58 ILLINOIS STATE DAIEYMEN's ASSOCIATION. 



rapidity with economy, safety of movement with certainity of time, all 

 united with the greatest comfort. So rapid has been this great work, that 

 we have scarce had time to duly estimate its magnitude or importance. 



It is but little oyer forty years since the first railroad was constructed 

 in the United States, while we Iteve now nearly eighty thousand miles, with 

 an aggregate of investment of about four thousand five hundred million 

 dollars, an amount which more than doubles our national debt, and with an 

 annual gross receipt amounting to five hundred millions, and of net earnings 

 of over one hundred and eighty-six millions, or more than twice the interest 

 on our national debt ; and moving the last year over two hundred millions 

 of tons of freight. Of this eighty thousand miles of railway, more than 

 one-halt have been constructed within the last ten years, and thirty-seven 

 thousand miles, or near one-half, are located within our favored Western 

 States. In extent and cheapness of construction no other nation compares 

 with ours. The cost of seventeen thousand miles of railway in Great 

 Britian is but one-third less than our eighty thousand miles ; the nominal 

 cost of ours, (which is much above the real cash cost,) being about sixty 

 thousand dollars per mile, to one hundred and eighty-nine thousand for 

 those of Great Britian. 



Nor have these works been unremunerative to their originators. Like 

 all investments some have been largely successful, even on wasteful con- 

 struction and worse management, while some have proved less so, or 

 valueless. 



Owing to the lack of statistics, it is impossible to arrive at very accurate 

 returns, but I question whether as a whole, any of our large interests during 

 good times paid better, and our best authorities place the net income during 

 the last year of unusual ruin and prostration of business, on all the railroads 

 of the United States, at an average of three per cent. And when we con- 

 sider the sacrifices made on securities sold, the wasteful and even corrupt 

 expenditures in construction and management, the large amount of fictitious 

 stock divided without cost, and the extensive process of watering stock, I 

 do not think it an exaggeration to place the income on money actually 

 invested so high as at least six per cent. ; a better interest than agriculture 

 or manufactures have paid, as a whole, during the same period. Now, if 

 so great an advance has been made under such circumstances in the past^ 

 what may we not expect from our present stand-point, in the future. For 

 myself, I believe so far as a less cost of movement of production is 

 concerned, we are yet to have a great change for the better ; we are still in 

 the infancy of the work. The true principles of transportation are yet but 



