River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-01-16

Pennsylvania road owning the Baltimore
q Ohio. Have the rates advanced?
| Have the people along the line of the
Baltimore & Ohio suffered? On the con-
trary, the first step has been to furnish
| money to cut down the grades, to double
track the line from the Ohio river to Chi
cago and to furnish cars and terminal
facilities to handle the business TO the
best advantage and at such rates as T-al
enable the shippers along the line to
open up their mines and increase their
business in every branch Of trade and to
rely upon the solvent company for the
facilities necessary to transact their bus
mess.
| Alleged Car Shortage Lack OF Car Move
ment.
Hardly a day passes without rail-
road accident, many of which are at
tended with much loss of life. What is
business of the public trains are run in
such numbers and at a rate Of speed
which is entirely beyond the capacity
of the roads. Today there is an abso-
| lutte blockade of traffic between Chicago
and the Mississippi river points in the
West and the Atlantic seaboard: Fur
naces within a short distance of the coke
ovens are cold and thousands of men
are idle for want of transportation.
There is a coal famine from Pittsburg to
Denver. People say it is due to shortage
of cars. Ten years ago, with a ton mile
movement Of 76,OOO,OOOOoO, the average
| miles per day; at this time it is not more
than twenty miles. per day. 1t is not
more cars that is wanted, but more
movement of the cars now in use.
Freight trains move certainly an average
of sixteen miles hour while the
road. Twenty miles cars movement daily
means nat the cars move one hour and
a quarter out of the twenty-four hours.
No business in the world can thrive
under conditions when it can use its
| facilities for earning money less than one
hour out of the twelve
when many of the roads were built
| large proportion Of the original railway
enterprises failed, losing a large part
Of the investment had no idea of
money and want of forethought the
terminal facilities are today totally in
adequate If the cars could be moved at
the principal terminals the main lines
would be able to do better than at pres
ent. However, with a continuance for
| three or five years of the present volume
of traffic between the East and West
added to industrial traffic in the great
manufacturing districts this country will
Gus commercial question it has yet been
called upon to solve. Terminals in the
| larger Eastern cities are both difficult
K and expensive to acquire.
The Pennsylvania railway in order to
get into New York, on to Manhattan
island, is building a tunnel from Jersey
or $5O,O00,000. Will it bring new business
or must the expense of operation and
interest on cost be levied on present
"A careful examination of the railway
problem from national standpoint will,
[ 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.
American Rates Lowest in the World.
crates in the United States are much
| lower than in any other country. Wages
are higher the cost of most of the
terial is higher, than in Europe, still the
| average rate charged in Europe is fully
| twice as high as in America. The con-
ditions in this country change very
rapidly. While rates have been cut, in
| two in twenty years, all kinds Of labor
and material used by the railways have
| advanced from 80 to so per cent, Moth
has made it possible to reduce rates as
| they have been reduced. Today we find
| the volume of traffic so great east of
Chicago that the railways are not able
| How will these conditions be changed
and at what cost?- Who. will build new
| questions which / will not undertake to
answer farther than to say that the
| West must have the facilities or suffer
| for the want of them.
1.-THE public must always bear in mind
| that a bankrupt road cannot furnish
good service; The railroad must be able ie
| at fair and reasonable rates. The prob
lem we have had to solve has been how
| to reduce the cost of operation so that
we can furnish transportation at, the
! lowest prices This can be done only by
| increasing the volume of traffic. The
| question is as simple as raising a given
| amount of money by taxation. The more
dollars worth of property taxed the
| lower the rate of taxation will be and
| the greater number of tons carried the
| lower the rate of transportation will be-
| This is one of the main reasons why we
are so anxious to develop the enormous
! through business that is rapidly growing
every ton of new business that we
bring contributes it's proportion of net
I1rnxy h n
rate Of transportation on our local bust
ness. The interstate business on our
lines in North Dakota today constitutes
95 per cent of the whole and still you
| enjoy all the facilities furnished, both
! passenger and freight, with the increased
number of trains necessary to handle
| this business, every one of whom is an
| additional accommodation to you.
North Dakota a Marvellous State.
! "It will be thirty-two years next March
| since 1 first saw the Red River valley.
| At that time there was not a single house
on the west side of the Red river, from
| the Bots de Sioux to Pembina. During
| the past twenty years all of my time
and effort has been given to building
| northwest has given me more SAUSAGE
ton or is giving me more satisfaction
! today than North Dakota. It's growth
in the past has been marvellous: The
! first years in all new countries are
marked by hardships and self-denial but
during the past few years you are get
| ting the reward of your labor; people
are coming into the state by thousands,
| the value of your land has advanced and
will advance beyond your reasonable ex-
pectations, and hope that together your
| property and our property will work side
| by side and shoulder to shoulder to car
ry forward the best interests of North
| Dakota.
mo man., no hundred men in your state
| represent the same interest in your well
! fare that it is my good fortune to rep
resent, and I hope in the future that
with better methods of cultivation and
more knowledge of what is required,
| your condition may be constantly i'm
proved, and if your condition is i'm
| proved ours will certainly share it with
| you. AS the volume of traffic increases
/ our rates will be reduced.
Remember that whatever helps, you
/ helps the railroad, and whatever hurts
| you or restricts your growth, restricts
| the growth of the railroad serving you.
/ We will always prosper together or be
| poor together.
PICKED UP HERE AND THERE.