Arizona republican., 1900-09-03
TONNAGE OF FREIGHT
Where the Railroads Make
 Their Profits
The Coal and Coke Tonnage Is More Than Five Times That of Grain The Traffic In Lumber, Iron and Copper Ores.

New York Sept. 2.-American rail- roads carry in a year the great total of 1000 GOO, 900 tons of freight. The freight so carried is much diversified and the rates of transportation are cheap, two important items in railway freight ser vice. It is common belief that the chief freight on American roads is grain, and that the earnings of the various roads are dependent largely upon the har- vests of cereals. Indirectly this is true. for large harvests at remunerative prices mean money to farmers for other articles which railroads transport, but, actually. the profits made by railroads from the transportation of grain are less than from other articles of freight.
 Last year the American railroads transported 6O,OOO. 900 tons of grain of all kinds. wheat, corn. rye, barley anl buckwheat, while the transportation of anthracite or hard coal was 95,0O0,0 tons, or 50 per cent more than that of all the grains collectively. Coal. which is the easiest and least expensive item of freight to handle, furnished the Iail- roads of the United States with their chief tonnage. The figures of anthra-
  ceeded by those of soft or bitum:nous coal transportation, which amounted last year to 200. .000, ,0O0 tons; that is to say, about one-fifth. of the total freight tonnage of American railroads is in bituminOus coal and nearly 90 per cent of the total freight tonnage of Amari- can railroads is in coal, hard and soft. Another very important item is lumber. The railroads of the United States car red last year 900 tons of lumter. and the development of the lumber in- terests, notably in the southern states, supplying yellow pine, and in Michi- gan and Wisconsin, supplying hard woods. is steadily increasing. Another very large item in the freight business of the railroads of the United States is ore, particularly iron and copper ore, and lead and zinc. The railroads trans ported last year 60,000,0 0G0 tons of ore. Still another item of importance is stone and sand, usually grouped to- gether. of which 35,O00.000 tons Were transported last year.
 Since England has become an i'm portant market for American dressed beef, and since Germany and 1'ranee- have admitted it without invidious re- strictions and western beef has largely superseded eastern beef in the eastern market, the railroads of the country have had a large business in the trans portatfon of meat products. Last year they carried 25,OO0,OOO tons of these l5 OOO. GOO tons of live stock, 5,OOO tons of dressed meats and 5,OOO,OOO tons of packing house products of which ham, lard and bacon are the chief. Another considerable item of American railroad freight is flour in bags or barrels, and of which 15, ,090 COO tons were transoo rts d last year. Cotton, though one of the most important of American products, is shipped chiefly by steamers except from field to shipping point, an import ant item of business for southern ana southwestern roads. Seven million tons of cotton and 12,OO0,O0O tons of vege- tables and fruit were carried by rail roads last year. Some of the other large items of freight tonnage last year were petroleum, 9,eOO,OOO tons; hay, 6,OOO,OoO tons: tobacco. 1,5OO,OOO; poultry, game and fish. 100000; wool, S,0C0,OO0; hides and leather. 100000; resin and turpen- tine. 1 1,O0O,O ,OO0; sugar, 40O0,00O; lime, brick and cement, 1S.00O,OOO iron, D. OOO coo; machinery and castings, 1o,- OO,UOO; bar and sheet metal, 1o,OOU,UOO' agricultural implements, 2,OOO,OOO; wine, beer and liqpor S,5OO,O00; wagons, car riages and tools, 2,OCO,OO0, and coke, 3D. GOO 900 tons. such are the chief items but they do not include what in rail- road designation is merchandise, boots and shoes, hats and groceries. The amount of merchandise" transported on American railroads last year was 40, 000 900 tons. Dairy produces furnish 1,500, 900 and miscellaneous articles, not otherwise classified, 4O000,000.
 The gross revenues of American rail- | roads from freights amounted last year to $1. 1000, 900 900. or about the rate of $1 for each ton of freight carried, a re- markedly cheap rate. There are about | 1,500,0 900 freight cars in use on Ameri- can railroads. carrying from fifteen to | twenty-five tons of freight each. The | policy of American railroads in recent | years has been to increase the carrying | capacity of freight cars and to lengthen 1 freight trains and increase their speed. |
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 THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE