Address 
 
 By 
 
 HOWARD ELLIOTT 
 
 ii 
 
 President 
 Northern Pacific Railway Co. 
 
 I 
 
 Delivered at the 
 
 Third National Apple Show 
 
 Spokane, Washington 
 November 14, 1910 
 
 Form 3886 
 
1UN 8 Wt 
 

 The Third National Apple Show 
 
 Address by 
 
 HOWARD ELLIOTT 
 
 The Third National Apple Show opens to-day in Spokane, and 
 this city and the Inland Empire welcome the exhibitors and visitors. 
 
 The First National Apple Show in 1908 was good; the second 
 one in 1909 was better, and the one that you will now see is the 
 best up to the present time, but not the best that can and will be 
 given. 
 
 Many politicians long to attain the position where "the office 
 seeks the man." As your President, I am in that enviable position, 
 for your trustees, after the last Apple Show, were quite insistent 
 that I serve again ! I felt then as I feel now, that rotation in office 
 would be the better plan, but was glad to bow to the wishes of the 
 trustees and do what I could to promote the apple business in the 
 United States. I wish to express my thanks publicly to the trustees, 
 and to those they represent, the apple growers and exhibitors, for 
 the compliment paid in giving me a second term. 
 
 To the trustees, to the growers and exhibitors, to the efficient 
 Secretary-Manager, Mr. Rice, and to the citizens of Spokane who 
 support the National Apple Show, the thanks of all interested in 
 apple growing should be given, for the time and energy spent in 
 arranging for the wonderful exhibit now thrown open. 
 
 Production This National Apple Show means much in increasing 
 of Apples, the use of the Apple all over the world, not as a luxury, 
 but as an important element of daily food. As all 
 of you know, the production of apples in the United States has fallen 
 from 60,453,000 barrels in 1895, to 22,735,000 barrels in 1909, 
 although the population of the country has increased during that 
 
 3 
 
period from 70,000,000 to 90,000,000, and this great decrease in 
 the production of a valuable food comes at a time when our growing 
 population needs all forms of food in constantly increasing quantity. 
 Fifteen years ago nearly one barrel per capita was produced and 
 now only one-fourth of a barrel ; there is no evidence here of over- 
 production. 
 
 High Cost Much has been said about the high cost of living, and 
 of Living. there are numerous causes for it, and some of these 
 causes are within the control of each one of us. One 
 cause is that we, as a nation, and as individuals, are extravagant, 
 and we want all sorts of conveniences and luxuries that a few years 
 ago were not thought of. There should, and must be, greater care 
 and economy in expenditures by the individual, municipality, county, 
 state, and by the nation, and there should be less waste and extrav- 
 agance. Much can be learned about the question of saving and 
 careful living from the old-fashioned New England man; the care- 
 ful Dutchman from New York; the prudent Quaker from Pennsyl- 
 vania, and the frugal people of Europe. Their habits of self-denial, 
 industry and thrift are just as much needed now for the develop- 
 ment of this country as they were 50 and 100 years ago. The 
 national drift from these simple habits of living is one of the dangers 
 now confronting the country. 
 
 Governmental Mr. Hill, in an admirable address at the Minne- 
 Expenses. sota Conservation Congress, gave the following 
 
 figures for the United States which should be con-, 
 sidered carefully by every thoughtful man : 
 
 INCREASES. 
 
 Wealth 1870 to 1890 1 16.0% 1890 to 1904 65.0% 
 
 Foreign trade 1870 to 1890 99.0% 1890 to 1908 85.4% 
 
 Value m'fd products. . . 1870 to 1890 121.0% 1890 to 1905 58.0% 
 Net ordinary expense, 
 
 U. S. Government. . . 1870 to 1890 1.4% 1890 to 1908 121.4% 
 
 Expenditures, 30 states. . 1890 to 1909 201.6% 
 
 These figures show that while our wealth, foreign trade, and 
 manufactured products have increased handsomely, the expenses of 
 
 4 
 
the United States government, and the 30 states for which figures 
 could be obtained, have increased at an alarmingly rapid rate, and 
 this great increase in public expenditure is one of the reasons for 
 our higher cost of living. Every citizen can do something in his 
 own community to cure this particular difficulty. 
 
