The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-27
COMMERCIAL WEST
THLSlI0N FREIGHT
RATES ARE REDUCED
Statements of Northwestern
Traffic illustrate How Inc
Railroads Have Benefited the
Business Man.

IFle story OF the TeuucllOH OA ASAShl
rates In the Northwest is fascinating
In view of the fact that railroad man
ayers are obliged to bear the butt OF
many a political campaign when po-
litical managers deem 1t wise to at
tack railroads for the purpose of win
ming votes, II. is of interest to turn to
the record and see just what the rail-
roads have done in their general treat
naent Of the people.
The report of the railroad and ware
house commission of Minnesota for the
year 1882 gives in full the report of the
old Manitoba Railroad company for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887 In
that year the Manitoba company-noW
owned by the Great Northern railway
had only 1908 miles of road, OF
which 1885 was in Minnesota. me
only lines in North Dakota were from
! Fargo to Grand Forks Grand Forks to
Grafton, Grand Forks to Larimore
Breckenridge to Portland, and Ripon
to Hope The freight revenue per ton
per mile was 2.518 cents, and the Man
itoba company hauled a total of 1,00l, =
|. 536 tons of freight. Ten years later, in
1892. the freight revenue had been re-
duced to 1.214 cents per ton per mile,
or more than one-half. In 1902, or
twenty years later, the freight revenue
per ton peraIflffe had been reduced to
1853 cents, or little more than one
third of what it was in 1882, and the
tonnage handled had increased to 49,
2S7.363 tons, OF over thirteen times.
Fifty Millions in Rate Reductions
Probably gnoaone will claim that
railroad could do business as cheaply
in 1902 as in1fS82. Wages were great
deal more in, 1902, and yet by increas-
ing the volume of business thirteen
times the Manitoba and its succeeding
Great Northern management under
Mr.. James j. HILL reduced the rate
two-t thirds. Had the Great Northern
received the same rate in 1902 as the
parent did in 1882. the road would have
collected S80,329, $500, while 1T only
collected as freight earnings that year
So, 400, 017.23; a saving of the enor-
nous sum of s52,920,65S.97 for some
body.
To bring about this great increase in
business it became necessary for the
Great Northern to build new lines to
develop traffic In 1882 the only
through business the. Great Northern
had was via1tffe Canadian, Pacific at
ST. Vincent; otherwise the traffic was,
purely local. In 1892 the Great NQrth-
ern had {, 417.3S miles of road, of which
1929 was in Minnesota. In 1902 the
Great Northern operated directly
5,336.38 miles of road, of which i, 955.2o
was in Minnesota. and in addition
owned 512.72' miles OF road, which ma
terially decreased the earnings 81 the
lines the>con1pany operated
The figures show the Wonderful work
done byfone railroad in developing the
Northwest in the last twenty years.
The reduction Of freight charges in the
twenty years blythe Great Northern
railroad alone saves the people an an
nuai charge of s53.000,e00 from the rate
charged twenty years ago. 80
~ jEs The Taxation Figures. 80! -.
The figures pertaining to railroad
taxation tell a similar story of develops
ment in the interest of the people. In
1882 the Manitoba's tax bill was $780,
| 001.94 in 1902 this tax had grown to
81 ,239, 693.97
In 1882 Minnesota's proportion of the
Manitoba earnings was Sc, 101,179.89,
on which the tax of 8 per cent amount
ed to S1S3,065. 40 Es
For the year ending June 80, 1892,
the Great Northern paid the state of
Minnesota $272,2 as tax, and for
the year ending June 80, 1902, it paid
as tax $4S7,450.95;5 an increase over
1882 of 1904, 1855, and the increase is
growing yearly.
The benefit to the state is even
greater than these figures indicate.
Note what. the state collects from in
terstate traffic, and how the develop
nlent of that traffic has helped the
state and everybody in it who pays
taxes. The report of the railroad COM
mission of 1882 states that the total
revenue of Minnesota stations that
year was 1929, 1895, which was pure
ly local business. The tax on that at 3
per cent would be S15S, 382.9S; there
fore, in 1897 Minnesota received $24,-
6s241 as tax on interstate traffic.
In 1902 the earnings from traffic local
to Minnesota was S6,619.186.91 and the
i tax of 3 per- cent was $198,515.07.
| Therefore of. the total tax of $487, 450.05
| paid the state in 1902 by the Great
Northern S2SSj S75.SS came from inter
state traffic.
| This shows the. remarkable result
| that in twenty years the Great North
| ern built 1920 miles Of railroad in the
state and reduced the local rates so
] that the earnings from all classes of
| local traffic in Minnesota was but ST.
| 100000 more in 1902 than in 1882, while
| the taxes on interstate traffic was
| 1854, 900 more in 1902 than in 1882, or
| twelve times as great.
| The Result of Development.
| What has been the result of this de-
velopment of railroads? The Mime
4 sofa legislature in the session just
| clOS6u enacted lfldl Tie duuOullI W nc
| raised by general taxation to defray
| the expenses of the state for the fiscal
year 1904 would be but $775,000, and
/ for the fiscal year 1905 but 100000
and that the tax should not exceed
/ mill on each dollar of taxable prop
erty. At the present rate of increase
| it will be only a few years before the
| general expenses of Minnesota will be
| paid by the railroads and the greater
| portion of the amount will come from
! interstate traffic that the railroads
| have created and developed, the local
| rates being steadily reduced.
In this view Of the case it will be
| apparent to. any fair-minded either
| that the policy toward railroads should
| be broad, rather than political. When
ever state ihterferes with or retards
business only the development of traf-
fic, or the building up Of new lines OF
| traffic, 1t prevents reduction in freight
rates, because as the expense of doing
business continues to increase, freight
rates will have to be advanced to pro-
| vide the necessary earnings to pay the
increase, unless the railroads are per-
a volume that will not make it neceS-
sary to increase local rates.
4 Had thes.radlroads been content t.
allow traffic in the last twenty year:
to take it's course freight rates would
have been much higher than they are
/ The way low rates have been secured
during the twenty years is the result
Of applyingrt6 traffic this policy of de-
veloping itIsofas to reduce the cost by
/ increasing the amount Of work done
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