USA > Illinois > Illinois, historical and statistical, comprising the essential facts of its planting and growth as a province, county, territory, and state, Vol. II > Part 48
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The sixty-one operating roads in Illinois represent not only themselves and their thirty-two branches or leased lines, a portion of which are complete organizations in themselves, but are the successors and owners, by consolidation or purchase, of about 100 other railroad corporations which started and existed for a time, and subsequently fell into oblivion, having been ab- sorbed, or wrecked through mismanagement, chicanery, or fraud.
Few, indeed, of these organizations are now known by the names under which they were originally incorporated; and the history of nearly all of them presents similar features; namely, default in payment of indebtedness, receiverships and sales under decree of foreclosure.
Among the few local roads which have escaped such disasters are the Rock-Island-and-Peoria, 113 miles in length; and the Jacksonville-Southeastern. The first-named of these corpora- tions, of which Ransom R. Cable is president, never fails to pay a dividend, and a majority of its directors are residents of Illinois, viz .: H. H. Porter, Thomas F. Withrow, and the presi- dent, of Chicago, and H. B. Sudlow of Rock Island.
The Jacksonville-and-Southeastern Railway, operating under
1057
RAILROADS AND AGRICULTURE.
the name of the Chicago, -Peoria-and-St. Louis Company, was projected, and has been conducted and principally owned by home talent and resources. All the directors and officers, except one, reside at Jacksonville: Wm. S. Hook president, Marshall P. Ayres secretary, Augustus E. Ayres vice-president, Marcus Hook treasurer and auditor, E. S. Greenleaf general superin- tendent, and Isaac L. Morrison general solicitor. The main line extends from Jacksonville to Centralia, 112 miles, with branches from Centralia to Drivers, 16 miles; Jacksonville to Pekin, 73 miles; Havana to Springfield, 47 miles; and from Columbiana to Barnett, 51 miles.
The magnitude of the moneyed interests involved in the rail- roads of the United States and this State may be estimated from the table at the close of this chapter. It is greater than that of manufactures or banking, and is only exceeded by the agricult- ural interest upon which it is so directly dependent for support. It is, indeed, remarkable how these two interests have grown together - each one helping and building up the other, yet ostensibly antagonizing it.
When the era of railroad construction began in this State in 1851, more than one-half of the land was open to entry from the government at $1.25 per acre, and about 3,000,000 acres along the line of the Illinois-Central at $2 50 per acre. Farms slightly improved could be purchased at from $5 to $10 per acre, and the best farms anywhere in the State at from $10 to $25. Now they are worth from $40 to $100 per acre. The valuation of real estate by the assessors for the year, 1851, in- cluding town and city lots, and higher, in proportion, than the present valuation, amounted to $98,748,533; the assessment for 1873, for improved and unimproved lands, including town and city lots, was $586,022,941. Since 1871, assessments of real estate have been regularly reduced; the entire sum, in 1888, for both farms and town-lots amounting only to $566,396,427.
The comparative value of the farms of Illinois, as reported in the census for the decades since 1850, is as follows : in 1850, $96,133,290; 1860, $408,944,033; 1870, $920,506,346; 1880, $1,009,594,580.
Seeing the favorable effects produced by railroads upon im- migration and prices on the lines constructed in this State,
1058
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
those portions of the country, which had not been reached by the iron-horse were anxious, even clamorous, for like facilities; citizens were willing not only to cooperate in the organization of companies for the building of new roads but to pledge the faith of their counties and towns and to issue their bonds to aid in the work. Not only so, but they would make individual subscriptions to any company proposing to build through their own counties-even to the extent of mortgaging their property, in many instances, to secure payment. Roads were built in this way sometimes where they were not demanded by the business of the country, greatly to the injury of existing lines in adjoining counties, and thus making two failures pro- bable where one road, by good management, might have been made to pay.
As in other instances, the reality failed to equal expectation- the benefits to be derived from a completed road open to traffic, so vividly painted by interested promoters, were found to be largely imaginary. While the value of land had advanced, the citizens of county-seats and other large towns saw small stations established near them, drawing away the business which they had formerly enjoyed. Subscriptions for stock had to be paid, and it was observed that rates for transportation of freight and passengers were found, in many instances, to be higher than on other lines.
Railroad employés, generally strangers, were not infrequently uncommunicative, distant, and unaccommodating. They were gruff in their manners and gave themselves airs, while the higher officers, as a rule, were as difficult of access as the sultan of Turkey. 'The people saw their property sold and their stock, which had been paid for under difficulties, wiped out, with a large county and city debt on their hands to be liquidated by a yearly tax, which was often burdensome. They saw the incomes which ought to have been applied to the meeting of expenses or interest dissipated in the payment of enormously large salaries to the principal officers, many of whom had become immensely rich. They beheld also the fact-the severest blow of all-that it cost them more to bring in their goods from or to ship their produce to the East or to Chicago than it did those who lived much farther from market; that unjust discrimi-
1059
THE RAILROAD AND WAREHOUSE COMMISSION.
nations were made, in favor, not only of certain localities, but of individual shippers or dealers in the way of rebates or draw- backs, not common to the public.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that strong feelings of opposition to railroad management, as then existing, found expression all over the State, and that this feeling led to the development of a public sentiment which, in the end, resulted in the adoption of those restrictive provisions of the constitution of 1870, and the tentative laws of 1871-3, regulating, in a large measure, the powers, privileges, and management of railroad corporations in this State?
The law establishing a Board of Railroad-and-Warehouse Com- missioners was approved April 13, 1871. The railroads of the State were by its provisions practically placed under its super- vision. The body was invested with power to examine into their condition, management, and policy, investigate charges of unfair discrimination, to bring suits for the enforcement of pen- alties, and to require yearly reports from both railroads and warehouses. By the law as amended in 1873, they were also authorized and directed to prescribe a schedule of reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transportation of passengers and freight on each railroad in the State, which schedules should, in all suits brought against any railroad corporations involving the charges of such railways, or unjust discrimination in relation thereto, "be deemed and taken, in all courts of this State, as prima-facie evidence that the rates therein fixed are reasonable maximum rates."
The first commissioners appointed were Gustavus Koerner of St. Clair County, who was elected chairman of the board, Richard P. Morgan, jr., of McLean, and David S. Hammond of Cook. J. H. Raymond of Chicago was appointed secretary, Wm. F. Tompkins chief-inspector of grain, and Stephen Clary warehouse registrar. The successive boards have been composed and organized as follows:
Under Gov. Beveridge, 1873-7-H. D. Cook of McLean, chairman, who died in November, 1873, and was succeeded by James Steele of Edgar County; David A. Brown of Sangamon, John M. Pearson of Madison; A. Mc Laughlin, secretary. Chief- inspectors of grain, William H. Harper, 1873-4; John C. Smith,
1060
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
1874-6. Warehouse registrars, I. H. Tyndale, 1873-6; Belden F. Culver, 1877-So; H. S. Deane, 1880.
Under Gov. Cullom, 1877-83-William M. Smith of McLean County, chairman, George M. Bogue of Chicago, John H. Oberly of Cairo, 1877-81; William H. Robinson of Wayne, 1881-3. Secretaries, Mat. H. Chamberlain, 1877-80; Charles Hamilton, 1880; John Moses, 1880-3. Chief-inspectors of grain, W. H. Swett, 1877; John P. Reynolds, 1877-9. P. Bird Price, ware- house registrar 1877-9, and chief-inspector 1880-3.
Under Gov. Hamilton, 1883-5-Wm. N. Brainard of Chicago, chairman; E. C. Lewis of Ottawa, Charles T. Stratton of Mt. Vernon; N. D. Munson, secretary, 1883-9; Frank Drake, chief- inspector; W. C. Mitchell, warehouse registrar.
Under Gov. Oglesby, 1885-9-John I. Rinaker, Carlinville, chairman; Benjamin F. Marsh of Warsaw, William T. Johnson, Chicago, 1885-7; Jason Rogers, Decatur, 1887-9; P. Bird Price, chief-inspector; J. W. Burst, warehouse registrar.
Under Gov. Fifer, 1889-93-John R. Wheeler, Chicago, chair- man; Isaac N. Phillips of Bloomington, W. S. Crim of Frank- fort, 1889-91; John R. Tanner, 1891-3; James H. Paddock, secretary; P. B. Price, chief-inspector; J. W. Burst, warehouse registrar.
Similar complaints and conditions, producing like results, have led to the establishment of like commissions in twenty-five states. In California, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, the com- missioners are elected by the people; in the other states, they are appointed by the governor. The power of the commis- sioners varies considerably, in some states being limited to a mere advisory control.
At first a very high estimate was placed upon the benefits to be derived from the establishment of such boards, to farmers and rural shippers. It was soon found by the commission that there could be no harmony or cooperation between itself and the corporations which it was created to control. At first, only a portion of the roads responded to the demand for reports; and all of them refused to be governed by the law classifying them and fixing rates.
