of the Saint Lawrence River. The management of the Grand Trunk Railway have recently formed a connection with a line extending from its present western terminus at Port Sarnia, near the foot of Lake Huron, to the city of Chicago, the center of the commerce of the Northwest. Over this route the new fast-freight line known as the Great Eastern line is now in operation, forming, in connection with the Grand Trunk line of steamers at Montreal, the means of direct transportation between Chicago and Liverpool.

The Central Vermont Railway, with its various lines extending into and through the States of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, is also shown upon the same map.

The Grand Trunk Railway, by means of its line to Portland and its connection with the Central Vermont, competes actively with the New York Central and its principal eastern connections, the Hoosac Tunnel line and the Boston and Albany Railroad, at many important points in the New England States.

Map No. 4 represents the New York Central Railroad with its branches and principal connections over which commerce is carried on between the Western States and the Atlantic seaboard. The two most important eastern connections of the New York Central Railroad are, first, the Boston and Albany Railroad extending from Albany to Boston, and, second, the Hoosac Tunnel line. This latter line has been formed by a union of the interests of the Fitchburgh Railroad, the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, and the Troy and Boston Railroad. It extends from the city of Boston to Troy and to Schenectady, New York, at which points it connects with the New York Central Railroad.

The Troy and Greenfield Railroad is owned by the State of Massachusetts. The construction of the Hoosac Tunnel was begun by a private corporation about the year 1853. Subsequently it passed under the control of the State of Massachusetts, and it was completed in the year 1874, at a cost of about $17,000,000. A full description of this line is presented in the statements of Mr. Curtis Guild and Mr. Hamilton A. Hill, Appendix, pages 100 and 134. The statements of these gentlemen. also embrace other information of interest in regard to the railway enterprises of New England, especially in regard to those roads projected or constructed with the view of developing commerce between the New England States and the Western States.

Map No. 5 represents the Erie Railway with its various branches and connections over which commerce is carried on between the Western States and the Atlantic seaboard. Its principal western connections are the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, from Salamanca to Cin cinnati, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line from Mansfield, Ohio (a point on the Atlantic and Great Western Railway,) to Chicago. The Erie and Great Western Railways have a gauge of 6 feet, whereas all connecting roads have the standard gauge of 4 feet 8 inches. This

fact has been to some extent an obstacle to the formation of combinations between them and other roads.

Map No. 6 represents the Pennsylvania Railroad with its various branches and extensions, embracing all lines owned or controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, over which commerce is carried on between the Western States and the States of the Atlantic seaboard The lines controlled and operated by this company constitute the most extensive railway organization in the world. The magnitude of this enormous organization is further indicated by the following facts: Number of miles of railroad constructed in the United States, 74,658; number of miles controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 5,933. It appears that of the whole number of miles of railroad in the United States the Pennsylvania Railroad controls 7.9 per cent. The total capital of all the railroads in the United States is stated at $4,658,208,630, of which the Pennsylvania Railroad controls $398,267,675.22, or 8 per

cent.

These lines pass through or extend into eleven States and command the connections of the sea, the lakes, and the Mississippi River. In the magnitude of its financial operations, this great organization is second in this country, only to the Government of the United States. The value of the commerce over its various lines is equal to that of the entire foreign commerce of the United States.

The Pennsylvania Railroad, by securing the control of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, formed a through connection to Chicago in the year 1869. It also secured a line under its own control to Cincinnati in the year 1869 and to Saint Louis in 1869. By the lease of the United Railroads of New Jersey it secured a connection to New York in the year 1871, by the lease of the Northern Central Railroad a line was secured to Baltimore in the year 1870, and by the lease of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in 1870 a line was secured to the city of Washington. This great organization has thus secured termini at four cities on the Atlantic seaboard, viz, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and by means of its various lines it has secured connections to nearly all the principal cities of the West.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are the only companies in the United States which have obtained the control of lines as far west as Chicago.

Map No. 7 represents the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad with its various branches and extensions. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company secured direct control over connecting lines to Cincinnati in the year 186-, and to Chicago in the year 1874, and by means of a close alliance with the Mississippi and Ohio Railroad it has recently secured a through line to Saint Louis.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, extending from Richmond to Huntington on the Ohio River, was completed about five years ago, but as yet its only western connection is the Ohio River. It is now in con

templation to construct a connecting line to Cincinnati, and it appears probable that this will be accomplished in the course of a few years. When this line shall have been completed and other western connections secured, affording such advantages for western traffic as are now enjoyed by other trunk-lines, it will probably become one of the important highways of commerce between the West and the seaboard.

Maps Nos. 8 to 13, inclusive, were prepared by Mr. Albert Fink for the purpose of illustrating facts presented by him in his statement to this Department in regard to the movements of commerce between the Western and Northwestern States and the South Atlantic and Gulf States. The various trunk lines of the Southern States are delineated upon these maps.

The principal trunk lines connecting the Western States with the Gulf States west of the Mississippi River are—

1. The Iron Mountain Railroad, with its connecting lines passing through the States of Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, and

2. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, passing through the States of Missouri, Kansas, and Texas and the Indian Territory.

