The great West. [volume], November 29, 1889, Image 1

About The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
THE GREAT WEST
18 PUBLISHED FRIDAYS AT
768 WABASHA St., St. PAUL,
BY THE
Great West Company.
SI.OO A YEAR IN ADVANCE
Another Fraud!
The Return of one
Of Bobby’s Great Railway
Boomerangusses
BEARING AFFLICTION UNDER ITS
WING.
In the appendix to his recent pam
phlet defending the railways, Mr.
Itobinson gives what he terms a
“balance sheet” of some big Minne
sota railway, in which he proposes to
show that the natural expenses of a
railroad are too unutterly unspeaka
bly awful for the granger intellect to
comprehend.
We secured an almanac, and a box
of tire-crackers, and succeeded in run
ning the thing into the brush, and fi
nally captured the entire outfit.
He declined to give the name of the
source from which it sprang, but it
came straight from the offices of the
Northern Pacific Railroad—where it
was “doctored up” for the occasion!
We have |had an expert accountant
—the one who sweeps out the Great
West office and builds fires—look the
document over.
No such account as that could ex
ist on the books of a railway com-
pany.
It will readily be seen by what fol
lows why he would not reveal the lo
cation of the items referred to. It
was simply because the expense was
small enough to startle even a gran-
ger. He even fails to give the num-
ber of miles involved in the cut-offs
/ and', extensions. It is startling to
realize that the great Northern Pa
cific would lend itself to such petty
strumpery.
In illustration, take the following
item:
“New railroad as follow's - $288,953.”
How much railroad does this in
clude? Here are the items:
“Balance cost of extension - $31,745.”
“Bal. cost of cut off 132,078.”
“Bal. cost of railway 125,129.”
Now this may be good Greek, but
it is not “bookkeeping.” A sheep
raiser would call it hog-wash.
What cut off? What Extension?
Has the last item any relation to the
“New' railroad as follow’s?” Does it
mean one mile —or more than a hun
dred, as w e conclude from some other
unintentional pointers?
In the account occurs thefollowing
item:
“31 locomotives, costing - - .$271,020.”
One thousand dollars is wagered
that that item does not appear as it
is given on any “balance sheet” in
the Northern Pacific books—our ob
ject being to develop the fact that the
thing .is “doctored.” Following, is
another item of one thousand, six
hundred and ninety-seven cars of
various kinds!
Now here is an equipment for a
road at least 350 miles in extent. We
take this estimate (1) from a railroad
manager, and (2) from the railroad
reports of three roads of 214, 350 and
400 miles in length. But as Mr. Rob
inson lets us know nothing about
these things his “balance sheet” is
nothing more than balderdash.
Another item strikes us impres-
sively :
“Construction for ac
count of proprietary
companies J 1,566,731,53”
The cat is bigger than the bag.
The total expense amounts to
$4,211,006 —he charged against the
Northern Pacific construction for in
dependent companies a million and
a half dollars on a total cost of four
and a quarter million!
But now let us see what he has
“shown up.” He gives the balance
•afreet—(an enormously long one in
which the cost for electric light im
provements alone count up $35,000)
of a road operating 3,500 miles as:
$4,211,006,28,
and this including a construction of
49 miles of road in the shape of side
track, and apparently one hundred
miles of other new roads, and the
new equipment sufficient for a road
of
350 MILES IN LENGTH
This amounts to only $1,203 to
the mile!—for the total expense per
mile, to the company of constructing
a new road, nearly 50 milt's of side
track IN ONE YEAR, building and
improving over FIFTY station
houses, coal houses, grain ware
houses, water stations, etc., etc., and
building or rebuilding TWENTY-SIX
BRIDGES, one of which (No. 144)
alone cost $17,457) and an ore dock
costing $218,000!
Why, the publication of this docu
ment is one of the most stupendous
expositions of the frauds of the rail
ways ever delivered over to the pub
lic! It is absolutely astounding.
/The Great "WestuE
Representing the Financial and Political Interests of the Farmers of the Northwest.
Nothing could be more surprising—
nothing more could be asked.
Now look at this. Its earnings are
over 18 million dollars a year—about
6000 to the mile. And here comes this
repair, extension, construction, im
provement and equipment balance
sheet, including these vast enlarge
ments, amounting to only twenty
per cent of income that same
YEAR!
Surely that right arm of Mr. Rob
inson's must be paralyzed at getting
up such a bogus balance sheet as
this!
The Dakota Hail Insurance Co.
insured 1,200,000 acres this year at
precisely one-half of the cost of any
other company doing business in the
twin states—a saving of $157,000 a
year.
We have recently published the
of depots at the stations
at SI,OOO. Robinson gets into his fa
mous pamphlet-account several sta
tion accounts, of which one junction
station figures at $616!
We will soon be able tb give farm
el's figures on these enormous frauds
which will startle them more than
anything yet published.
The Princeton Union again pitches
into theSt.Paul “catchpenny sheet,”
called the Great West, because we
did not absorb gratefully its delicate
compliments. All right, Mr. Dunn—
that catchpenny will take care of it
self. He says, “one would judge
from perusing the columns of the
Great West that its editor had as
sociated with theives all his life.”
Well, yes—for several years, Mr.
Dunn, we have been associating with
a good many theives. They were of
assorted colors to. They are, as a
class, fond of suppressing their own
iniquity.
Now’ there may be good men
among the w'heat buyers—but we
say that a farmer who would vote to
send a good one to the legislature is
not a wise man. We don’t see how'
they can do it. But they can do it
much more sensibly than to send one
or tw'o editors w T e know' of.
The editor of ithe Union began this
little squib frolic by calling us a
“rank demagogue” on the basis of a
six-line thoroughly sensible proposi
tion—a proposition which is the only
resource the farmer has to get decent
laws enacted.
Mr. Carpenter of the Farmington
‘Tribune calls attention to the cost of
sidetrack, in the Northern Pacific
“Balance Sheet.” Forty-nine miles
cost $264,000 —this is $5,400 to the
mile. These side tracks have all re
quired grading, have mostly had
“brand-new” steel rails laid on them,
and with the frogs, switches, etc., are
more expensive than the average
road. So says a railroad contractor
whom we have consulted. A level
side track is more expensive than a
level road—a cut sidetrack than a
cut on the main line. Dirt must all
be removed and not thrown on the
side, etc., etc.
How does this compare with our
statement of a cost of $7,000 or $lO,-
000 to the mile.
To show' what a terrible tyranny
“party” is exercising over men in
this “free” government, we clip
the following from the “Farmer’s
Friend,” a Pennsylvania publication.
Joe Howard is one of the strongest
men in the east, and it reveals a des
potism of the political gang existing
all over the country.
“There are not ten men in this
gathering who dare write what they
think about the great moral issues of
the country,” said the well known
newspaper writer, “Joe” Howard, at
the Boston Press Club banquet Tues
day night. This is a terrible indict
ment of the press, but the worst of
the case is it is more than half true.
And still worse, the public is largely
at fault, and responsible for such a
condition of things.
Fear of a New Party!
For two years now the two old
parties have been fighting against
the formation of a new party. JJJhey
know the danger well. Somehow,
through county chairmen and town
ship committees the old parties are
able to control a vast amount of
sentiment in every township in the
United States. Yet, though stating
that all reforms must come through
the old parties, the reforms do not
come. They become more villainous
ly corrupt every year. But the
spread of non-partisanship is “warp
ing” it to the old parties terribly—
and soon there will be a labor party
in the field which will astonish the
nation. It is coming. Independent
organs throughout the land are ap
pealing to patriotism—to righteous
ness—to rise up and destroy the old
political machines root and branch.
A man who will now put party be
fore country is worse than an anar
chist.
ST. PAUL, MINN., FRIDAY, NOV. 29, 1889,
The following sentiment was uttered by this
paper recently. Bre’r Dnnn, of Princeton Union,
and Sheets, of Todd County Argus, call ns a
demagogue for its utterance. We propose now
to keep it where it can be seen for a few weeks:
No farmer should ever vote, in primary or at
the polls, for a middle man, a wheat buyer, or
even a railroad sympathizer, for the legislature.
We don’t eti how yon can do it.
The Monticello people say the In
stitute will be welcomed with two
halls, and a church for evening use.
It is estimated that a thousand peo
w’ill be in attendance.
Thos. W. Lowry, of Nebraska, has
sued the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy R. R. for $145,000 damages for
delay in providing cars to ship grain,
for overcharges and unjust dis
criminations. His petition covers
fifty-six pages besides the “ex
hibits.”
THE RAILROAD BONUS.
Farmers, will you aid us in getting at the. amount paid
to railroads in the shape of Bonuses? The roads have
declined to publish them in their sworn reports!
Write us of your County, of your Township, of your vil
lage or city—or of any other County, Township or City in
the State. Will the Alliances please take up this matter offi
cially—at earliest possible moment.
