The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-21

OSnabrack-many of you do not know
where it is-$105,000 Langdon 1851, 900,
Dresden from $4,000 to $68,000 in four
years, Wales from $4,000 to $4,000 in
four years, Lakota from $4,000 to
$133,000, Bartlett from $4,000 to $780,
600, Crary from $45 900 to $4,000, Dew
IFS Lake from $4,000 to $32S,000, and
$4,000 of this in passenger traffic.
"The heavy passenger traffic of the
Great Northern system is not on either
of the transcontinental lines, but on
the local passenger train between
Grand Forks and Minot; this train car
rying more people and earning more
money than any passenger train on
the line, and 1 am not sorry that 1T is
your good luck.
Now, Churches Ferry increased
from 100000 to $4,000. Then, coming
up on the Cando branch, where the
business is purely local, Mazea $4,000,
Cando from $115,000 to $236,000, and
still when these good Dunkards came
lots of people said they were no good
because they did, not come to town
often enough for a drink of whisky;
Considine from $4,000 to $4,000, Bisbee
from $4,000 to 100000, Perth from
$4,000 to $4,000, Rolla from $4,000
to $146,000. Now 1 will get back to
Rugby, $4,000 to $4,000, Barton from
So, 600 to $37, 900, Willow City from $685.
600 to $147, 900, Omemee from $4,000
to $128,0OO Now on the main line,
where the total revenue last year was,
$4,000 it was this year $135,0OO; that
is at Granville, Minot from $124,000 to
1891 900. Now take Souris, little sta
ton northwest of Bottineau. The first
year the revenue was $175,000 and the
second year $2S9,OOO.
Growth Was UnexampIed.
These figures are encouraging to
me and they ought to DE to you. They
mark a growth that you cannot find
anywhere else in any state in the
Union And it did not come from any
fluke or boom or from any other source
than the good old Mother Earth. The
people are we'll to do. 1 think they will
do themselves and their farms justice
and all will be we'll with them. If they
got their farms for $1.25 per acre or
homesteaded or pre-empted it, am
glad of their prosperity, for their land
is worth $40 to SIS per acre today and
they won it fairly. With all this
growth the company gets just the same
return on our money that we did before
1t. We get z per cent on our money
just as we did before. If we wanted
to raise 100000 it would be a simple
thing to estimate a profit of 81 per
ton on what you gave us to carry If
you provided 100, 900 tons Of freight;
but if you will give us 100000 tons
upon which to raise that 100000, the
rate would be so cents per ton; and
if you should raise 100000 tons in crop,
it would be a rate of % cents per ton.
1t is as simple-as that.
1--WE have been able to reduce your
freight rate in thirty-on one years to less
than a. third of what it was, a saving
to you to the people on our lines in
one year of $59,900,000 nearly 100000
600; and this reduction in freight rates
has been brought about by increasing
the volume of traffic. That volume has
been increased by making such rates
as would enable shippers to develop
new lines of traffic and the building
of additional mileage that would ere
ate traffic. To reduce the cost of
transportation in the face of continual
increases in wages and advances in
prices of material the only way was
to increase the amount of work done
by each train and so to receive a large
increase for the train mile. These fig
ures appeal to me by reason of their
magnitude, and l am glad to tell you
right here that you in North Dakota
are able to send your grain to market
at lower freight rate than they are
able to in Western Iowa. 1 took up
the schedule of freight rates of one of
the transcontinental lines south of us,
one Of the lines that struggled hard to
get the Northern Pacific because this
country was growing too fast, and
found that their rate is $1.06 for trans
porting a ton of freight 100 miles, Our
rate is IS cents. Take the big lines
running out Of Chicago. 1 don't care
which one you take, the Chicago &
North Western, for instance, and you
will find that although an older line
than we are, it is paying a higher
r. Of tut ncSH
Northern Pacific as we'll. I speak of
that to show you that we mean what
we say that your interest is our inter-
est, your prosperity is ours prosperity
and our injury your injury.
Mutually Prosperous.
1.-THE prosperity of the railway COM
panies and the prosperity of the people
of North Dakota must go up together
and go down together. You cannot in
jure the people without injuring the
railways. When you injure US you in
Jure yourselves. Suppose a case, and
there are many such cases, OCCASION
ally we get into court in a physical in
jury case, although we never mean to,
and always offer to pay the injured
man heaped measure, but some->
times he does not want heap
ing measure. He wants some
times to get three or four times
as much because he relies on the popu-
lar prejudice against the railroad.
Now, who pays that bill? I can tell
you that 1t Is not paid by our stock
holders. They get their per cent just
the same. The amount Of that bill is
charged up to expense, and you pay it.
Every time it is added to the cost of
conducting the business.
1--WE have only two sources from
which to get money. One way is to
earn it and the other way is to borrow
1t. If you feel like paying the amount
of such a bill and are willing to make
the contribution, go ahead. It does not
come out of the pocket Of the COM
pany. You can see in a moment that 1t
does not. But, on the other hand,
wish you to bear this in mind, if a
case ever gets into court, it is because
we think the party wants a great deal
more than he is justly entitled to. II
he wanted to take what was right and
fair and in heaped measure he would
not have got into court.
"Now have been running away from
irrigation. 1 do not get an opportunity
to talk plainly to you very often and
have transgressed a little. The public
domain of the United States, that por-