The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1907-01-25
LeolsLATlvE CORRESPONDENCE I.
A Calm View Of the Present situa-
tlon.

ests. For nearly half century have
watched With much interest and concern
the development OF the great Northwest:
railroad stock or been in the employ OF
. railroad or other corporation to advance
their interests, either In accord or against
claiming to some extent that occupy the
position Of q publicist. feel as sense
Of duty the importance to the pubnc 70
urge Q thoughtful consideration OF INC ~
present situation. make NO claim "
speak for the railroads, but do feel that
as one who for nearly fifty years has SIN.
cerely and honestly written and spoken
fare that have s some ~ right to express
pIsned. The railroads are very far from
perfection. They are not conducted with is
they have Fights and there are two sides
to the question as between them ana Wy
public. and you cannot cripple OF dama9e
them without Gripping or damaging your
Mr.: j. J. Hin. president Of the Great
Northern. addressed the Northwestern
Lumbermen's association ct Mnneap0n .s
thoughts for serious oonsideraoea. ~
my statement thaA tnere
really are two sides. ! ask lermisssen 70
Dressed. N. p. Hall.
Among other things Mr.. Hill said:
but I want to ask your usost earnest
Attention. and / want to urge upon you
simply q condition and net q eneory:
And ihss ass Is snss s 81 I'm
without delay from the Pacific ceast. for
the long distance described, antil there
can DO more tracks on WHICH snnl.s 70 ,o %ave
il. instead Of twenty-fcAr tssy could I'D
move ffty miles . day-wnich would 30
four hours out Of the twenty., .e e;no "nG,
to-day Hd - TO move q great deal more ium.
Der than you want to buy. But without
the track and without the ternsna IA
cilities It cannot be moved . ani Iii
continue until these facilities and aP-
planes are furnished. and yeex dug.
ness. and the consumers o1 ssa =. a1 ~
suffer and will have to pay. =, ..
For that reason you can an ao eoo 20,
you can ali help. and the help that s so4
intelligent view Of the situation. To 90
understand the situation that 1oo ca ca
say to your neighbor. There are tVo
s Ist rs to s.t ah bi,s Su eondence
are the people who have saan invest.
1ssy ssks &c assss
than Z per cent. And there are l:iO9
women on our list Of shareholders. ~ An q.
s wmes ahs ps to Be- adopted G IS
taken aWay from them-sonlsthing that
is branded with the brand Of unpopular
nson It sa hat FAKE i IT,
for many of them are az attie abe %
put money into investments Of that kind
as you a1e.is that tho the ;or1 xo, .ng looE
s %sne Re1 e elseS of VI" wv
Honey Must BE Raised.
1--WE undertook to make an expenditure
Of over S6OOO0,OOO next year IN ad0-
ticnal tracks. and this new tine SPOKE
0amoantinE in the neighborheod Of $780,
100000. and tried to raise SEQ 600 600 from
our shareholders. We asked them 70 put
and take the chances thai they would
receive dividend Y the company earned
it., But We are defending z nysoit 70,
not not put ,' their money into into their own 6asi-
are honestly bound from every stand
Before these questions viii Be settled
in this country there must BE- . clearer
and better understanding and better ap-
!. On n.. the part Of =.
their dividend If the Company earns It.
for our The
same rate. But II we cannot handle our
business, and II we cannot raise the
to handle our business, not only the
railroads must suffer but you must suf-
fer with them.
Mr., Hill pleaded for a spirit Of con-
Il want to ask you. as rational and
reasonable men. to consider your own
interests. and see where they point See
drive horse to drink. to make him
drink after he gets him to the ven!
%nw s saYs st both so got 10 to
and we have got to depend on each
other: we have got to depend on yop.
and YOU to depend on ns Then s,t We
What we have to do. and the difficult
thing we have to meet. is 70 find money
to make these Elm want to
time since 1898 when it has been so
difficult to raise money for railway pur-
poses as It is at present"
to furnish relief must be forthcoming
enormous task. The money markets Of
were no more fish there. 1t had become
the fashion for politicians Of certain
class, men whose own characters would
abuse the railroads. The railroads were
always willing to discuss affairs Of trans
portation in a fair spirit.
Freight Rates.
On the question of freight rates Mr..
Hill said:
when we compare them with the rate.
in Europe they are less than half 40
much, as rule. The average rate in
Great Britain is 1924 for hauling & ton
Of freight hundred miles; IN Russia it
is about $1.75, and In the United States
it is Is cents. These figures are ofiicial.
Those are the average rates. It is true
that our average Is little more than
one-third less than 40 per cent of the
average of Europe. and we pay a higher
scale OF wages. They pay locomotive en-
gineers from 60 cents to $1.25 and 81. 80 a
day, We pay $3.50 and probably win ba
paying in the neighborhood Of IS within
q week. Q1aughter.)
And so all down the list You know
the difficulty of getting good labor at any
price. If the railroad systems Of the
limited States can furnish transportation
at an average cost Of less than half that
charged all over the continent of Europe.
where, as you knew, practically an tho
railroads are owned by the state, With the
scale Of wages infinitely lower than We
are paying here. our system cannot be q
failure and accomplish that result
cit is not failure. It Is the wonder OF
the railroad people Of these other coun-
tries. have had people come from In
dia. from Germany, from France, from
Austria, from Russia and from japan to
know how 1t is done. They come to md
out. IL they can. how We can furnish
such service at q rate 30 much lower Than
they are compelled to pay Now, until
the situation changes very materially. nm
ear tho IA ca1ftiaA for handling fhA h,,cSv,N~~