Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1902-01-16

approval OF the states traversed by tina
lines OF the Great Northern and Northern
Pacific? On the contrary. would not
such a course have been hailed with APP
prevail as means of opening up markets
for Northwestern produce and of reach
ing markets in the South and Southwest
and of securing business. increasing the
volume of traffic OF the Great Northern
and Northern Pacific. thus making re-
duction Of rates and adding to the gem
eral prosperity of the Northwest In
stead of building the Burlington system
or n line Of railway alongside of it, the
Great Northern and Northern Pacidc
purchased the capital stock Of line al
ready constructed, instead of issuing
stock or bonds for the purpose of raising
money to build a line reaching the same
country bonds were issued to purchase
the stock Of a constructed line.
Convincing Reasons.
The capital stock of railway companies.
as of other corporations. will be held by
somebody and somewhere. Railway com
panieS as carriers are subject to super
vision and control by the public for the
purpose of insuring the performance OF
their obligations to the public. Railroads
make public through published rates the
price charged for transportation. the only
thing they have to SELL and must report
the amount they receive for what they
sell and what has been done with 1t.
Courts are open for the purpose of de-
termining whether railway companies as
carriers observe their obligations to the
public. The question of the reasonable
ness of rates and service does not depend
upon whether one man owns the capital
stock of railway or neutrality-suspicious.
the capital stock is owned by ten men
or one thousand, by persons or by cor
porations. The capital stock of rail-
way company is personal property, to be
sold, transferred from one man to an
othar and any one may purchase and
hold all that he has means to buy and
pay for. The capital stock of the North
orn Pacific and the Great Northern will
be held by somebody, persons or corpora
tons. If not by the present owners. by
other owners. Suppose by death of pres
ent owners the stock should be scattered
and a ma jority of it find it's way into the
hands of those interested in competing
lines serving the country to the north or
to the south of the territory served by
the Great Northern and the Northern Pa
cfic. Would the people along the lines
Of those railways be bcnetited2, If the
present owners Of n majority OF the stock
of the two companies could be compelled
to sell it or dispose of it on the market,
would it fall into hands more interested
In the development and prosperity of the
Northwest than it's 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? Plainly the will
ingness and ability of those controlling
large interests in the stock of the compa-
Mes who found it to their advantage to
build up the lines and promote the set
tlment Of the territory tributary to it and
who will continue it.
BrOnd-Gauge Competition.
The great freight producing area OF
the country is along the Atlantic sea-
board and in the territory south of Lake
| Erie The freight that Is the product
| Of all the manufacturing enterprises
| which find a market west of tie Missis-
! Sippi river to a large extent must pass
| through the lakes to Duluth and to st.
Paul and Minneapolis and into the terri
tory between these cities and the Pacific,
| or around Lake Michigan and at that
| point going largely to Southwestern lines.
| The question of stock ownership, so far
| as the public along the lines served by
| the Great Northern and Northern Pacific
is concerned, Is to be considered in the
light of. great competitive condition
between the territory served by the
Northern lines and those of the South
and West-between lines whose interest
it is to secure traffic against the
Northern lines, to populate and build M
| the country in which the people along the
| Northern lines have no special immediate
interest.
! few years ago the TRANSFORMATION on
Lake Superior was mainly in the hands
OF what was known as the Lake Superior
| Transit company, a pool line made up
by steamers operated by Eastern trunk
| lines, who also operated boats running
| from Chicago, and whenever we reduced
| the rates from the wheat fields to Lake
| Superior corresponding advance in the
| g. a.
ton on land and equalize the rate by
| Lake Superior and by Chicago. We
built six steel steamers, which at that
| time were the largest on the lakes.
| The first cargo we landed at Buffalo
| we were told that it would have to pay
| the local rate from Buffalo to New York,
which was practically the same the
! through rate from Duluth to New York.
We found a way to get around this, and
! the result was 10 oreak up the T"unsit
| company and break down the rat IS on
| the lakes to Il reasonable figure Later
| the elevator charges at the head of Lake
| Superior were IA cents per bushel, and
| at Buffalo IA cents per bushal, with an
additional charge for shoveling Of n cent.
We built large elevators at both pla ces,
the effect Of which has been to reduc.
the rates to u cent each in Buffalo and
at the head Of Lake Superior; In other
words, where the grain paid 2M cents
per bushel it Is now paying l cent. The
difference to the Northwest on the 2oO,-
WO.O0O bushels of wheat is Si,J0OuU0 per
year. The proportion of this We handle
through our elevators is probably Il
per cent. We did not build the elevators
for. the purpose of grinding the faces
Off the farmers Of the Northwest but in
order that they might have fair play
! and that their grain might go forward
without undue and unnecessary taxation
] say this to show YOU that we are at all
times mindful OF everything that will
add to your material prosperity.
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