The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-01-11

~ 1890 --N--+N+-' 80
t1.at respect.
After speaking o- the development Of
the northwest he said he thought one
kind OF community OF interest" which
really existed was that between the
producer Of tonnage and the carrier.
The land and its products and the ral9-
roads viii either prosper together or
be poor together. Euch is being said
about combination between railroads
and competition, said Mr.. Hill.
Effects Of Competition.
''The law CT the survival of the fttest
must inevitably end such competition
as exists by the destruction Of the
weaker Dy the stronger. This has al
ready been done in the east.
Twenty-Five years ago Il was sup
posed that competition was necessary
70 reduce rates. think that we have
shown in the northwest that without
competition rates have been reduced
faster than anywhere else in the coun-
try"
After speaking Of other sections
where rates are higher. showing the
rate reductions in the northwest, he
said:
This. more than anything else. has
doubled the price of your lands in a
comparatively few years" Continuing
a little later, he said: There has re-
Gently been an attempt to show that
re nave no interest in the building up
of the prosperity 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
interests.
Interee s Are Identical.
"our object IN acquiring the BurIing-
ton 3ointly with the Northern Pacific
railroad We 10 Insure NJ, Or1rIa4 IN 4l,.a
best markets for the grain, livestock
and lumber for the northern states and
to increase the volume Of our traffic
TO the end that we might at all times
be able to establish the lowest rates
and most favorable conditions under
which the traffic must be carried.
The Burlington. with its own rails,
Davenport. Quincy. Alton. Hannibal.
st. Louis, st. Joseph, Kansas City,
Des Moines. Omaha and Denver. and
connects with the main arteries of
traffic Of the whole country.
assuming that the line Of the Bur-
ungton had not been constructed and
that the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific Jointly had
raised the money and were en-
gagged in the construction Of il, would
there be anything to meet the disap-
proval of the states traversed by the
line Of the Great Northern and North
-ern Pacific? On the contrary, would
not such a course have been nailed
with approval as a means of opening
I'D markets for northwestern produce
and of reaching markets in the south
and southwest, and of securing bust
ness, Increasing the volume of the traf-
fic of the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific. thus making reduc-
ton of rates and adding to the gen.
eral prosperity of the northwest?
Describes the Merger.
Instead of building the Burlington
system, or a line of railroad alongside
of it. the Great Northern and Northern
Pacific purchases the capital stock OF
a line already constructed. Instead of
issuing stock or bonds for the purpose
Of raising money Tor building a line
reaching the same country, bonds were
issued to purchase the stock of a con-
structed line.
'The stock of railway companies, as
Of other corporations, must be held by
somebody and somewhere. Railway
companies as carriers are subject to
supervision and control by the public
Tor the purpose Of insuring the per-
Torrance of their obligations to the
public.
The capital employed in railway
construction is made public. Railroads
make public through published rates
the only thing they have to sell. and
must report the amount they receive
Tor what they sell and what has been
done with it.
Rates Independent of Stock.
Courts are open for the purpose of
determining whether railway compan-
les as carriers observe their obliga-
items to the issue. The question of the
reasOnableness of rates and service
does not depend upon whether one man
owns the capital stock of a railway or
another-whe her the capital stock is
owned BY ten men or 1000, by persons
or by corpora ions.
The capital stock of a railway com
pany is personal property to BE sold.
TO be transferred from one man to an
other, and anyone may purchase and
mold all that he has means TO buy and
pay for
The capital stock of the Northern
Pacific and Great Northern viii be held
by somebody, persons or corporations.
II not by the present owners. by other
owners. Suppose by death Of present
owners the stock should be scattered
and q majority of il finds its way into
the hands of those interested in com
peting lines serving the country to
ire north of. or the south of the terri
tory served by the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific. W. aid the people
alcnE the lines of these RAILWAYS ne
benefited If the present owners OF the
majority of the stock could be com
PEELED to sell it or dispose Of it on the
market2
Cause of Railway Prosperity.
Would it fan into hands more in
terested in the development and in the
prosperity Of the northwest than its (
present OWIers2
How is it that the lines have been
extended and improyed2 What brought 4
about the present condition of prosper-
ity Of the twO cOmpanies2 What has /
enabled them TO serve the people along /
the lines as they have been served? /
Plainly the willingness and the ability (
OF those controlling large interests of 1
the stock OF the company. who found /
il to their advantage to build up the
lines and promote the settlement OF I
the territory tributary to it and who I
viii continue it.
Mr. Hill next called attention TO the I
former high rates on the great lakes 1
and how northwestern interests had /
established new lines and forced re- 1
auctions in rates from the east and bv /
means Of new elevators had compeUed /
lower rates there also. After further
touching on rate reductions. he said:
The conditions Of the general rail- /
road situation in the United States at /
the present time are hardly understood
For the year ending June 81. 1890. the
tons numbered carried for one mile for
al railrOa1s was IS 25O. O0O. 600: in 1900 if
was Ia 500 Geo O00 as shown by the in
terstate commerce commission reports.
u 1901 a safe estimate viii bring this