Let each one write personally, too; several reports from
same section will be all the better.
THE GREAT WEST.
We say now, and say with all the earnestness of one gh
who is not ignorant of the {consequences that the H
Farmer who will not stand by his fellows under the wrongs B
H and oppressions weighing him <sown, is either ignorant of g
B the facts or he is a knave unfit tt> live in a free country. W/
It is impossible that a toiling man can know even a HI
pH glimmer of the truth-or a shadow or a suspicion—and If
not join his fellow-men in finding and applying the remedy,’ m
|l| if he is an honest man.
Jji We say further That any farmer who palliates, ex- Sj
m cuses, defends, or silently submits to, the existing con- mm
9 dition of his commercial affairs, now that these recent G|
9 exposures have been made, is unworthy of the respect of [||
M his fellow-men. The brave men should let the cowards |§
U know that the upright and honest toiler can have nothing M
9 in commok with-traitors who wM see the comfort of life Eg
9 taken from them and theirs to build palaces for foreign El
A Shylocks, or to make domestic millionaires out of* their |||
Let us have Light.
The Great West will undertake
to get the farmers of the state to pe
tition Congress to instruct the Cen
sus Bureau to schedule all mortgages.
Will our exchanges in the other states
urge the same. It will be an easy
matter for a farmer, or several in
every township, to write out a short
simple petition and forward to this
office and we can send it on to
Washington.
A profane farmer said the other
day:
“The Pillsbury’s tell the farmers
we don’t raise hogs enough. It looks
to us as though we didn’t raise
h 1 enough.”
The whole country is fatting hogs,
ten thousand farmers to each hog!
Mr. Robinson gets up a “Balance-
Sheet” to show what an enormous
expenditure the Northern Pacific (he
does not give the name of the road)
has had in just one year. With 49
miles of sidetrack, and a rolling
stock equipment for a road 350 miles
long, and building new road to the
amount of a hundred miles, building
and enlarging 50 “depot buildings,”
putting up an ore dock costing $218,-
000, etc., etc., he makes the road ap
pear as a terribly expensive affair to
“keep up.” But then when we find
the road doing a business of 18,000
good dollars to the mile last year—
and that this vast “balance-sheet”
only calls for $1,203 to the mile!—we
feel as though we could carry the
roads financial burdens in our ear—
as the Chinaman carries his nickles!
St. Paul politicians are wholly to
blame for the present depression in
St. Paul real estate and commercial
interests. St. Paul has stood by the
Minneapolis wheat gang and rail
road interests and Millers’ Associa
tion until a wonderful city has been
built out of farmers sweat, right
under St. Paul’s wing. Minneapolis
thereby gets an exclusive grain
trade of about 11J million dollars a
year, on w hich by just profits and
by steals she realizes ten millions of
solid gain. She is therefore steal
ing St. Paul’s jobbing trade. So the
Minneapolis gang kindly granted to
St. Paul something to balance things
—the meat inspection bill! Whoop!
Again we aver that it has cost less
than ten thousand dollars to the
mile to build the railroads of Minne
sota—and defy the production of
the contracts. $7,500 is actually
above the cost—and it will include
the complete equipment of most of
them.
To show how much it “sometimes”
costs to build a railroad we refer
Harry Robinson to the Maple Valley
Extension of the Northwestern, in
Monona County, lowa. By referring
to the report of the commission we
find that $402,500 of bonds were issued
for this purpose. It is 80 miles long,
through one of the hilliest counties
on this continent, and with one of the
largest* dirt cuts in America. It cost
$5,310 per mile to build this line by the
above figure! lowa papers please
copy.
We wish our state exchanges w’ould
publish a call to farmers in every
township to get up a short simple
petition to have all mortgages in the
United States scheduled by the Census
of 1890. The petition can be for
warded to the office of this paper,
and they will be shipped to Wash
ington.
Robinson—Read and Reflect
“The Railroads are unprofitable
investment,” So urges Harry Rob
inson in his plutocratic pamphlet.
Let us see. The Wisconsin Central
reports a deficit of $20,000 last year!
It is unprofitable. It must stop run
ning its trains—it must change its
Board of Directors and get a less en
terprising set! Must it not, Harry ?
