The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1902-06-13

"a A"NSs i4diIS L VI
llway never realized the service to be
rendered to the country by the railways.
!! thlnk am safe in saying that next to
the Christian religion and the common
schools, no other single work enters into
the welfare and happiness of the people
or the whole country to the same extent
as the railway; no other work could have
made IT possible to occupy the enormous
stretches through the interior of our
country and people them with cities,
towns and villages.
While the railways have to answer for
many mistakes of judgment, or of in
tent, on the whole the result has been to
create the most effective, useful, and. by
portation in the world. In England the
average amount paid by the shipper for
moving a ton of freight one hundred
1nias 81 Is o. S2.$ 80 Gsr Prance' 81 10; in Aus,
the railways are owned and operated by
the government. s1.s4; in Russia, also
government ownership. where the ship
ments are carried under conditions more
e,lnl,nr TO our own than in any other
tne United States the average cost is
10 cents, or less than 40 per cent of the
average cost in Europe. And this is done
while every article used by the railroads.,
lncludlng labor, costs more in this coun-
try than it costs in Europe, with the ex-
ceptlon or coal and right of way. Wages
IN the United States are, as a rule, more
than twice as high, and this high cost in
the United States is constantly increas-
ing. Take. for instance, the material in
an PRIMARY box car, the cost of which
mas increased in the past three years
over 70 per cent. You gentlemen whose
manufacturer articles are sold through
OUT the country are always able to base
your selling price on the cost of produc-
tlon, and when your raw material and
labor increases the cost, your prices are
~dvanced but, Notwithstanding the
of every kind, the rates of transportation
IN the United States have gone steadily
down from year to year until they are
by comparison so much lower than those
Oh any other country that there is no
comparison between them.
II these results have been accomplished
under all the changing conditions of
financial prosperity and adversely in the
past thirty years, have we not, as a ma
ton, reason to rejoice in what has been
accomplished rather than to seek to de-
stroY or appropriate the means which
haVe brought about these results?
When we consider what has been &C
~compllShed by the railway companies in
the past thirty years, the ~singularly low
rate of transportation which prevails, the
average cost being not to exceed one
third of what it was thirty years ago, the
reduction of freight classitications from
fifty or more to three, the increase by
thousands of through routes and rates,
the Improvement of facilities for trans
portation in roadway, equipment and ter
mlnais' has not the country abundant
reason to congratulate itself on what has
been accomplished? And | will say fur
Their, that all this has been brought about
by the railway companies in their efforts
rather than by any legislative or other
interference. The railways of the coun-
try are subject to the interstate COM
merce law. 1t is said that carriers do
not observe the law; that rates are I'M
reasonable; that the public are oppressed.
To remedy the evils growing, as is
claimed, out of the violation of the law.
government ownership is suggested by
some. and an increase of the power Of
the interstate commission by
others.
troll and operation of railways by govern
ment officials. A mere statement of the
proposition arouses in the mind of al
most every thoughtful man the fear that
such power would end in the destruction
of the government itself.
Price Of Transportation.
If the earnings which the railways are
entitled to receive were to be derived
solely from traffic beginning and ending
on their respective lines, the rates or
price of transportation would necessarily
be must higher than it is. The interest
of the public served by the railways is
largely in the increase of the volume of
interstate and international traffic over
the lines. Take for instance, the lines of
the Great Northern and Northern Pacific
from Lake Superior and the Mississippi
river to Puget Sound. All the interstate
traffic they can obtain from the great
freight producing area south of Lake SUI
DerlOr ana east or chicago must COTne 10
them across the lakes, which are closed
to navigation one-half of each year.. or
around the south end of Lake Michigan
by way of Chicago. To increase the vol
ume of traffic and thus be able to reduce
rates. these two companies must secure
a share of the interstate traffic from the
territory named and must also be able to
reach territory furnishing market for the
freight produced along their lines and re-
turn freight to be transported over their
lines and by steamship connection with
the Pacific coast terminals.
If the stock of the railway is held as an
investment by those interested in the
territory served by the lines, in increas-
ing the volume of traffic and in reducing
rates, the territory will be built up and
rates will be lowered. .
If the question of the ownership OF
stock was left to the public served by
the lines of the railways Of the country.
would it not be for the interest of the
public to nave such ownership placed in
the hands of those who had acquired 1t
directly connected with the building up
of the lines and building up the territory
served by them?
Railway Competition.
There has been during the past year q
great deal of public discussion about rail-
Wa% competition and a largo amount Of
volunteer literature has been written on
the subject. 1t is always a safe basis TO
assume that no business will continue FOR
any length of time if the result of its
transactions is a loss, and this Is equally
true of your business and Of that of the
railways. No individual, community or
nation can afford to build up its COM
merce on the foundation that railways
will destroy each other for the. general
benefit. This has been done In some
cases in the past and the roads winch
have followed this course have gone
through the portal Of bankruptcy into
the hands of rival owners, and, in some
cases. into the hands of owners whose
greater interest is in other directions,
and whose object in obtaining them mas
been more to restrict the growth OF the
country than to increase 1t.
Competition in railway rates is either
active or inactive. All railway rates are
the subject of conference between the
lines interested, followed by an agree
ment as to rates, and the conditions OF
the business of the country demand tnat
this course must always be followed. All
rates are by law made public, ana what
ever rate is adopted by one road must be
adopted by the others, or they Will lose
their share of the traf1c. In this there
is no active competition. When competl,
ton is active, tariffs are d1sregarded ana
private rates are made to large Shippers
and rebates paid, amounting, as mas peen
published, to enormous sums III the
Yearly aggregate. To prevent TINS actlVe
competition, both the federal government
and the several states have enacted laws
which nave been a dead letter on the
statute books until public opinion mas de-
manded that the various COMMISSIONS
take some action under the law. Inc re-
cent activity of the interstate
so-,oivcinp has resulted, L DelleVe, 10 a