The efforts of the commission to enforce the law through the courts was a discouraging failure. The first suit brought-
1061
RAILROAD LITIGATION.
against the Illinois-Central Railroad Company, before Judge C. H. Wood, in the circuit-court of Kankakee County, in 1871, for charging four cents a mile for a passenger's fare instead of three, as fixed in the law-was decided against the plaintiff, on the ground, principally, that the charter of the company was a con- tract with the legislature, and that as long as it was not shown in the absence of proof that the charges made by the company were unreasonable, there could be no judicial interference with the powers to regulate fares granted to the corporation by its charter. The board took no appeal from this decision, but the theory of law upon which it was based was afterward overruled by the supreme court of this State in the case of Neal Ruggles.
The board next essayed to test the constitutionality of that portion of the law which provided against unjust discrimina- tions, and a suit was brought in McLean County against the Chicago-and-Alton Railroad Company for charging a greater rate for freight on lumber from Chicago to Lexington than from Chicago to Bloomington, both points being in the same county and the latter being the greater distance. This was the well- known case in which was rendered the celebrated opinion of Judge C. B. Lawrence in favor of the railroad, and out of which grew the amended law of 1873-4.
These decisions were extremely exasperating to the cham- pions of "granger legislation," yet their undoubted effect was to encourage the latter to continue the fight, and the influence of this determination unquestionably made itself felt upon the commissioners, and perhaps, indirectly, upon the courts of the country at large.
Upon the passage of the amendatory acts requiring the board to prepare schedules of maximum rates, that body proceeded to discharge the difficult task marked out for it with great patience and industry. It is not surprising that their work, being new and largely experimental, proved hardly satisfactory, either to themselves or to the people, while it was exceedingly obnoxious to the railroads. The latter, who had not always followed their own schedules, looked with sovereign contempt upon the crude efforts of mere novices, and flatly refused to conform to those of the board, except where, in some instances, it was claimed, they permitted them to charge higher rates than
1062
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
previously. The war of litigation, which for a time had been suspended, now broke out with renewed activity. Suits were commenced against the leading railroads of the State, both for extortion and unjust discriminations. While many of these were dismissed or long continued, the board succeeded in hav- ing the most important causes brought to trial, and the deci- sions, although in some instances delayed for years, sustained in all essential particulars the law under which the commission was acting.
The first of these was the case of the people against Munn and Scott, for refusing to take out a license as Chicago ware- housemen, in which the supreme court of the State decided that the warehouse-law was a valid and constitutional enact- ment. The case was taken to the supreme court of the United States, and the decision affirmed, although by a divided court.
In the case of Neal Ruggles against the Chicago,-Burlington- and-Quincy Railroad Company for an overcharge under the law of 1871, the supreme court of this State held that act to be constitutional, and that the legislature had the right to fix reasonable maximum rates to be charged by railroads.
In a case against the Illinois-Central, appealed from Douglas County to the supreme court in 1880, another important point was decided, namely, that the act of 1873 to prevent extortion and unjust discrimination by railroads is a constitutional enact- ment and not in violation of any contract between the State and railroad companies, growing out of the granting and accepting of their charters.
In the leading cases in which the rulings of the court were found in favor of the people, the name of the attorney-general, James K. Edsall, appears as the principal attorney. He it was who prepared the cases for trial, and it was largely owing to his skill and ability in arranging the authorities and in presenting the arguments that favorable decisions were secured.
In the meantime, pending the decision of these cases, infringe- ments of the law and violations of the commissioners' schedules were generally heard upon complaints filed before the board, which, where compromises could not be effected, were formally investigated and settled.
The general public, however, was not content with this mode
1063
REVISED RATE-SCHEDULE.
of determining controversies between corporations and shippers, and as a result of the investigation of the board by the legis- lature of 1881, heretofore mentioned, a joint - resolution was adopted, requesting the commissioners "to revise the schedule of rates of freight and passengers as soon as practicable, and make such reductions in rates as, in their judgment, would be just and fair between the railroad companies and the producing interests in the State of Illinois."
The board entered upon this work in the summer of 1881, calling in leading railroad officials and experts to their assis- tance, and the new schedules were completed and in force Dec. I. While they were admitted to be a great improvement upon the old ones, it was found that they were far from meeting business or railroad requirements in certain cases, and had to be frequently amended. For the first time, there was a moderate cooperation and agreement between the roads and the commis- sion, the former, in the main, having conformed their rates to those prescribed by the board. As a consequence, more friendly relations were established between the corporations and the people. Complaints decreased, and when it was made clear that injustice had been done in particular cases, the roads them- selves willingly remedied the wrongs. While the railroads are as firmly opposed as ever to the principles of the granger legislation, they have been inclined to keep peace with the commission, avoid litigation, and give no just cause for the clamors of an unfriendly public.
