AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 



715 



1885 



however, do American railways make a better showing than in 



the matter of cheapness. The last report of the statistician to 



the Interstate Commerce Commission gives the following rates 



per ton-mile for several nations of the world : Great Britain, 3.2 



cents, France, 2.2 cents, Germany, 1.64 cents, United States, 



.866 cents. The fact 



that at the average rate 



of 1882 the railway 



freight traffic of the 



United States for the 



twelve years ending 



June 30, 1894, would 



have yielded the railway 



companies $2,629,- 



043,459 more than 



they received at the 



rates charged, gives 



one some conception 



of the extent to which 



railway freight rates 



have been reduced. 



In bringing about 

 this reduction several 

 forces have been prom- 

 inent : 



1 . Greater economy 

 in the cost of railway 

 construction and opera- 

 tion. The use of steel 



rails, the enlarged capacity of cars, the increase in their live 

 weight, the straightening of curves, the leveling of grades, the 

 improvements in traction power, the reduced cost of railway sup- 

 plies, the lengthening of the long haul and, perhaps fully as much 

 as anything else, the consolidation of railway lines have been 

 influential factors in this matter. 



2. A great increase in the volume of the traffic. In 1870 the 

 states west of the Mississippi consumed nearly all of their products 



25 