Let us examine: Just ten years
ago the Wisconsin Central was
worth tw r o million of dollars: Dur
ing these ten years it has kept its
enormous issue of bonds at par and
above, and added to its value eight
million dollars! Its issue of stock for
construction was three million only,
and it floats a bond debt of
TWENTY MILLIONS! It earned
two dnd a quarter million dollars
last year on a bona fide, capital of
about three million, and a bogus to
tal of ten million. Of this enormous
percentage of income it paid over
HALF A MILLION for interest on
bonds! It paid out for operating
expenses a million and a quarter—a
most extraordinary amount in view
of its length and business. But the
most astounding fact is that with that
enormous gross income—which is
quite one hundred per cent of invest
ment allowable by liberal construc
tion—the road comes out $20,000 in
debt! And then the Directors meet
(at SIOO per diem for expenses) and
re-elect every man of those Directors
and officials! Surely that must be a
wonderful institution—the whole
world wants to know how to do it.
How is it Robinson?
Graceville Democrat
The Great West, the new alliance
paper published at St. Paul, is of the
opinion that the state officers are
trying to capture the alliance. What
if they do? Worse scoundrels than
they have captured the alliance, and
still the organization lives and ap
parently prospers.
Yes, and it will, just so long as the
political boodlers are kept out of it.
One or two of the editors in the
state fall back on the childish argu
ment that railways are an advan
tage to the farmers and therefore
they ought not to grumble if robbed.
Notably the editor of the Princeton
Union mutilated common-sense in
this way last week. Milk is a neces
sity, therefore the milkman should be
permitted to “water his stock” at
will! “Yes, but you can change
your milk man—competition keeps
him straight!” Ah, but you can’t
change your railroad—competition
don’t affect a railroad except at
terminals —and there they pool busi
ness. The argument of the Union is
a poor flabby old garment which
never did any service to the one who
used it.
WINONA &. ST. PETER R. R
The Enormous Profit of its Business
There were a hundred things desira
ble to say in last week's review of
Robinson’s late Railroad pamphlet.
Among questions deserving atten
tion which he brought up was the
profitable operation of the North
western Railway. He said: “As a
matter of fact the lines of the Chica
go & Northwestern Railway in Min
nesota were absolutely unproduc
tive.”
As the table prepared by that road
and placed in the Annual Report of
the State Commission shows but 13
miles in Minnesota, it would be a lit
tle difficult, to figure the matter.
Farther over, however, we ascertain
that the 13 miles have extended to
414. Evidently the table did not get
much care in preparation! But as
the same table gives us “Line from
Chicago to Council Bluffs 491 miles;
proportion thereof in Illinois 731.88
miles,” we concluded that they don’t
worry much about the report any
way.
Mr. Robinson says the Winona &
St. Peter branch showed an “actual
deficit of $450,000,” last year.-
Now this road is a “leased line”
with subsequent absorption. The
most astounding thing ever known in
human folly is this leasing of lines by
great financiers, which run them in
debt to the extent of $450,000 a year!
Either the financiers are droves of
donkeys or Harry Robinson does
not tell the truth—and Harry cer
tainly would not write a pamphlet
to sustain a drove of money-losing
imbeciles. It is a fine thing to reduce
the value of property before absorp
tion! Now this Winona & St. Peter
line consists of seven different com
panies or railroads consolidated—
and of course “consolidation” means
bonds and stock expansion. No
road ever is consolidated without
taking opportunity to issue more
bonds and stock—that is what “con
solidation” is for—financially speak
ing.
The Northwestern gives a fine op
tunity for skillful work, because we
have the following memorandum in
the report:
“capital stock authorized, not
FIXED.”
That enables them to “fix it.” So
we find, on examination, that we
have some stock issued—a trifle:
Common Stock (common
stock is what you
pick up on the street
such as Erie distribut
ed for years at sc. on
the dollar. It includes
all the original stock
of the original compan
ies,) $52,546,865.97
But now you see the
“consolidation” fel
lows want to issue
stock —but if they
add to the above
pyramid of 52 mill
ions and 97 cents their
“darned old rag
baby” will be worth !
no more than “com
mon stock” —in fact
they would simply be
“taking water!” So
they issue some “pre
ferred stock”—that
is, stock that comes
in ahead of common
white trash 22,5125,454,56
$74,872,320,53
At this stage we are
informed that Minne
sota “owns” (we
calculate this means
“owes” —a man may
“own” a debt—but
he hates to) $7,353,292,29
This, of course, means the Winona
& St. Peter line, beginning at Winona
and ending at the Dakota line, with
its fork at Tracy.
