New-York tribune., 1902-06-29
IFTTERS TO THE EDITOR.
AMERICAN FREIGHT TRAFFIC.
-,opABI,y GREATER THAN THAT OF ALL TIL
REST OF THE WORLD.

RESI- Or NOfALi-
~ the Editor of The Tribune.
e;r. Commenting on the railroad mileage of
18th America. which is more than that of
-.,,o,e and Asia put together. while the two
= Continents have two and one-half times the
-. end more than twelve times the popula-
80, ~ the new one The Tribune Of June %
&c. Perhaps more Americans than Europeans
-; freight" Herewith j shall endeavor TO re-
-.ove the 'perhape." and prove that the rail
<-.,eht movement in America is greater than
49, of au Europe. and probably greater than
-, of ali the rest Of the world
rev the latest reports of France. Belgium. Ger
-osnv. Austria-HunL ary, Italy and Russia (all
of which have studied for this purpose), the
orgregate freight movement of all these coun-
.-,ss was equivalent to 60OO6. 100000 tons
e.-rjed one mile. Statistics of ton-miles are
-ot -eported in Great Britain. but freight train
niles are and even if the British freight train
,sd as large an average load as the American
ssnd almost certainly il has not more than half
n large a load) its freight movement was equal
TO Sc 355 GG00O0 ton-miies The little coun-
sr,ss-Spain Portugal Scandinavia the Neither
lands Switzerland and Turkey-all have very
light freight traffic by rail, in the aggregate
snubtless, not m IRE than 5000, 900 ton
miles Add these figures together and we have
sn aggregate rail freight movement in all
Europe amounting to 101.34l.0oo,Oe ton-miles
In the United States alone in the year ended
June So 1895, which is the year nearest to
the most OF the above European statistics. the
freight movement eQualled ia. .01S.0 100000 ton
miles, one-eighth more than the figures
given above fer Europe. which are almost GER
taInly l9,OUJoO0.oto toe large Tor Great Britain
In Asia, at thai time, probably nineteen his
Of the railroad traffic was in British India,
where the freight movement was 642I,Uot,oJO
ton-miles; and II is not probable that the
Australian and South American railroads had
enough 10 bring up the total to equality
with the American traffic
Moreover, since 1885 freight traffic has grown
enormously in America, and much less rapidly
IN Europe.
Al first it may seem impossible that coun-
Try OF E1GeoVOO people could produce enough
than that Of the 391, ,OU00uU of Europe, not to
say the 4S0.0000O0 of all the world outside
Of the United States But reflection will show
some OF the reasons for the discrepancy. The
resources OF new, thi.ily peopled countr.es like
the United States. Canada and Australia, in
soil. forests and mines, can be utilized at nrSt
only by bringing them t. the eaboard, because
the resident population can consume only
small part Of the p~oduction; while in old coun-
tries Industries have been developed for CEN
turies close by the consumers, and must have
been for the lack of inland transportation For
the same reason, freightS cheap in proper
ton TO their weight like grain, timber. coal
alo ores, are transported by rail- IN TINS couf-
Try for distances which in the old countries
were thought possible only by sea or by river:
In the new country the superabundance OF
natural resources leads an Overwhelmingly
large part OF the population to engage in ex-
fractve industries, in which the product per
is vastly greater in weight than in the
finer manufactures When all allowance IS
made for this, however, there can be no doubt
that in most industries in which the country Is
largely engaged he average man is much
more efficient producer than the average Euro
pean. A striking example is this railroad In
dustry itself In 1893, on the Prussian state
Railroad system which is managed by stan OF
ofncers and employees Of very unusual inteln-
gence and faithfulness. the work done per man
employed was %. .416 passenger miles and 4l,-95
top-rniies: in the United States 1t was lo.foo
passenger-miles and 1888 130 ton-railes. Count
ing one passenger-nlile equivalent to two ton
miles the work pen man there to that here
was as "a II l64
Charters might be written as to the causes
Of this efficiency. The chief factor as De-
lieve has been the high wages and until very
recently the high rates Of interest here, which
have forced our producers to contrive in every
way possible 70 save labor and to increase the
efficiency OF machinery and processes.
New-York, June y, 19U2- b w. D.