 City and Another cause is, that there is a greater proportion of 
 Country, people living in towns and cities and producing no food, 
 than there used to be : for example, in 1790 3.4% of our 
 population lived in cities and towns, and in 1900 31.1%, and the indi- 
 cations are that in 19 10 this proportion will be at least one-third. 
 The beautiful State of Iowa, one of the best agricultural States of 
 the Union, according to the census figures just published, actually 
 shows a decrease in population during the last decade. This is due, 
 in part, to the drift to the large cities, and in part, to the movement 
 of Iowa people to Canada. The great State of Missouri, that has 
 within its borders almost everything that is needed for the support 
 of a population, only shows an increase of six per cent. The in- 
 creasing demand for food is making farm property more valuable : 
 the last census shows that farm property in Iowa increased in value 
 117%, and what is true of Iowa is true of the agricultural States 
 in the Mississippi- Valley and west thereof. 
 
 The industry of raising apples will act as a check, in part, to 
 this drift to the cities, and is furnishing and will furnish a healthful 
 and profitable occupation for a great many people who apply intelli- 
 gence and hard work to the business. 
 
 Food Value The food value of the apple is not understood well 
 of Apples. enough, and this should be made plain by the grower 
 and those interested in helping him to obtain the 
 widest possible market. An examination of the cookery books and 
 the periodicals devoted to food, shows that there are many ways in 
 which fruit and fruit products can be cooked and served. At the 
 Apple Show of the Berkeley County Horticultural Society, held at 
 Martinsburg, West Virginia, November 4 and 5, 1909, detailed 
 recipes were furnished showing 101 ways for using their apples. 
 One most desirable exhibit of the National Apple Show is the 
 department of domestic economy, where apples are served in various 
 forms. 
 
 5 
 
Apples, when dried, and therefore more concentrated than when 
 fresh, compare favorably with bread, dried beans, and similar foods 
 in the total amount of food material present, and the apple, either 
 fresh or dried, or preserved, is a source of energy rather than of 
 tissue forming material. On account of the great decrease in the 
 total amount of apples produced in the United States, the fruit is 
 becoming something of a luxury and is used rather for its pleasant 
 flavor than for its food value. Very careful experiments have been 
 made by the California Experiment Station, in co-operation with 
 the nutrition investigation of the office of Experiment Stations (a 
 subdivision of the Agricultural Department) ; by the North Dakota 
 Agricultural College, and by Harvard College, as to the results to 
 be obtained from different forms of diet. It seems very clear from 
 the investigations that have been made that fruits should not be 
 looked upon simply as a luxury, but should be considered as an 
 economical source of nutrition for the average family. Fruits, espe- 
 cially cooked, are almost completely digested, and have a higher 
 nutritive value than is popularly attributed to them. The result of 
 experiments makes it clear that fruits are reasonably cheap sources 
 of energy in the diet, and are well suited, on grounds of economy, 
 for combination in reasonable quantities with cheap proteid foods 
 to furnish a well balanced ration. Ten cents worth of fresh apples, 
 used as food, furnishes 1467 units (calories) of energy to the body; 
 ten cents worth of porterhouse steak furnishes 444 units (calories) 
 of energy; ten cents worth of dried beans furnishes 892 units (calo- 
 ries), so that, in general, it may be said that the apple furnishes a 
 wholesome, palatable and very attractive addition to the food sup- 
 ply of the family ; and the increasing production of the apple should 
 help to offset the growing price of meat and other forms of food. 
 
 Decrease in The great falling off in the production of apples is 
 Production. probably due to the fact that in the older States in 
 the East, the growing of apples was incidental to 
 other forms of agriculture, and was not a business by itself. When 
 the trees were young, the production was good, but gradually, as 
 the trees grew older and orchard pests increased, the attention neces- . 
 sary for a crop of apples became greater, and the orchards not 
 receiving it gradually failed. 
 
Twenty-five years ago, in a small Michigan town, dependent for 
 its principal business upon the handling and packing of apples, large 
 warehouses were in use for handling the apples, and a large number 
 of men employed to take care of the fruit. Now, only one apple 
 warehouse remains, and other crops have taken the lead. 
 
 The Commercial In the early days, scientific growing of apple 
 Orchard. trees was not much thought of. Now, the 
 
 day of the commercial orchard has come, 
 not only in the West, but all over the country, and men are 
 giving the same careful and thorough attention to the pro- 
 duction of apples that they are giving to the production of 
 steel, and making of agricultural implements, or to any other 
 business that is conducted with skill and intelligence. 
 
 The National Apple Show, by bringing together the best 
 minds in the business, is a potent force in helping to place 
 apple growing on a sound, scientific and commercial basis. 
 
 The study, attention and care given to the production of 
 fruit, by the grower, must, as that production increases, be 
 supplemented by efforts for publicity as to the use of the apple, 
 combined efforts for seeking wider and wider markets, and 
 additions to the facilities for storage and transportation of the 
 fruit. 
 
 Storage. It is not an idle statement to say that in a few years 
 there will be 100,000 carloads of apples marketed 
 from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana alone, and 
 there is a growing production of apples in the states in the Mis- 
 sissippi Valley and east thereof. All of the increased pro- 
 duction of apples cannot be placed within the 60 days of har- 
 vesting at the point of ultimate destination, and it would be 
 an economic mistake to try to do so. Therefore, it will be 
 necessary, for the apple grower to do what the wheat grower 
 has done, namely: provide means for holding part of his crop 
 near the primary market. So far the efforts of the fruit grower 
 have been concentrated largely and very properly upon the 
 production and upon the best methods of caring for the young 
 and growing trees, and that work must still continue. Now, 
 the best apples command a higher price in many of the great 
 
cities of the country than do oranges, but to have the maxi- 
 mum use of the apple as food, commanding a reasonable price, 
 means must be provided to prevent glutting of the market 
 at consuming points in the few autumn months. No doubt 
 there will have to be a combination of storage plans, just as 
 there is about grain. Today, the producer of grain has more 
 or less storage on his own farm, some at the nearby railroad station 
 in a warehouse or elevator, and some at the large elevators and 
 warehouses at great terminal points. In the same way, as apple 
 production increases, the grower must have some means of caring 
 for his crop at his home orchard, some co-operative storage at the 
 nearby station, and larger plants at various points throughout the 
 United States. 
 
 Fruit Growers A good example of the benefits of co-operation 
 Association. is shown by the results obtained by Fruit Grow- 
 
 ers' Associations. It availed little to produce 
 first class fruit unless it could be delivered to the consumer in 
 first class condition, attractive to the eye as well as to the palate. 
 Until a few years ago not enough care was given to the hand- 
 ling of fruit while being harvested and packed, and not enough 
 attention to the manner of packing or the appearance of the 
 package. Now, as a result of Fruit Growers' Associations, has 
 come the keenest rivalry between the different fruit growing dis- 
 tricts, not only as to the quality of the fruit, but as to its free- 
 dom from blemish, and the attractiveness of the pack and the 
 package when it reaches the consumer. The brand of an Asso- 
 ciation that has established a reputation for honest packing is a 
 valuable asset to every grower in the district it represents, and this 
 explains the occasional instances we hear of where Associations 
 have refused to allow their brands to be placed upon packages 
 packed by some of their members because of poor quality, dishonest 
 or inferior packing. 
 
 Not only in the handling and packing, but in the marketing 
 of the fruit also, and in various other ways, such as the construc- 
 tion of storage plants, too expensive for the individual growers, 
 are the Associations proving themselves of value to their mem- 
 bers, and as time goes on they will become still more valuable. 
 
