. How dependent, therefore,
each citizen is upon the industry and
thrift of the other!
The aggregate Indebtedness OF these
railways was:
For stock ...... $500. So, SIS OIL, 726
For bonds .......... 4,I3l, Oo4,5fo
For other obligations, in
Guiding income and
equipment bonds ....... 7S7,SSS,7so
Total .$11 1888, 954 1898
1t is conservatively assumed that
tnree-fourths of these stocks and
bonds are owned by the people, the
banks and insurance companies of this
country. This three-fourths-or, say,
sS,275, 466, 172-is equal to S1lO.S4 FOR
every man. woman and child in the
country. From this fact the interest
of everyone in this enormous INDUS
trial system can be gagged. Everyone
who has a dollar in a savings bank,
everyone who has money in any bank,
everyone who has his life Insured,
is interested in the welfare of the rail-
roads.
These railways moved in the year
ended July So 1899, 441,SS1,62S tens OF
freight. Of this the mines contribute
cd more than one-half, or 5l.47 per
cent. manufacturers, 13.45 per cent;
agriculture, 11.33 per cent; forests
1888 per cent The mines would close
down without the railways and an
other Industrial army Of 2OO,OOo De
rendered idle.
they carried last year 523,176,5OS
messengers; that is to say on an aver
age. everyone in the United STATES
made seven Journeys on railroads and
each tourney made was for the average
distance Of 27.S9 miles. With the
growth Of the country and the spread
of the people over the hitherto sparse
lv settled west, the average distance OF
these Journeys is found to increase az
the rate of about 5 per cent. pei an
oun for the last three years. large
increase in the number Of passengers
may be expected this yeardior =
4 election year, in which MANY pll-
grimjages may be looked for. mus
in 1856 there we're % s27 sss more
Messengers moved than in 1899 ano
10 7oe. O56 more than III 1898.
The average cost to the passenger
for each mile travelled was 1925 cents
and for each ton of freight hauled one
mile was .724 cents, or less tnan'
cents a mile for passenger travel anc
less than three-fourths OF cent ~
banling a ton OF freight one mile Ter
wears ago these rates were: For pas
senger one mile. 2142 cents; per tor
Of freight one mile, .94i cents re
many railroads do large portion o
tbeir business at one-half OF tnes'
average rates. and do 1t proftably
which shows two things: First, the Ell
feet of volume In economy OF opera
ion; second, the unreliability OF aver
ages for specific purposes. Thus: II
1890 the number of tons OF freight pc