The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-01-10
HILL TALKS
TO 3 STATES.
President OF the Northern Rail-
road Consolidation
Makes His Defense Before Red
River Farmers.
MAKES STRONG PLEA.
Tells Them His Interests and
Theirs Are Identical.
Better to Buy Rival Lines Than
to Parallel Them.

Fargo, N. D., Jan 1O.-President
James ]. Hill, of the Great Northern
railway, this afternon addressed the
Tri-State Association of Grain and Cat
tie Growers. which has been in session
here this week. The crowd today was
large and included farmers and business
men from all parts of Minnesota and
both Dakotas, special delegates having
come today from Duluth and the twin
cities TO hear Mr.. Hill. He opened with
a few words of praise for the farmers,
saying that the nation at large has
more to expect from those who culti-
Vate the soil than from all others COM
bined." He thought the best use for the
good lands, as yet unsettled, a serious
question for the consideration OF states
men. He believed that the future well
fare Of the country depends more upon
the wise disposition of the public do
main, so as to secure homes for the
people, than upon any other single con-
ditiOn in the nation"
He discussed the need of action to Sc
cure more markets for our surplus prod
uctS, citing the action of other nations
in that respect. After speaking of the
development of the northwest, he said
that he thought that one kind of com
munity of interest which really existed
was that between the producer of ton
mage and the carrier; the land and its
products and the railroads will either
prosper together or be poor together,
Much is being said about combination
between railroads and competition. The
law of the survival of the httest must
inevitably end such competition as eX-
lists by the destruction of the weaker
by the stronger. This has already been
done in the east" he said. twenty-five
years ago it was supposed that compe-
tition was necessary to reduce rates
think that we have shown in the north
west that without competition rates
have been reduced faster than any
where else in the country"
LAND PRICES DOUBLED.
After speaking Of other sections where
rates are higher, showing the rate re
ductions in the northwest, he said:
This more than anything else has
doubled the price Of your lands in d
comparatively few years. Continuing
little later, there has recently been an
attempt to show that we have no in
terest in the building up of the pros
perity of the people Of your state and
of the northwest. If we did not do
everything in our power to build you
up, we would be false to our best in
terests. Our object in acquiring the
Burlington jointly with the Northern
Pacific railway was to insure an outlet
to the best markets for the grain. live
stock. and lumber from the northern
states, and to increase the volume OF
our traffic to the end that we might a t
all times be able to establish the lowest
rates and most favorable conditions un-
der which the traffic must be carried.
The Burlington, with its own rails,
reaches Chicago, Peoria, Rock Island,
Davenport, Quincy, Alton, Hannibal st.
Louis, St. Joseph, Kansas City, Des
MoineS, Omaha and Denver, and then
connects with the main arteries of
traffic OF the whole country.
SUPPOSES a CASE
Assuming that the line of the Bur
lington had not been constructed and
that the Great Northern and Northernl
Pacific jointly had raised the money
and were engaged in the construction,
would there be anything to meet the
disapproval of the state traversed by
the line of the Great Northern and
Northern Pacif1c2 On the contrary
would not such course have been hail
ed with approval as a means of open
ing up N markets for Northwestern pro-
duce and of reaching markets in the
south and southwest and of securing
business, increasing the volume of the
traffic of the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific, thus making reduction
OF rates and adding to the general
prosperity of the northwest Instead
of buying the Burlington system or a
line of railroad system along side of it
the Great Northern and Northern Pa
cif1c purchases the capital stock of a
line already constructed. Instead of
issuing stock, or bonds for the purpose
of raising moneys for building a line
reaching the same country, bonds were
issued to purchase the stock of a con-
structed line.
THE capital stock of railway com
panies. as of other corporations, will be
held by somebody and somewhere
Railway companies, as carriers are
subjected to supervision and control bv
the public for the purpose of fnslrine
the performance of their obligs lions to
the public The capital employed in
railway construction is made public
Railroads make public through publish
ed rates the price charged for trans
portation, the only thing they have to
sell, and must report the amount thew
receive for what they sell and what
has been done with it. Courts are omen
for the purpose of determining whether
railway companies, as carriers oh
The question of the reasonableness of
rates and service, does not depend upon
whether one man owns the capital stock
OF railway or another-where the
capital stock is owned by ten men or
one thousand, by persons, or by cor
porationS.
STOCK IS PERSONAL PROPERTY.
THE capital stock of a railway COM
pany Is personal property to be sold
transferred from one man to anather
and any one may purchase and hold all
that he has means to buy and nav for
The capital stock of the Northern Pa
cinc and the Great Northern will he
held by somebody, persons or corpora
tionS, II not by the present owners nv
Other owners. Suppose by death Of
present owners, the stock should he
scattered and a majority of it find its
way into the hands of those Interested
In competing lines, serving the countrv
to the north of, or to the south of the
territory served by the Great Northern
Ind the Northern Pacific Would the
people along the lines of these railways
De benefited7 If the present owners Of