 8 
 
Transportation As the apple crop increases, the necessity f@r 
 and Its Effect adequate transportation, as well as for ade- 
 
 on Land Values, quate storage increases. Too often, the shipper 
 by rail, fails to realize some of the conditions 
 in this country today because of the construction of railways, and 
 forgets the conditions that would have existed if there were none 
 here. Take the Yakima and Kittitas Valleys, for example, 
 because approximately accurate figures are obtainable. There 
 are about 500,000 acres of land that ultimately will be 
 under irrigation between Ellensburg and Pasco, and along 
 the Columbia River. Of this, about 315,000 acres are under 
 constructed canals, and 185,000 acres are now under cultivation, 
 divided: 40,000 acres in fruit; 130,000 acres in hay, and 15,000 
 acres in other crops. Let us suppose, for example, that there 
 was no railway in that section, and the only means of transporta- 
 tion was by team or river; what would be the value of the land, 
 and how would the products from it be marketed? It is obvious 
 that fruit and vegetable products could not be marketed, and the 
 land would have to be used for raising stock that could be driven 
 to some point where they could be transported to market. Today, 
 that 185,000 acres of land is fairly worth on an average at least 
 $300 per acre, or $55,500,000; without the railway, would it be 
 worth an average of $10.00 an acre? Perhaps so, or $1,850,000, 
 and it is not unfair to say that the existence of rail transportation 
 has increased the value of that 185,000 acres of land at least thirty 
 times. 
 
 In Central Oregon are plains and valleys where with irrigation 
 and transportation there are thousands of acres that can be made 
 as productive as the orchard land of Washington, but, to-day, the 
 land is almost useless, and has only a speculative value, based on 
 prospective transportation and its value in producing stock. 
 
 What is true of the Yakima Valley is true of the whole country 
 west of the Mississippi River, between the Canadian and Mexican 
 boundaries. 
 
 Without the great transcontinental lines and their branches, the 
 country could not have achieved the development and consequent 
 ability to support in reasonable comfort anything like the population 
 that it now has. To market the increasing products of the great 
 West, it is necessary to have wide distribution and low rates. 
 
Rates and The greater portion of the apples produced in the West 
 Service. must find a market east of the Missouri River and ex- 
 tending all the way to the Atlantic Seaboard, and even 
 across the Atlantic some of this product has made its way. In this 
 vast country of ours, we are so accustomed to great distances that 
 we take them for granted without stopping to consider their signifi- 
 cance ; it means something and costs something, however, to trans- 
 port a box of apples from Western points to New York, nearly 3,000 
 miles. For this transportation, and because of the perishable char- 
 acter of the product, first-class fast service is necessary. The rail- 
 way receives 48 cents per box, or about half a cent per apple. When 
 the grower hears that his apples are being retailed at 10 cents each 
 in Chicago or New York, he should keep in mind how much the 
 railroad received as its share, and look elsewhere for the difference. 
 If he still thinks the transportation expense too high, he might do 
 some figuring on what it costs to wagon haul his apples from his 
 orchard to the railway station; he will find, if the distance is five 
 miles and the roads are of the average character that prevails in the 
 irrigated districts of the West, that it costs him about 10 cents per 
 box, and he will doubtless turn his attention to something entirely 
 in his own power to improve, and that is the wagon roads, for it is 
 a fact that his fruit runs more risk of damage in a five-mile wagon 
 naul over poor roads than in the 3,000-mile rail haul. 
 
 The apple grower, who at times feels that the railway does not 
 do what is right, should remember the obstacles that have been over- 
 come by the owners of the railways in the last forty years and not 
 let small things blind him to the great work that has been and is 
 being done, and should obtain full knowledge of all the conditions 
 surrounding the railways before he condemns them and subjects 
 them to unjust criticism and attack. 
 
