376 



ILLINOIS. 



production, $299,284,127; the losses in unfa- 

 vorable years, $127,081,829 ; the aggregate net 

 profit, $940,149,367. 



According to the returns made to the Kail- 

 road and Warehouse Commissioners, there have 

 been 346*74 miles of road built during 1879, 

 making the total mileage of the State 7,917 

 miles, not including 1,063 miles of sidings and 

 314 of double track. The total length of track 

 of the lines running through the State is 22,863 

 miles; their capital stock $408,745,914, of 

 which $7,841,700 is held in the State, being 

 $638,481 less than in 1879. The average amount 

 of stock issued per mile is $22,257 ; the total 

 indebtedness is $759,320,460, an average per 

 mile of $41,147. The average cost per mile, 

 as shown in the construction and equipment 

 accounts, is $40,309. The number of persons 

 employed on the railroads is reported as 94,- 

 561 ; of which number 34,443 are laborers, 

 29,169 section-men, 4,392 brakemen, 4,940 fire- 

 men and wipers, 3,812 engineers, 3,259 con- 

 ductors, 7,688 machinists, 4,437 clerks, etc. 

 The aggregate sum reported as paid to employ- 

 ees is $49,427,729. the number of men em- 

 ployed within the State is estimated at 40,650, 

 and their aggregate wages and salaries $21,- 

 250,000. The average yearly pay of differ- 

 ent classes of employees ranges on the lead- 

 ing roads within the following extremes: sec- 

 tion-men, $243 to $422 ; station-agents, $341 to 

 $900; passenger engineers, $862 to $1,530; pas- 

 senger conductors, $721 to $1,160. The gross 

 earnings reported by fifty companies were 

 $140.949,675, of which $34,717,367 was from 

 passengers, and $102,096,307 from freight. 

 The gross earnings for 1879 of the lines run- 

 ning through the State were 28 per cent, small- 

 er, and the net income 30 per cent, smaller. 

 The gross income within the State was $48,- 

 461,221, $12,781,745 coming from passengers, 

 and $36,678,476 from freight. The operating 

 expenses of all the roads were reported as $77,- 

 093,738, $14,173,695 more than in 1879. The 

 taxes reported as paid in Illinois were $1,607,- 

 570. The net profit was $32,061,768. The to- 

 tal freight tonnage was 53,837,586 tons, against 

 37,193,464 in 1879 ; the Illinois freight, 23,- 

 297,544, against an estimated quantity of 15,- 

 621,254 carried in 1^79. The passenger traffic 

 increased in 1880 about 50 per cent, over that 

 of 1879, which is due, it is supposed, principally 

 to the reduction in fares. The passenger traffic 

 amounted to over a million passengers each for 

 ten lines. The average rate per passenger per 

 mile was 2-5 cents on the main lines, and 2-89 

 cents on all lines, against 3-14 cents in 1879. 

 The average number of cars in a train was 21-J-, 

 the average number of tons of freight in a car 

 nine. The average freight rate per ton per 

 mile was 1*38 cents, the rate in 1879 having 

 averaged 1-92 cent. 



The Railroad Commissioners comment as 

 follows on the increase in railroad traffic and 

 the greatly improved financial condition of most 

 of the roads : 



The returns before us reveal the fact that the past 

 year has been one of extraordinary activity and pros- 

 perity for railroads generally. The revival of business 

 has given an impetus to traffic and travel hitherto un- 

 precedented, freight traffic has furnished the roads 

 all that they could do, while the figures show an in- 

 crease of passenger traffic in this State of 50 per cent., 

 owing, as we believe, to the reduction of fare. 



Notwithstanding the fact of lower rates, the net earn- 

 ings of the leading roads in this State have nearly 

 doubled. Many roads, in consequence of this increased 

 income, have been enabled to build anew their shat- 

 tered financial condition. Others, seriously threatened, 

 have escaped the courts, while still others have been 

 taken out of the hands of receivers. 



The past year has also been remarkable for the many 

 cases of consolidation of different lines of road, and the 

 evident tendency on the part of large owners toward 

 centralization of management. While the war among 

 the railroad owners may not as yet have resulted in 

 any serious injury to the rights of the people, the fa- 

 cility with which immense interests have been con- 

 trolled with money, as we have seen, and monopolies 

 created, naturally excites grave apprehensions. It af- 

 fords an additional reason for State control and just 

 supervision. With uniform and steady rates, under 

 proper legal restriction, the consolidation of different 

 organizations, upon an honest basis of bonajide inter- 

 ests, reducing the number of employees and bringing 

 under one management divergent interests, ought to 

 give the internal commerce of the country a quicker 

 transit, more security and safety to passengers, and 

 afford the people lower rates. 



The long-pending test case of the Illinois 

 Central Railroad Company vs. the People, in 

 which the final decision on the constitutional- 

 ity of the railroad law of 1873 was to be ren- 

 dered by the Supreme Court, was ended in 

 June by the bench of Judges affirming the 

 judgment of the Circuit Court. The opinion 

 was prepared by Chief-Justice Dickey, who 

 himself dissented from the decision. Upon the 

 decision of this case the powers of the Rail- 

 road and Warehouse Commissioners to enforce 

 their schedule rates depended. This case was 

 an agreed one, and has been pending a long 

 time. In theRuggles case the Court affirmed the 

 constitutionality of the railroad law, but there 

 are a number of perplexing questions in rela- 

 tion to the manner of executing the Jaw, which 

 theRailroad and Warehouse Commissionershave 

 been hoping for years that the Supreme Court 

 would pass upon. For instance, the law pro- 

 vides that a schedule of reasonable maximum 

 rates shall be prepared by the Railroad Com- 

 missioners for each of the railroads of the 

 State, and that such schedules shall be prima 

 facie evidence in the courts that the rates fixed 

 in them are reasonable. But the Court has 

 failed to determine to what extent the railroad 

 companies are bound by the rates fixed by the 

 board, or to settle other important questions 

 involved in the execution of the law. The suit 

 was an action brought in the name of the peo- 

 ple against the Illinois Central. Judgment was 

 rendered by the Douglas County Circuit Court 

 against the defendant, who appealed, and in- 

 sisted that the count in the declaration under 

 which judgment was given was defective. By 

 agreement, the case was tried upon an agreed 

 state of facts. No pleas were filed, both par- 