The yearly reports of the board, which have generally been prepared with great care and ability, contain a full and fair statement of its controversies with the roads, of the arguments adduced to sustain the side of each party thereto, as well as complete tables of the growth, management, and financial con- dition of the several corporations doing business as common carriers in this State.
The discussion, indeed, of the questions of railroad adminis- tration and management, and their relations to the people, has produced a literature of its own. The valuable reports of the United-States Commissioners of Railroads, of the Inter-State Commission and those of the state boards, together with Poor's elaborate work in their annual manuals, have shed a great
1064
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
light upon all the substratum facts and undetermined issues. These have been supplemented by pamphlets, papers, reports, and speeches from both sides of the controversy.
Among the latest of these, which, at the time, attracted wide attention and provoked much criticism in the daily papers and in periodicals, was the report of T. B. Blackstone as president of the Chicago-and- Alton Railroad Company for the year ending Dec. 31, 1889. It presents the railroad side of the controversy from the stand-point of a practical and successful operator and manager of over thirty years' experience, in his own language and style. It evinces a thorough knowledge of the subject, and, while it is extreme and one-sided in its views, it will go far toward clearing the befogged sky of the clashing interests in- volved. Arriving at the conclusion "that the state and federal governments are unable to exercise proper control over the management of railroads without reducing them to bankruptcy, as has been done in so many cases," he proposes as a remedy for the evils which he points out the purchase and ownership of the railroads and their operation by the national government.
When it is remembered that not a single decision of any of the courts of last resort has been reached by a unanimous opin- ion, that in some instances the supreme court of the United States has been very nearly equally divided, it can hardly be denied that there is still room for controversy which will doubt- less be continued until some principles are agreed upon which will command the hearty endorsement and support alike of the people and the corporations.
Discussion and the investigation of economic principles has had the undoubted effect of producing a clearer comprehension of the respective rights, powers, and obligations of railroads and their patrons, resulting in a better understanding between them. While the way does not seem clear at present for gov- ernmental ownership, as suggested by Mr. Blackstone, if, indeed, such a disposition of the question can ever be made a practical realization, some middle ground of restrictive operations will probably be reached upon the just basis of management, not only for the use and service of the people from whom these corporations, many of them so colossal in their proportions, derive their existence, and on whom to a certain extent depends
RAILROAD EARNINGS, EXPENSES, AND DIVIDENDS. 1065
their perpetuity, but also for the earning of reasonable dividends for the stock-holders who have advanced the funds for their construction, equipment, and maintenance, and that these inter- ests can be mutually regulated for the benefit of all by the supervision of the State.
As remarked in the report of the board for 1877, "the public is not only entitled to service without unjust discrimination and at reasonable rates, but is entitled to ample accommodations and facilities for the transportation of their property on these highways, and also to have their persons transported in comfort and safety. They are entitled to good, safe, and comfortable coaches, good, sound, and safe road-beds, bridges, and culverts; skilful, careful, and safe engineers, and careful conductors, brake- men, and trackmen. All of these are of as much importance as low freight or low passenger fares. These all cost money, 'and must be provided for out of the earnings of the railroads before dividends shall be paid to the owners, and before sweep- ing reductions of maximum rates can be reasonably demanded."
The table on the following pages is compiled from the "Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners for 1890." It nay be added that the report farther shows that the total earn- ings and income of the operating roads in Illinois for the past four years, with the amount of operating expenses, is as follows:
YEAR
INCOME
EXPENSES
YEAR
INCOME
EXPENSES
1887
$56,860,287
$33,010,187
1889
$63, 170,096
$39,292,024
1888
61,333,515
38,870,930
1890 65,471,494 40,059, 894
Eleven operating roads paid dividends in 1889 amounting to $16,978,464, and twelve in 1890, amounting to $19,127,823, as follows:
NAME
AMOUNT
PER CENT COM. PREF.
NAME
AMOUNT
PER CENT COM. PREF.