 Not Enough Another contributing cause to the higher cost 
 Hard Work, of living is the fact that there is a growing tend- 
 ency in this country to insist that a living can 
 be obtained with less and less work, so that the labor cost on 
 a great many articles has increased very materially. Every 
 man can do some good by pointing out that business can only 
 pay such wages as will permit it to go on. There is a much mis- 
 understood expression about railway rates, namely: that they are 
 
 10 
 
made on the theory of "what the traffic will bear;" this does 
 not mean all that the traffic will bear, but means that the rates 
 are so adjusted that the business will move, the country grow, 
 and give some margin of profit to the owners of the freight, 
 and some to the mover of the freight. Without such condi- 
 tions, railways will not be built. On the other hand, the man 
 who works for wages must remember that he cannot fix his 
 wages on the basis of "all that the traffic will bear," but must 
 consider business as a whole, and realize that the owner must 
 have a margin or he will give up his business. 
 
 Necessity for More Mr. Knapp, Chairman of the Inter- 
 
 Transportation Facilities, state Commerce Commission, made 
 
 the following statement: 
 
 "The question of railroad rates, that is to say of railroad 
 revenues, involves a great deal more than the direct interest of 
 shippers or shareholders. Broadly speaking, it is a question of 
 national policy second to none in its economic importance. 
 
 "Leaving out of account the comparatively small number of 
 actual shippers and security-holders, I suggest three aspects of the 
 question which are of general and intense public concern. The 
 country, as a whole, needs and must have, if it is to grow and 
 prosper as it ought, railway earnings sufficient for three things : 
 
 "(i) The payment of liberal wages to an adequate number 
 of competent men * * * in service which is all the while 
 becoming more exacting, and on which the safety and the con- 
 venience of the public constantly depend. * * * 
 
 "(2) A reliable return to railway capital sufficient to induce 
 the construction without delay of hundreds and thousands of miles 
 of new railroads to further develop the country and meet the 
 transportation demands of the immediate future. * * * Must 
 we not, in the public interest make railroad construction so attrac- 
 tive and profitable that the necessary capital will be forthcoming? 
 Otherwise, must we not come measurably to a standstill and face 
 a future of comparative stagnation? 
 
 "(3) The betterment of existing lines so as to greatly aug- 
 ment their serviceableness to the public, as can in varying degrees 
 be done everywhere, without any increase of capitalization that can 
 be fairly avoided." 
 
 11 
 
Mr. Knapp has perhaps understated the number of those in- 
 terested as security-holders and shippers. There are at least 1,000,- 
 ooo security-holders, representing not less than 4,000,000 people, 
 including many charitable institutions, women and children, and 
 among the assets of every insurance company and savings bank 
 are railway securities, so that a very considerable number of people 
 are interested deeply as owners in the rates charged by railways. 
 Then again, there are in the agricultural States a very large num- 
 ber of people who are shippers, and in the country as a whole 
 a very large number who are users of the railway for travel. 
 
 Points two and three made by Mr. Knapp are very important 
 to a new, growing and expanding country like that west of the 
 Mississippi River. Every railway in that country must spend 
 very large sums of money to provide facilities needed to keep pace 
 with the growth of business. 
 
 What the Railway The demagogue often tries to give the im- 
 Owner Has Done. pression that the railway owner is a rich 
 man, and a non-resident, who is taking very 
 much more from the country than he gives. This is not a fair, 
 nor a true statement. I have the exact figures for the Northern 
 Pacific for the ten years ending June 30, 19 10. During that period 
 the owner of the property has put back into this western country 
 for improvements and additions to existing lines, for new equipment 
 and for building new railways $1.42 for every one dollar he has 
 received in the form of dividends or 42% more than he has 
 taken out. This additional money he has either borrowed or 
 advanced voluntarily from funds belonging to him. Not a very 
 lucrative return for the railway owner who takes all the risk of 
 business with no guarantee of protection. What the Northern Pa- 
 cific has done has been done by the Great Northern, Union Pacific, 
 Santa Fe, and all of the big railways must continue to do the same 
 thing if we are to avoid "coming to a standstill and facing a future 
 of comparative stagnation," as suggested by Chairman Knapp. 
 