The principal trunk lines connecting the Western States with the Southern States east of the Mississippi River are

1. The New Orleans, Saint Louis and Chicago Railroad, extending from New Orleans to Cairo, Ill.;

2. The Mobile and Ohio Railroad, extending from Mobile to Columbus, Ky.; and

3. The Louisville and Nashville and Great Southern Railroad, with its various branches and connecting lines.

The principal trunk lines connecting the North Atlantic with the South Atlantic and Gulf States are

1. The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad;

2. The line known as the Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railroad; and

3. The all-rail line formed by the various connecting roads from Virginia, and passing through Weldon, Goldsborough, and Wilmington, N. C., and thence, by various connecting lines, into all the Southern States.

The Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico constitute the most important highway of commerce between all points along the coast, and this maritime traffic is an effective regulator, both directly and indirectly, of freight-rates upon almost all the trunk railroad lines and the interior water-lines of the United States. The effects of competition between vessels and railroads in the commerce between the North Atlantic States and the South Atlantic and Gulf States are very clearly presented by Mr. Fink. [Appendix, page 1.] The interior water-lines of the United States are fully described in another connection.

The foregoing sketch of the principal transportation-lines of the United States is necessarily very brief, as the limits of this report will not admit

of a description more in detail. Much valuable information in regard to transportation lines may also be found in the appendix to this report. Each one of the trunk railroads mentioned competes with one or more of the other trunk roads at many interior points by means of throughfreight lines and branch lines. These trunk lines also compete sharply with each other at the chief Atlantic seaports. The New York Central Railroad, with its eastern connection-the Boston and Albany roadcompetes to some extent with the Grand Trunk Railway at Portland.

At Boston the Grand Trunk Railway, through its New England connections, competes with the New York Central Railway and its principal New England connection, the Boston and Albany Railroad. The Erie Railway, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad also compete for western traffic at Boston by means of prorating arrangements with steamer-lines running coastwise from Boston to New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, respectively, and also by means of connecting rail lines.

At New York, the New York Central, the Erie, and the Pennsylvania Railroads compete with each other directly. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is also to some extent a competitor of those roads at New York, under certain conditions, which are matters of agreement between the rival roads.

At Philadelphia, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is to a certain extent a competitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and at Baltimore, the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads actively compete with each other for western traffic. As shown in another part of this report, these lines also compete with each other very sharply through the competition of product with product in the various markets of the country. Competition between railroads has run wild during the last four or five years, and it appears to be very difficult for the trunk lines to combine for the maintenance of remunerative competitive rates. This subject is treated of somewhat at length in another part of this report.

An unbroken line of railway communication was secured between Chicago and the Atlantic seaboard by the completion of the Michigan Southern Railway in the year 1852, and all-rail communication between Saint Louis and the Atlantic seaboard was secured by the completion of the Mississippi and Ohio Railroad in 1856. During the decade from 1850 to 1860 railroad connections were formed between almost all the important cities of the West and the Atlantic seaboard.

For several years the railway system of the country with respect to the transportation of the surplus products of the West to the seaboard and the transportation of merchandise from the seaboard to the West presented a disconnected system of independent roads. Delays, inconveniences, and hazards of various kinds were involved in this mode of transportation, and railroad companies were unable to employ their cars, locomotives, and working force advantageously. The cost of transportation was so great that the evident possibilities of the railroads of the

country could not be fully realized. This led to the formation of "through" or "fast-freight" lines,

THROUGH-FREIGHT LINES.

In view of the great importance of "through-freight" lines as agencies of internal commerce at the present day, the subject is deemed worthy of especial notice.

The first form of "through" or "fast-freight" line adopted was that known as the "private" line. These lines were formed through concessions made to companies or individuals who furnished the necessary cars and paid to the railroad companies specific sums for the privileges granted. While this system afforded very great commercial advantages, it was found to involve serious difficulties with respect to the interests of the stockholders of the roads. The freight-lines not only absorbed the entire profits of the through traffic, but in certain cases caused this traffic to become an actual charge upon the roads, the fast-freight lines being allowed to take the higher-paying freights, leaving the lower classes of freights to be carried by the railroad companies at less profitable rates. In some cases the proprietors of fast-freight lines were managers of the railroads over which they were run, and the concessions were believed to have been fraudulently obtained. This form of fastfreight lines still exists to a limited extent, but under conditions which experience and a thorough knowledge of the value of the privileges granted has proved to be just and equitable.

The views entertained by the investigating committee of the Pennsyl vania Railroad with reference to the fast-freight lines operating over that road (private lines) are thus stated:

So intermixed among the western roads is the passage of freight, that railway companies cannot make arrangements among themselves to work it successfully, and there is an absolute necessity for the intermediate presence of a third party, whose relations to all the companies give them access to their different roads. A company organized purely by the railway companies to do this kind of trade has been tried and has not proved successful. It lacks the force, energy, interest, and immediate responsibility which a private company working for its own interests furnishes.

The internal commerce of the United States now presents many phases with respect to the commodities transported, the direction of the various movements, and the necessary facilities for safe and economical transportation. The through-freight lines seem to have met the require ments of the day. The principal part of the traffic between the East and the West is now carried on by what is known as co-operative freightlines, formed by setting apart a certain number of cars belonging to several roads, for through traffic. The cars so set apart are painted of a distinctive color, or receive certain marks, and are placed under one general management. These cars, being loaded at the West, pass without breaking bulk to their destination at the East, and in the same manner return freights are shipped to various points at the West. Each company entering into any particular line furnishes a certain