The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1902-01-17
Az W have extended our railway lines

throughout the Northwest our first OBJ
ject has been to settle up the country
along these lines. A comparison Of the
census reports Of 1890 and 1900 shows
that in Minnesota in forty-three counties
reached by our lines there has been an
increase Of $4,000 people, in North Da-
kota in twenty counties over 80, 900 PEG.
pie. In fifteen of the counties in North
Dakota most depending upon the Great
Northern for their railway service I find
that the vacant land in 1898 was 1856, 900
acres: in 1901, 1900, 600 acres, showing
that in the eight years there had been
settled upon in fifteen counties on the
lines. Of the Great Northern road $780,
600 acres. In Montana the increase in
counties on the line of the Great North
ern was about 10000 people and in Wash
ington 10000 people. This year the indi-
cations are that the influx of new people
will be greater than at any previous time
In the history of the country. More peo-
pie will come in to make their homes
with you and help you as ~neighbors and
fellow workers in the development of
your state than ever before.
q At the present time we hear much Q
q about the community of interests" .
q between the railroads. l want to .
q say to you here and now that the q
q only community of interests that .
Q there is or ever can exist is the Q
q community of interests between the .
o producer of tonnage and the car .
q rier; the man on the farm, in the =
Q forest and in the mine must be able Q
. at all times to sell the products Of .
q his labor and his lands at a profit, q
. or he will cease to labor and have q
q nothing to sell. .
%><
The railroads depend for their existence
on the products of the lands served by
their lines; it has no other source of in
come. Individuals may come and go, we
will all sooner or later pass from active
life, but the land-the country-its re-
sources and the railroads will be here
permanently, and they will either prosper
together or be poor together. There IS
no other community of interests that can
ever exist against this one. While 1t is
necessary for the railroads that the
farmers. the lumbermen and the miners
shall be prosperous, it is also necessary
that the railroads should prosper.
Q Much is being said about the COM .
Q bination between railroads, and that q
. the country for it's prosperity must =
. rely upon a continuance of competi- .
q ton. The law Of the survival of
q the fittest must inevitably end such q
= competition as exists by the de- .
. struction of the weaker by the .
q stronger. q
This has already been lone in the East
to the extent that throughout all of New
England the hundreds of original railway
corporations are now mostly consolidated
into three or four, and the people are
better off han ever before. Twenty-Five
years ago it was supposed that competi-
ton was necessary to reduce rates. I
think we have shown in the Northwest
that without rnmn afifinn rates hovo
been reduced faster than anywhere else
in this country.
90
. To-day the farmers can ship their .
q grain from the Red river valley to q
q the Twin Cities and the Head Of the
q Lakes at from Is to 20 per cent .
. lower rates than farmers living in Q
= the Des Moines valley and Western q
. Iowa, where there are many lines. .
. can ship to Chicago, the eame dis .
. lance. Q
49,
The effect Of this has been to bring
thousands Of farmers from the Middle
Western states. including Iowa, Missouri,
Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Indiana and Illinois to find homes in Min
nesota and North Dakota This, more
than anything else, has doubled the price
of yonr lands in a comparatively few
years. We have about twelve hundred
miles Of railway in North Dakota. The
average cost of our railway, including
terminals, equipment, shops, elevators,
etc, is about thirty-fve thousand dollars
per mile, as shown by it's capitalization.
In the fifteen counties depending almost
entirely for their transportation upon the
Great Northern railway, there are, In
round numbers, sixteen million acres of
land. If the building Of the railway and
what has followed it has added $40 per
acre to the value Of this land 1t is
worth $780, 600, 600 more than it would
have been without the railway, and you
have the benefit of this advance. / am
glad that it is yours and hope 1t will
enable you to enjoy you old age in COM
fort and to make those who follow after
you good n worthy citizens OF your
state.
. There has recently been an at Q
q tempt to show that we nave no inter- .
. est in building up the prosperity OF Q
q the people of your state and Of the .
. Northwest. If we did not do every .
q thing in our power to build you up .
= we would be false to our best inter- .
. ests. Our object in acquiring the .
. Burlington, jointly with the North .
. ern Pacific railway, was to insure Q
q IN outlet to the best markets for Q
Q the grain, live stock and lumber of Q
. the Northern lines, and to increase .
. the volume of our traffic. to the end .
= that we might at all times be able .
. to establish the owest rates and .
. most favorable conditions under .
q which the traffic must be carried. .
80
Nh rsHl a. Ill