 Now, why did the railway owner invest this money? It was, 
 of course, for the same reason that men embark in any business 
 enterprise — in the hope of making a profit. It was not invested 
 with the idea of getting a return of only 4%; 5% or 6%, because 
 the owner better loan his money on farm mortgages and avoid the 
 
 12 
 
risk of business if that is to be his limit. Recently, a Chinese loan 
 of $50,000,000 has been floated in this country, and why? Simply 
 because the investors feel that there is a greater chance of profit in 
 building and operating railways in China than there is to-day in 
 the United States. 
 
 Higher Cost of Living All these elements that make for higher 
 for the Railways. cost of living for the individual and for 
 
 the ordinary business man, namely : in- 
 creased governmental expenditure ; greater proportion of people liv- 
 ing in towns than in the country ; higher wages, and a less quantity 
 of work for a like amount of money; increased cost of materials, 
 affect the cost of living of the railway, and in addition, there is an 
 incessant and increasing demand of a prosperous people for more 
 expensive facilities, causing an interest charge on the money for 
 creating them, and greater expense for operating them, with no 
 corresponding increase in the price obtained for the use of them. 
 
 Diminished Power Mr. C. C. McCain has published a most 
 of Railway Earnings, careful book called "The Diminished Power 
 
 of Railway Earnings," and he shows in 
 great detail, and with many examples, how a dollar in 1907 would 
 buy very much more rail transportation than in 1897. Since 1907, 
 wages have increased still further, and prices of most materials are 
 as high or higher so that the figures for 1907 can be used for the 
 present day. In 1897, railway wages were $465,601,581, and in 
 1907 $1,072,386,427. Taking the pay of railway employes, as a 
 whole, it is shown conclusively that a dollar of railway earnings 
 in 1907 would not buy more than 84%, on the average, as much 
 railway labor as it bought in 1897. In order to equalize this fall 
 in the purchasing power of a dollar of railway earnings, there 
 should have been an average advance in rates of 19.43%, instead 
 of which the rates have fallen from 1897 to 1907, as follows: 
 
 1897 1907 1909 
 
 Rates per ton mile (mills) 7.98 7.59 7.63 
 
 Rates per passenger mile (cents) 2.022 2.014 1.928 
 
 In 1897, $1.00 had to be spent for locomotive fuel for each 
 $17.25 of gross railway receipts, while in 1907 $1.00 for locomotive 
 fuel was used for each $12.93 °f gross receipts. 
 
 13 
 
The articles commonly used by railways, in ten years, have 
 advanced in price all the way from 10 to I50%,*and every item 
 of operating expense is very much greater now than it was in 
 1897. This increase has been offset, in part, by the use of 
 larger tools by the railway, but the end is in sight, because the 
 gauge of the railways cannot be widened, a greater weight 
 cannot be put upon- the wheels than now, and the size and 
 capacity of cars and engines is, therefore, limited. The in- 
 crease in governmental expenditures is reflected in the fact 
 that railway taxation per mile of line increased from $235 in 
 1897 to $382 in 1909, or 62%. The taxes for the Northern 
 Pacific for the year ending June 30, 19 10, were $628.29 per 
 mile of line, an increase of 42%, in one year. 
 
 Ability of People to Buy More 
 Transportation for a Dollar. 
 
 Higher wages, and higher 
 
 prices for commodities traded 
 
 in, and a lower average freight 
 
 and passenger rate furnish all classes of people ability to buy 
 
 more railway service for a dollar than formerly. 
 
 Dunn's Review has compiled statistics showing that the 
 power to purchase railway freight service by the producers in 
 various classes of commodities, as shown below, has increased 
 in ten years, an average of 49.37% : 
 
 
 Relative Prices 
 
 Power to purchase railway freight 
 services. 
 
