The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-11-09
FOR CLOSER RELATION OF
FARMERS AND RAILROADS
Continued from Page Four.)

those in the hearts of the cities. If
you like we can and do deliver you
for your breakfasts oranges from Cali
fornia or Florida, fresh steak from
Kansas. a cereal manufactured with
the water power Of Niagara Falls,
fresh eggs from North Carolina, wheat
flour from Minneapolis. The railroads
of the country are now using $1,000
locomotives. $4,000 passenger cars and
2,1SO,OOO freight cars. We haul an
nually more than 1900 million tons
of freight, and approximately 600, o0O,-
900 passengers. We have in the rail-
road service a standing army of t.
100000 men, and have expended for
the construction and equipment of the
great railway systems Of the United
States over thirteen and a quarter bill
lion dollars. The capital stock of
these companies aggregates 1900 mil
lion dollars. and bonds and other OBJ
legations amount to 5000 million dol
lars.
You are doing your part. Last year
1t was estimated officially that the
farms in the United States number
6,lO0, 600, an increase of 33 per cent
over 1890-19 years ago.. Your acre
age increased from 2 5000, 900 in 1890
to 1888, 900 900 in 1900. You see we
are keeping pace with you and as you
produce the stuff, we are providing
the cars to haul it away and to de-
liver back to you What you want in
exchange. You had in land, buildings
and improvements last year estimated
$50, 900, 900, 900, an actual increase of
nearly 100 per CEN in twenty years.
The value of the farm products OF
the United States for the past season
is estimated at not less than $S,O0O,-
100000 as compared with $4,000, OOO,-
900 as late as 1890. This almost I'M
thinkable sum amounts to more than
the aggregate product of all the gold
mines Of the world for 400 years. or,
say, from the discovery of America to
the year 1890.
This vast gift which mother earth
has bestowed upon the son Of the soil
in the past twelve months exceeds the
sum total of all the deposits in all the
savings banks Of Great Britain and
Ireland, France, the German Empire,
Holland, Belgium, Hungary, Denmark,
Italy, Norway, Sweden. Switzerland,
Russia and the Japanese Empire COM
bined.
The gross earnings Of the railroads
of the United States for the past II
months nave amounted to more than
two and a half billion dollars or more
than the total value Of all farm pro-
ducts in the United States in the year
1890. OF the amount collected by the
railroads more than one thousand mil
lion dollars was paid out for labor;
oo1 1oili cooo pay Ia ohO All
sufficient to support a Kingdom, more
than ~eighty-two million dollars per
annurn, which is, in fact, more than
the total Eel from all sources Of
taxation Of the Kingdom OF Belgium.
So you with your millions Of men,
acres and capital and we with our
millions Of men and cars and invest
cents, are mutually dependent. You
must help US and we must help you.
The danger line in the railroad stu
alton has not been passed alto
gether. Competition is yet to be pro-
tected and consolidation must yet be
restrained. You are the people. You
are not wise always, in details, but you
have supreme wisdom Of trying al
ways to be right and do right and it
works out right in the end, even
though sometimes through many
tribulations for both sides.
My hope is hat is the American
farmer gains more and more IN wealth
he will come more and more to own
the railroads.. In old times he held
on to the land by the skin Of his
teeth and the strength Of his eye
brows. Now he has a surplus and [
think he can use some OF 1t IN 10
better way than by buying voice n
power in the control of the vehicle
that carries his product to market
and brings him his supplies. Our
farmers, generally, have Ions since
paid off the farm mortgage and nave
become investors and bank depOsitors,
as the records of the banking DEPART
ment so forcibly show. From 1896
to 1908, the bank deposits in the man
ufacturing States Of Massachusetts and
New York showed a gain of IL per
cent and II per cent. respectively,
which looks small when compared
with the increase for the same period
in such agricultural States as North
Carolina, where bank deposits in
creased 405 per cent; MISSISSIPPI which
increased 404 per cent; Iowa, 2S5 per
cent: Kansas, 1913 per cent; Oregon,
725 per cent and Arkansas. 534 per
cent. While these deposits do not all
belong to armer they were principal