C. & A.,
$1,407,728
8 8
C. C. C. & St. L., $1,320, 000
4
5
C. & E. I.,
133,956
-
3
Ill. Cent.,
2,400, 000
6
-
C. & N .- W.,
3,444,979
6
7
L. E. & W.,
355,200
-
3
C., B. & Q., -
3,437,667
4.5
L. S. & M. S.,
2,473,325
5
-
C., M. & St. P.,
1, 296, 829
-
3
M. Central,
936,910
5
-
C., R. I. & P.,
1,846,229
4
-
R. I. & Peoria, - 75,000
5 -
-
The following leased or subsidiary lines also paid dividends: Joliet-&-Chicago, 7 %; Miss .- R. Bridge, 7 %; Chicago-&-West .- Ind., 3 %; Peoria-&-B .- V., 10 %; Joliet-&-N .- Ind., 8 %; P.,-Ft. W .- &-C., 7 %; and Belleville-&-S .- Ill., 714 %.
68
-
1066
NAMES OF OPERATING RAILROADS, WITH THEIR MILEAGE, AMOUNT OF STOCK, INCOME, TAXES, NET INCOME, AND NET DEFICIT (FRACTIONS OMITTED):
June 30, 1890.
NAME OF COMPANY.
OPERATED IN 1L- LINOIS
CAPITAL STOCK
BONDS OUT- STANDING
TOTAL INCOME
TAXES
NET INCOME
NET DEFICIT
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
515
295
$21,000,000
$25,006,000
$1,533,717
$180,413 78,672
$229, 109
Baltimore & Ohio
271
14
1,503,450
7,744,000
446,965
Belt Railway of Chicago.
21
21
233,777
28,000
105,772
805
Chicago & Alton .
848
586
19,394,500
10, 986,950
3,465,983
243,198
1,638, 784
Chicago & Atlantic
268
20
Receiver
797,323
77,823
534,072
Chicago & Calumet Terminal
32
27
5,000,000
1,752,000
412
Chicago & Eastern Illinois.
436
202
16,244,370
24, 115, 666
1,311,272
98,927
240,770
Chicago & Grand Trunk.
335
31
7, 100,000
15,291,200
1, 184,37I
123,421
185,450
Chicago & Iowa.
104
104
1,428,000
2, 150,000
222, 242
16,557
29, 360
Chicago & Northwestern ..
4254
586
66,282,820
104,985, 500
10, 787, 204
758,043
4,022,903
Chicago & Northern Pacific ..
18
18
30,000,000
19,549,000
Chicago & Ohio River
86
86
438,800
868,300
Chicago, Burlington & Northern
371
IIO
9, 289, 500
12,800,500
9,785 717,335 11, 976, 059 10, 269, 886
1, 191, 624 830,046
2, 225, 685
Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis. ....
315
315
5,098,800
4, 184,000
255,449
16,737
142,662
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific ..
3355
236
47,656,000
21,500,000
7,405, 118
742, 128
1, 984, 879
Chicago, St. Louis & Pittsburgh .
638
30
26, 846,544
19,585,300
1, 726, 365
192,632
192, 642
Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City
863
172
14,892,900
30, 108,750
1,046,779
87,000
608,954
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. L.
1 689
651
40,510,000
41,043,750
4,279, 540
345, 846
1,467, 008
East St. Louis & Carondelet .
12
12
420,000
200, 000
25,268
3,135
8, 133
East St. Louis Connecting. .
9
9
20,000
12,393
2, 100
27,680
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern. ..
I72
15I
6,000,000
5, 127,000
247,094
13,639
4,593
Fulton County Narrow Gauge ..
61
19
484,000
2,589
37,174
Grand Tower & Carbondale .
33
33
636,415 50,000
704 17,324
5,030
6,793
·
Centralia & Chester.
8
8
805
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
12,238 161,724
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy ..
5139
1231
81, 134, 505
110,226, 288
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. .
5686
339
61,708, 861
125, 693,000
7,752 80,421
4,254, 134
6,887
424,363
TOTAL
Grand Tower & Cape Girardeau
28
350,000 40,000,000 1,400,000
350,000 36,784,000 1,239,000
6,372,735
709,33I
2,414,476
Indiana & Illinois Southern.
90
56
22, 542
7,257
13,363
Indianapolis, Decatur & Western .
152
76
1,000,000
4,218,950
114,728
22,200
43,482
Indiana, Illinois & Iowa ...
169
69
3,597,800
1,246,000
71,537
11,055
6,952
Iowa Central .
488
93
13,479, 503
5,916,956
428,489
59,357
24,615
Lake Erie & Western
586
I2I
23,680,000
5,920,000
1, 046, 195
92,382
216,610
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
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