As a curious matter regarding this
“branch,” we will state that the
Northwestern Company, in their re
port gave a table of “roads belong
ing to other companies” operated by
“this company under lease or con
tract.” After tabulating six such
lines embracing 1,615 miles, it coolly
remarks:
“THIS COMPANY HAS NO LEASED
LINES.”
We have now a stock account of
over seventy-four millions. To this
This Republic was lounded
upon principles which involved
I the Dignity of Labor. To des
troy the power oi Labor is to
construct Caste. A Caste cannot
co-exist with a Republic.
VOL. I, NO. 7.
add a bond debt of 103 millions—
making 178 millions of debt! Besides
this there is a floating debt, making
a total of 183 million dollars.
Then comes the question as to how
much of this belongs to the Winona
& St. Peter road with its 414 miles.
The report says proportion of debt
belonging to Minnesota is 18 mil
lions. This amounts to $43,478 to
the mile.
Every mile of that road was built
and stocked for less trfan $15,000 to
the mile.
It is worthy of remark that in a
subsequent table the entire cost of the
entire Northwestern road and equip
ment, under the head of “Grand
Total” is 159 millions. As the pre
vious total (from bond and stock
stand point) is 183 millions there has
been a loss of $23,000,000 some where
which even the company recognize,
although it avers positively that
they have kept no record of what the
sale of bonds produced! If any man
is imbecile enough to believe this and
is at liberty then there is u vacant
place in some insane asylum. 23-mil
lion dollars must be quite a sum to
lose in a few years and not know
where it went to. How much of this
“discount” belongs to Minnesota no
man can tell. The state should com
pel the publication of the financial his
tory of every road under its jurisdic
tion.
However, we do know that the
Winona & St. Peter has to bear a
debt burden of over $43,000 to the
mile —and it is a cheaply built road
whose building contracts show up
an average as follows:
Grading, (prisms averaging
1% cubic yards to the lineal
foot) $936
Ties 750
Rails 1,800
Station houses (average of
$1,500) 150
Right of way (did not cost
one half of) 100
Bridges, culverts, masonry,
fences, telegraph lines, etc.".. 550
Salaries and boodle to politi
cians 150
Laying tracks, side tracks,
spikes, castings, frogs 600
Total cost per mile $5,036
Equipment, per mile 2,350
$7,386
This is what the Winona & St.
Peter, cost Mr. Robinson, and every
dollar in excess of “invisible extras”. _
was paid by “invisible bonuses!” .
Calc, interest on this then on 43,-
000.
Now let us see about profits: The
414 miles at $7,500 a mile make a cost
of $3,105,000. It may be said that
our estimate of cost is still unjust.
The reader will see that our fig
ured cost from what documents we
have been able to secure has been
increased from $7,386 a mile to $7,500
a mile. This has added $47,000 to
the cost—more than enough to pay
salaries while such a road is build
ing.
Six per cent on $3,105,000
amounts to $186,300
Now what .did they pay for
interest on 18,000,000 of debt.
Why they should have
paid the enormous sum
0f......... 1,080,000
Now Mr. Robinson tells us
that they fell short 450,000
So the amount the false debt
received as interest was $630,000
And legitimate interest was 186,300
Leaving a surplus of legiti-
mate profit of *143,700
If these figures be correct, instead
of coming out behind £450,000 the
Winona & St. Peter came out ahead
that amount —or £443,700!
You say they will not compare
with the railroad reports! But we
reply, the railroads do not dare to
give any reports. Qlie alliances of
the state should offer a challenge
bonus of £5,000 to the road that will
furnish all of its contracts of con
struction verified under oath.
More Food for Mr. Robinson
to Digest.
The following article is taken from
the Nebraska Stockman and Cultiva
tor. Mr. Robinson complains, in a re
cent defense of the plutocrats, that
58 per cent of the “capital stock”
was unproductive, and also 11 per
cent of the bonds. We have already
shown that but little if any of the
stock should draw dividends, because
it represents no investment; also
that one-third of the bonds are
fraudulent on a basis of $40,000, to
the mile expense for building the
roads, when the average is not over
SIO,OOO, and $20,000 is a large es
timate. Now we find some of the
roads do not pay a dividend even
under the above facts, and also what
an enormous income some of them
do earn:
Two interesting railroad reports
have been put before the public in
the last few days. One report is
that of the Chicago & Alton which
declares its fourth dividend of two
per cent during the year. The other
is that of the Wisconsin Central
which, after earning something over
two and a quarter million dollars
during the year, comes o.ut twenty