FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART I. 29 



admitted that the bridge was an obstruction, but claimed that it was 7iot an 

 ?/-'/;va5<?«a<^/^ obstruction; that the river and the railroad were both great 

 highways for the people, and as such, were entitled to consideration. Mr. 

 Lincoln's clear preception of the rights of the case was evidently sufficient to 

 convince the Supreme Court, for the decision of the United States District 

 Court was reversed. 



But even Mr. Lincoln's prophetic perception which lead him to think that 

 at some future day, within the lifetime of his hearers, the railroad bridge 

 might carry a traffic equal in importance to that of the Mississippi river, did 

 not foresee at all the immense development which really came. In rapid 

 succession other bridges were builr across the river, and, as you undoubtedly 

 know, any one of them carries far greater tonnage than is carried by the 

 Mississippi river. Today only one line of steamers, and that, lam told, 

 not a profitable one, is plying on the Mississippi river north of St. Louis, and 

 the transportation on the river which is handled at best only in the summer 

 months, and when the stage of water is sufficiently high, bears no share in 

 the expense to which the Federal Government must annually go for the 

 maintenance of a safe water way. In fact, there is a very common misappre- 

 hension as to the cost of transportation by water. The reason the cost of 

 transportation by water has seemed so cheap on canals and rivers has been 

 that the Government foots all the bills for maintenance of the water ways, 

 and charges no interest on its expenditure. The great State of New York, 

 which is now about to expend a hundred million dollars in deepening and 

 widening the Erie Canal, does not charge against the cost of transportation 

 on that canal any of the expenses of maintaining the canal, nor interest on 

 its cost; nor does the Government charge against transportation on lake or on 

 the sea the cost of lighthouse service, life saving service, harbor improve- 

 ments, and many other expenses which might be mentioned. 



" The;.; railway facilities in the United States have been built almost 

 wholly by private enterprise. They have been built by enterprising people, 

 with the hope of a good return on the investment. In fact, the greatest 

 period of railway building and activity has always followed the period of 

 greatest profit in the undertaking. There was a period in the life of the 

 State of Iowa of almost ten years when there was practically no railroad 

 building. That period immediately followed a period of hostile legisla- 

 tion and consequent hard times in the railroad business. I need not appeal 

 to practical men that no great business undertaking would ever grow if 

 there was no profit in it. Men would not raise corn or stock in the State of 

 Iowa if there was no profit in the undertaking, and you can not expect men 

 to invest in railroads if there is no profit or return for their capital. Indeed, 

 what surprises foreign students of our railroads more than any other one 

 thing is the fact- that our railroads have developed so rapidly with very small 

 return for the'capital, the actual return at the present time being only about 

 four per cent on" the total capital invested. It is true that some of the most 

 prosperous railroad companies in the country have paid as high as eight and 

 ten per cent dividends, the latter chiefly in New England. In the State of 

 Iowa there are several trunk lines which have returned to investors, six, 

 seven andjeven eight per cent on the money actually invested, but some of 

 the railroad mileage in the State is paying no dividend. I dare say that some 

 unkind crltic^may say that I am not allo\ying for what is frequently spoken of 