 Class of 
 
 At the 
 
 average rate 
 
 per ton per 
 
 mile of 1897, 
 
 ton-miles. 
 
 At the 
 
 average rate 
 
 per ton per 
 
 mile of 1907, 
 
 ton-miles. 
 
 
 Articles. 
 
 January 
 1, 1897. 
 
 January 
 1, 1907. 
 
 Increase 
 Per Cent. 
 
 Breadstuffs 
 
 Meats 
 
 Dairy and Garden. 
 
 Other food 
 
 Clothing 
 
 Metals 
 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 $11.73 
 7.33 
 10.46 
 8.17 
 12.40 
 13.01 
 12.40 
 
 $16.08 
 9.35 
 14.97 
 9.76 
 19.64 
 18.09 
 19.37 
 
 1470 
 918 
 1310 
 1024 
 1555 
 1631 
 1553 
 
 2118 
 1232 
 1972 
 1286 
 
 2587 
 2383 
 2554 
 
 44.08 
 34.20 
 50.53 
 25.59 
 66.37 
 46.11 
 64.46 
 
 Total 
 
 $75.50 
 
 $107.26 
 
 9461 
 
 14132 
 
 49.37 
 
 The commodity figures represent the wholesale cost at the two 
 periods, of the articles used in a year by an average inhabitant of 
 
 14 
 
the United States. 
 as follows : 
 
 Similar figures for agricultural products are 
 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 
 
 Increased 
 
 
 Value of 
 crop of 1907. 
 
 Unit 
 
 
 Price 
 
 
 Power to Pur- 
 
 Product 
 
 1897 
 
 1907 
 
 Increase 
 per cent. 
 
 chase Railway 
 Freight 
 Service 
 Per Cent 
 
 Corn 
 
 $1,336,901,000. 
 
 Bushel 
 
 $0,263 
 
 $0,516 
 
 96.20 
 
 106.28 
 
 Wheat 
 
 554,437,000. 
 
 
 .808 
 
 .874 
 
 8.17 
 
 13.73 
 
 Oats 
 
 334,568,000. 
 
 
 .212 
 
 .443 
 
 108.96 
 
 119.70 
 
 Barley .... 
 
 102,290,000. 
 
 
 .377 
 
 .666 
 
 76.66 
 
 85.74 
 
 Rye 
 
 23,068,000. 
 
 
 .447 
 
 .731 
 
 63.53 
 
 71.94 
 
 Buckwheat 
 
 9,975,000. 
 
 
 .421 
 
 .698 
 
 65.80 
 
 74.32 
 
 Potatoes. . . 
 
 184,184,000. 
 
 
 .547 
 
 .618 
 
 12.98 
 
 18.79 
 
 Hay 
 
 773,507,000. 
 
 Ton 
 
 6.62 
 
 11.68 
 
 76.44 
 
 85.51 
 
 Cotton 
 
 613,630,436. 
 
 Pound 
 
 .066 
 
 .104 
 
 57.58 
 
 65.68 
 
 
 Jaunary 
 1, 1908. 
 
 Average price, each. 
 
 Increased 
 Power to Pur- 
 chase Railway 
 Freight 
 Service 
 Per Cent 
 
 
 January 
 1, 1897. 
 
 January 
 1, 1908. 
 
 Increase 
 per cent. 
 
 Horses 
 
 Milch Cows 
 
 Cattle, except 
 Milch Cows .... 
 
 Sheep 
 
 Swine 
 
 $1,867,530,000. 
 416,939,000. 
 650,057,000. 
 
 845,938,000. 
 211,736,000. 
 339,030,000. 
 
 $31.51 
 41.66 
 23.16 
 
 16.65 
 1.82 
 4.10 
 
 $93.41 
 
 107.76 
 
 30.67 
 
 16.89 
 3.88 
 6.05 
 
 196.45 
 
 158.67 
 
 32.43 
 
 1.44 
 113.19 
 
 47.56 
 
 211.69 
 171.97 
 
 39.24 
 
 6.65 
 
 124.15 
 
 55.14 
 
 These figures prove that by reason of the higher price he received 
 for his product, together with the decrease in freight rates, the 
 farmer producing a bushel of corn could purchase a little over twice 
 as much freight transportation with the proceeds in 1907, as he 
 could have purchased in 1897, and so on with all other agricultural 
 products to the extent shown in the tables. 
 
