The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1902-01-17

Northern Poetic railway. was 70 ,ar rs the
s sorthern I lines and to Increase ths vol;
ume Of our traffic to the end that we
might at all Times 6s m @os favorable
conditions under which the trafhc must
be carried. The Burlington. with its own w,
nnd Ghe osncy Eeo Xon aana
bal. st.. Louis, St. Joseph, Kansas NY th,S.
Des Moines, Omaha and Denver. and thus
connects with the main arteries OF 'Fa"'c
Of the whole country.
What Burlington Purchase Means.
Assuming that the line Of the Burltng.
the Great Northern and Northern Pacific
jointly had raised the money ana Were
engaged in the construction Of It, would
pnevsl DC Of a te States traversed ne
line Of the Great Northern and Northern
Pacific? On the contrary. would not such
course have been hailed WIN ar,1 apsof for
northwestern produce, and of reacnlns
markets in the south and southwest
SnS of o trc o tSe
duction Of rates and. adding, to the gen
eral prosperity Of the n9rthTestt? sys.
the Great Northern and Northern Pacific
purchased the capital stock Of line a.
stock or bonds for the purpose Of rails
ing money to build a line reaching the
same country, bonds were Issued TO pur-
1.-THE capital stock of railway compa m;
by somebody and somewhere: Radiway
e0peRr1ision and control by the pubic for
the purpose OF insuring the, perform
ance Of their obligations to the public ban
The capital employed IN railway m Eona
public through published rates the price
charged for transportation, the only tn! th
they have to sell and must .t re f%ay s seG
and what has been done with It. courts
are open for the purpose. Of determining
whether railway companies. s as carTiers'
1.-THE question of the reasonableness OF
rates and service does not depend upon
whether one man owns the capital STOCK
capital stock is owned by ten men ,r or
1000, by persons or by corporations. Inc
capital stock Of railway, company Iaps1ayra ~
personal property to De soid' o tran snvone
means to buy and pay for. The capital IEa
stock ef the Northerh n Seid by some
body, persons or corporations, II not by
the present owners, by other owners:
Suppose by death Of the a1G
majority Of it find its way into the hands
Of those Interested in competing lines
serving the country to the north or me
Great Northern and the Northern Pacific,
would the people along the lines Of those
railways be benefited? II the present t
two companies could be compelled to sell
It or dispose Of it on the market, would
it fall into hands more interested IN me
s gs and grSfpssy 8? How IS
t MeHe t the lines Inc nave have been extended and
i tna1 ,aS What Brought about the
present condition ct the I prepefb5iy p them
they have been served? Plainly the vii
lingness and ability of those controlnns
panies who found it to their advantage
to build up the lines and promote me
settlement Of the territory tributary to
it, and who will continue It,
The Truo Test of Competition.
1.-THE great, freight-producing area OF
the country Is along tone,td the soth of Lake
Erie. The freight that Is the PTod ,oes
Of all the manufacturing enterprises rs;s
which find market west OF the ,s MISSES pass
Paul and Minneapolis, and into the ter
ritory between those GIVES sh; an1 t and at
that point going largely to southwestern ns.
lines. The question Of stock ownership snip:
50 far as the public along II the Nd lines
ern Pacific is concerned, is to be con
sidered in the light of a great competi-
tive condition between the territory
o of the 81 South afe and West; between lines
whose interest it Is to secure traffic as
against the Northern lines, to populate
people along the northern lines have no
special immediate interest.
"A few years ago the transportation on
Lake superior was many ths IN en sunerio
Transit Company, pool line made up
by steamers operated by Eastern trunk
lines, who also operated boats running n,g
the rates from the wheat fields to Lake
Superior a corresponding advance In the
water rate was made to offset our our re- re-,
Lake .so Superior i and by Chicago we built
six steel steamers, which at that time
were the largest on the lakes: The first
from from Buffalo to New York; which was
practically the same as the through rate
a way to get around this, and the result
was to break up the Transit company
and break down the rates on the lakes to
Late" :Lat the elevator charges at the head
81 Sas hake and sop at Buse X cents Per
buse with an addition ai,,t charge Tor
vators at both places. the effect Of which
has been to reduce the rates to 2 cent
both in Buffalo and at the head OF Lake
Superior; in other words, where the grain
paid 2A cents per bushel 1t is now paying
i cent. The difference to the Northwest
on 200, 100000 bushels Of wheat Is $3,5OO,OOO
per year. The proportion of this we
handle through our elevators Is probably
Is per cent. We did not build the e!e-
vators for the purpose of grinding the
faces of the farmers of the Northwest,
but in order that they might have fair
play and that their grain might go for
ward without undue and unnecessary
taxation. say this to show you that
we are at all times mindful of everything
that will add to your material prosperity.
Rates Cut in Two In Twenty Years.
"In 1880 the average rates on grain
from the Red River valley to Duluth
were from rs to IS cents per hundred;
today they are from Il to Is cents per
hundred, or about one-half the rates OF
twenty years ago. The rates on coal
and lumber have been reduced In about
the same proportion.
Productions of rates in transportation
must be made with the greatest care In
order to avoid unfair discrimination
against persons or localities. A reduce
ton in the rates Of the whole country OF
10 cents for moving ton of freight 1OO
miles would make a reduction of over
$3.50, 900 on the traffic handled during
the past year, and would wipe out O
large part of the income of the railrosIl