670 



RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



iana, 539, $52,724,107; Texas, 1,650, $64,565,- 

 342 ; Kentucky, 1,326, $52,481,535 ; Tennessee, 

 1,630, $24,144,283; Arkansas, 700, $15,320,- 

 000; California (including Central Pacific), 

 1,328, $159,332,700; Oregon, 250, $....; 

 Nevada, 650, $....; Washington Territory, 

 110, $ .... 



The total number of miles of railroad in 

 the New England States, taken together, was 

 5,509 ; the number of inhabitants to the mile, 

 671 ; square miles to the mile of railroad, 12.4 ; 

 the aggregate capital stock, $137,125,915; 

 total debt, $111,218,811 ; total capital, $248,- 

 344,726; cost of railroad per mile, $42,862. 

 In the Middle States there were 14,291 miles 

 of railroad, 14,291 inhabitants and 9.6 miles 

 of area to each mile; the stock was $657,934,- 

 601, debt $660,464,491, total capital $1,318,- 

 399,092; the cost per mile was $47,356. The 

 Western States had miles of railroad 34,882, 

 costing per mile $54,329, one mile to each 445 

 inhabitants and each 29.8 areal mile, with 

 stock of $899,030,222, and $1,073,147,622 debt ; 

 total, $1,972,177,844. The miles of road in the 

 Southern States was 15,602, the inhabitants 

 and square miles per mile of railroad 735 and 

 50.6, the stock $213,794,148, the debt $309,- 

 715,075; total, $523,509,223; cost per mile, 

 $38,764. In the Pacific States the miles of 

 railroad were 2,339, inhabitants per mile 388, 

 square miles 196.0, capital stock $83,112,600, 

 debt $76,220,106, total capital account $159,- 

 332,709, cost per mile $89,981. The total 

 mileage for the country has decreased in pro- 

 portion to the number of inhabitants in the 

 following ratio : in 1874 there was one mile 

 of railway to each 581 inhabitants, in 1873 one 

 to each 582, and in 1872 one for each 600. 



The mileage of roads new-built for the year 

 1875, calculated from the beginning of the 

 year, has been 1,483 miles. The largest pro- 

 portion was built in New York State, 200 

 miles, 51 miles having been laid by the New 

 York & Canada, and 42 miles on the Lake 

 Ontario Shore Line. California has opened 

 174 miles of new road, of which 90 miles is on 

 the line of the Southern Pacific. Illinois has 

 172 miles, 50 miles of it on the Paris & Dan- 

 ville. In Colorado 113^- miles of new road 

 were built by the Puebla & Arkansas Valley 

 90 miles, and the rest by the Kansas Pacific. 

 In Pennsylvania 118 miles of new road, a good 

 part of which was on the new through-line, to 

 be opened in the spring of 1876, from New 

 York to Philadelphia ma Bound Brook by the 

 New Jersey Central. 



The business done by American railroads 

 during the last year, though it has been by no 

 means a prosperous year, has been greater than 

 it was in 1874. The greatest deficiency has 

 .been in the transport of mine-products, lum- 

 ber, and manufactures. The ravages of the 

 grasshoppers in the West destroyed the traffic 

 of the roads passing through the tracts laid 

 waste by these insects. The carriage of grains 

 and meats has, on the whole, not been deficient. 



The earnings have fallen below those of former 

 years, but this has resulted from a greater com- 

 petition, and not from a decline in the tonnage. 

 For the entire country the aggregate receipts 

 were $520,466,016 ; from passengers $140,- 

 999,081, from freight $347,016,874. The ag- 

 gregate operating expenses of railroads were 

 $330,895,858 ; the aggregate net earnings, 

 $189,570,958; total amount of dividends paid, 

 $67,042,942. To compare these figures with 

 the year 1873-' 74, the gross earnings were for 

 that year, $526,419,935 ; the net earnings, 

 $183,810,562 ; and the dividends declared, $67,- 

 120,709. The proportion of freight and pas- 

 senger receipts was: freight, $389,035,508; 

 from passengers, $137,384,427. 



The earnings of the roads for 1874-'75 were 

 1.11 per cent, less than those of the year be- 

 fore, which were 10 per cent, greater than 

 those of the preceding year, which in turn ex- 

 ceeded those of 1871 by a still greater ratio ; 

 and last year was the only time in fifteen years 

 when the gross earnings fell below those of the 

 preceding year, during which period the an- 

 nual percentage of increase exceeded 10 per 

 cent. Although the total receipts were less 

 ($520,466,016 against $526,419,935 in 1873-'74) 

 than the preceding year, the net earnings were 

 somewhat greater ($189,570,958 against $183,- 

 810,562). 



If the earnings have fallen off, the tons car- 

 ried have, if any thing, increased upon those of 



The receipts from passengers, receipts from 

 freight, and total receipts, for the railroads of 

 the main divisions of the country, were re- 

 spectively: for the New England States, $22,- 

 111,787, $25,075,777, $50,064,774; Middle 

 States, $41,699,871, $134,658,938, $186,498,- 

 438; Western States, $56,783,466, $142,020,- 

 912, $214,863,477; Southern States, $14,131,- 

 291, $44,782,286, $52,259,241 ; Pacific States, 

 $6,272,666, $10,478,961, $16,774,086. The 

 working expenses, net earnings, and dividends, 

 paid by the railroads in the same groups, were: 

 For the Eastern States, $33,351,591, $16,713,- 

 183, and $8,511,971; Middle States, $116,309,- 

 466, $70,188,972, and $37,600,154; Western 

 States, $139,322,782, $75,546,695, and $16,- 

 605,832; Southern States, $34,989,909, $17,- 

 269,332, and $1,068,455; Pacific States, $6,- 

 921,310, $9,852,776, and $3,256,130. 



For the whole country the aggregate mile- 

 age of the railroads is 72,623 miles, one mile to 

 every 581 inhabitants and to every 34.4 square 

 miles of territory. The total capital stock of 

 all the railroads of the country is, as computed 

 by Poor for the year 1874-75, $1,990,997,468; 

 the total debt, funded and not funded, $2,230,- 

 766,108; making atotal capital of $4,221, 763,- 

 594. The average cost per mile of American 

 railroads is $60,425. 



A comparison of the capital, earnings, and 

 expenses of American and foreign railroads 

 gives the following results : the capital invest- 

 ed per mile in American roads is $54,394 ; in 



