Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-01-17
Euriu saturda aauarp ~. 1909
THE LAND KINGS.
American Railroads Combined Land
Holdings Ten Times the. Size of New
York State.

Holdings Ten Times the Size Of New
York State.
The largest landowners we have in
this country are the railroads, some
corporations owning an acreage which,
II placed in one contiguous tract, would
rival many a kingdom in size. one of
the most valuable resources of the Rock
Island railroad is tae immense grants
OF land that it holds from the govern
mtnt in the far west.
This one system alone owns 1,261 900
acres of land in the west and the
amount represented in this immense
tract of western prairie is estimated to
be $3.162,500. AT tae time this prop
erty was acquired by the railroad COM
pany it was practically worthless and
1t was given to the railroad so that it
would have some incentive to build its
system thru that part of the country
and aid in creating tire arid waste into
fertile soil that might be titled and
used to advantage in an agricultural.
way.
immense as We're the grants to the
Rock Island system. however, that
which is held by this company is but 6
drop in the bucket compared to soma of
the enormous tracts that are held By
other railroads and some idea of the
immensely of the amount of property
held by the different companies can be
gained when 1t is stated that the COM
bined acreage of thege systems amounts
up to the enormous total of 300,000,000.
When it Is considered that the entire
state of New York comprises only 3d.
100000 acres some faint idea is gained
of the hundreds of miles of territory
held by these big syndicatcs who are now
rapidly selling 1T out TO the farmers and
large ranchers at a Profit that is filling
their Golfers with gold.
AT the time these lands were given
to the roads they were worth from 10
cents to so cents an acre. Now they
are worth from $1.25 TO SIS an acre. The
average value is but $3.50 an acre.
The Northern Pacific Company dur
ing the fiscal year 1902 sold 2,3S6,S9S
and which was added to it's income ac-
count. Other roads have disposed of
some OF their lands, but few of them
have land accounts which are exposed
In their annual reports. and just how
much they have sold is matter of
guesswork.
The value of governmental land
grants held by the railroads today ag-
gregates $310,302,442. They hold, ac-
cording to the recent report of the
United States commissioner of rail-
roads, 124, 120,977 acres of this land,
This does not include the land held as
coming from the different states thru
which the roads run.
Some of the roads mentioned in the
table showing the land held by them
have acquired a large part of their
holdings by the absorption of other
roads.
For instance. the Atchison has lands
that were granted 10 the Atlantic s:
Pacific, Leavenworth, Lawrence &
Galveston and several other smaller
branches of it's present system, while
the Chicago & Northwestern acquired
thru absorption the land granted to the
Cedar Rapids & Missouri. Omaha, st.
Paul g. Sioux City. and Sioux City &
st. Paul. The big systems own in tbs
aggregate principality almost twice
the size of France.
This land in a few more years will
be worth from So tc $500 an acre and
will in time become great source of
revenue to the roads. Many of the
roads are now colonizing their lands
and building houses. which they are
renting to settlers.
Towns are springlag up along some
of the larger western roads, which are
being fostered by ti,.s system. 1t is n
remarkable instance of government lib,
crafty toward private corporations
liberality which, however, has not done
much to bring about the wonderful de-
velopmsnt of the west.
The value of the lard owned by vari-
GUS roads is as follows: