Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-01-11

or by corporations. The capital stock
of railway company is personal prop
erty, to be sold and transferred from
one man to another and anyone may
purchase and hold all that he has
means to buy and pay for. The capital
stock of the Northern Pacific and the
Great Northern will be held by some
body, persons or corporations, If not !
by the present owners by other own
ers. Suppose ny death of present own
ers the stock should be scattered and
majority of it find it's way into the |
hands of those interested in competing
lines serving the country to the north
by the Great Northern and the North
ern Pacific. Would the people along
the lines of these railways be bene-
fitted? If the present owners of ma
jority Of the stock of the two compa-
MES could be- compelled to sell it or
dispose of it on the markets, would it
fall into hands more interested in the
development and the f%r:
Prosperity of the Northwest
than its present owners? How is it
that the lines have been extended and
improved? What brought about the
present condition of the property of
the two companies? What has enabled
them to serve the people along the
lines as they have been served? Plain
1y the willingness and ability of those
controlling large interests of the, stock
Of the company who found it to their
advantage to build up the lines and
promote the settlement of the terri
tory tributary to it and who will con-
tinue it." r
Mr.. Hill called attention to the for
mer high rates on the Great Lakes and
how Northwestern interests has estab-
lished new lines and forced reductions
of new elevators had compelled lower
rates there also-@ After further touch
ing on reductions he said:
"The conditions of the general rail
road situation in the United States at
the present time are hardly under
stood. For the year ending June 30,
1890, the number of tons carried one
mile by all the railroads was 76,207,-,
100000 ton miles. In 1900 it was
141 100000, 1000, as shown by the inter-
state commerce commission reports.
In 1901 a safe estimate will bring this
to 165, 0,00O,DO0 tons carried one
mile. an increase of 120 per cent in II
years. During this time the mileage
of the railroads in the United States
increased Is per cent While the tons
moved shows an increase of 120 per
cent, the earnings show an increase Of
less than 40 per cent. During this time
the rates have been reduced to the ex-
tent of that difference. During that
period of II years, Notwithstanding
the enormous increase in traffic, four
of the so called trunk lines have,
through destructive competition, fail
ed and then reorganized and all but
one of them have been absorbed by the
Stronger Surviving Lines.
Destructive competition has forced the
weaker lines into bankruptcy and to-.
day they are owned by the lines that
were able to maintain their position
and credit, giving the ability to &C.
quire these bankrupt roads. The Bal
| timore and Ohio and the Pennsylvania
for half a century have been rival
roads. Both states and cities actively
aided in building them up-destructive
competition between them has finally
the Baltimore and Ohio. Have the
rates advanced? Have the people
along the line of the Baltimore and
Ohio suffered? On the contrary the
first step has been to furnish money to
line from the Ohio river to Chicago
and to furnish cars and facilities to
handle the business to the best advan-
foc md OF ,oI, rr,sI IL
the shippers along the line to open up
their lines and increase their business
in every branch of trade and to rely
upon solvent company for the facil-
tiles necessary to transact their busi-
ness" 4.A VI
After speaking of the congested
state of transportation throughout the
country. he said:
"A careful examination of the rail-
way problem from a national stand
point will, I believe. show beyond
| question that the business of the
country has outgrown the facilities on
| most of the trunk lines and that new
facilities not now apparent will be
necessary to relieve the situation.
!, Rates in the United States are much
lower than in any other country.
wages are nlSnef, Ine cost OF most OF
the material is higher than in Europe,
! still the average rate charged in Eu.
| rope is fully
Twice as High as in America.
! The conditions in this country change
very rapidly-while rates have been
4 cut in two in 20 years all kinds of Ia
Dor and materials used by the railways
have advanced from 80 to so per cent.
1 Nothing but the increased volume OF
! traffic has made it possible to reduce
| as they have been reduced. Today we
1 find the volume of traffic so great east
of Chicago that the railroads are rot
able to move it under the present co,l@
ditions. How will these conditions be.
\ changed and at whose cost? Who will
build new lines or increase old ones?
+ These are the questions which Will
not undertake to answer farther than
I to say that the West must have the
facilities or suffer for the want Of
them. The public must bear in mind
4 that bankrupt road cannot furnish