The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1907-01-16
HILL BLAMES RAILROADS.
Great Northern Magnate Says Track
age Is Too Small For the
Business.

ST. PAUL, January 14.-Governor
johnson today received a long letter
from j. j. Hill, president of the Great
Northern Railway company, in which
the magnate deals exclusively with
the various phases of the railroad
problem. Mr.. Hill sets out at length
what, In his opinion, is responsible
for the existing situation and what
should be done to remedy it. The
western country has grown so fast that
the railroads have been unable to keep
pace with it, MIR. Hill says, and he be.
lieves the building of additional track
is the best solution Of the problem.
He says it will require a perma.
nent investment of Is, 500, 900. 600. Mr..
Hill's letter follows, in part:
"During recent years the volume of
business has increased and is increas.
Ing with extraordinary rapidity, while
the necessary additional trackage and
terminals have been unequal to the
demands upon them. The resulting
stu alton is q freight blockade of
enormous proportions, especially at
all terminal points. How to remedy
this is q problem, mechanical and
physical. No time should be lost in
applying such measures of remedy as
may be possible.
1.-THE limit of service of a common
carrier has been reached when it has
been moving at all times over its sys.
tenn as many ars as q be run on its
tracks with safety and transferred and
dispatched from its terminals and
junction points without unreasonable
delay. Beyond that point, increase
of business cannot be handled by in.
creasing cars and engines.
"The disparity between the growth
of traffic and the additions to railroad
mileage and the extension of ter.
minals. shown by new mileage of less
than Il per cent. a year since 1904, to
take care of traffic increase averaging
II per cent. a year for 10 years past,
presents and explains the real prob.
lem.
1.-THE best judgment of many con.
servative railroad men in the country
is that an immediate addition of not
less than 8 per cent. per annum to the
railroad trackage of the country for,
say, five years should be made to re-
lieve the stu alton and put an end to
unreasonable delays.
"Investig atoms show that the rail.
roads Of the country have been en-.
deavoring to meet the growing de.
mands on them. Not only we're there 35
per cent. more ri in service in 1906
than in 1905, but each engine and car
did much more work. Trains run
faster, locomotives are more powerful
and methods Of handling the business
have so improved as to increase the
general efficiency.
mo additions to equipment and no
increased efficiency in operation can
take the place of the imper atively re-
quired new trackage and terminal ia.
cilities. The country must have, as
rapidly as they can be built, addi-
tional tracks and terminal facilities.
"The new work would amount to
81, 500, DOC, 900 in round numbers, or a
yearly average of 81, 100, 600, 900. That
is the sum which should be spent be-
fore the commerce of the country can
be moved properly. 1t is just twice
the total amount of the bonded debt
| of the United States at the close OF
the civil war. 1t is more than twice
the entire currency in circulation in
the country and only little less than
twice the deposits in all the savings
banks in the United States put to.
gether.