 The average power of all commodities to purchase railway 
 freight service has increased 51.79% ; on the farm, production as a 
 whole 69.19%; lumber and building materials, 70.85%; food, 
 41.22%; house furnishing goods, 38.74%; metals and implements, 
 74.10% ; labor from 10% to 60%. 
 
 Efforts of Now, the railway is working hard to do its part, but 
 
 the Railway, it cannot accomplish the impossible, and it needs the 
 careful thought, judgment, and help of men in busi- 
 ness life who need to have the railways grow and improve. The 
 
 15 
 
railway system of the United States is a great piece of commercial 
 machinery, essential to every one in this complicated, modern civiliz- 
 ation ; without this piece of machinery, there could not be the 
 volume of business — agricultural, manufacturing and commer- 
 cial — that there now is. The magnitude of these transactions 
 is so great that this piece of commercial machinery must be 
 kept in the very best order, and its capacity must be increased 
 all the time. Without this, much business could not exist. 
 On the other hand, without the business, this piece of commer- 
 cial machinery would be idle and rust, and the relation between 
 the two is very close. Injustice and unfair treatment of either 
 by the other is sure to react, and this fact is a much safer 
 insurance against any injustice on the part of railways than 
 attempting to manage by legislation all of their affairs in great 
 detail. 
 
 American Railways The owners and managers of the American 
 the Best. railways are, as a whole, today, furnishing 
 
 the best and lowest priced transportation, 
 and paying the highest prices for labor and material of any nation 
 in the world. They want to give the public the very best service; 
 they want to have their employes well paid, contented, and con- 
 tinuously employed; they want to pay their fair share of taxes; 
 they want to add to their properties and to keep them up to the 
 mark. There are, however, only ioo cents in a dollar, and they 
 cannot do all of these things unless they have some help from the 
 intelligent, thoughtful men of the country. 
 
 Duty of the Farmer Business men and the farmers must add 
 and Business Man. to their own facilities, adopt improved 
 
 methods for handling freight so that every 
 car is loaded and unloaded promptly, and so that the greatest use 
 can be made of each car and each track. Business men and farm- 
 ers should post themselves about this great question, and call a 
 halt in the continuous stream of hostile and repressive legislation, 
 and should serve notice on the investing public all over the world, 
 that money put into American railways is absolutely safe, both 
 as to principal and fair return on the fair value of the property. 
 
 16 
 
Today on all important questions but one the railway owner is 
 directed by Acts of Congress, of State Legislatures and by the 
 orders of Commissions and Bureaus. He has little control over the 
 rates — over the hours of labor — over the rules for the conduct of 
 the business in which his money is invested, over the taxes he shall 
 pay. There is reserved to him the one duty and responsibility of 
 finding money to pay the bills. 
 
 The Congress, the Legislatures, the Commissions and Bureaus 
 may pass laws and issue orders and the railways will obey them 
 when they understand them and if they are constitutional and 
 until they are exhausted. But there is one great fact that cannot 
 be changed by legislative fiat or commission decree — and that is 
 you cannot make a man invest his money in railways unless he 
 wants to. You apple growers are fair men and you use brains, 
 industry and energy in developing your business. For your own 
 interest, and for the interest of your children who must have an 
 increasing amount of safe and adequate transportation, use some of 
 those brains, industry and energy in helping to form a temperate 
 and sensible public opinion about the railway business of the United 
 States so that justice will be done by those you select for the Legis- 
 lature and for the numerous commissions, and to whom you give 
 over the enormous power of control over the transportation system 
 of the country, but with no responsibility as to financial results. 
 
 17 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS