the net earnings for 1874 will show a relative falling off. But this has been true of the whole country; the short crops, and the general stringency of the times having borne heavily upon the transportation interest.

On the other hand, the reports hitherto made by the principal companies, warrant the expectation that the full returns for the year 1874, will show an absolute increase upon the net receipts of the year 1873, and this, notwithstanding the operation of the law during the quarter just ended, the effect of which has been to cause some reduction.

The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Company report a total loss of $120,040.82, entailed by enforcement of the law during the last quarter of the year-$66,726.27 in the freight department of their business, and $53,313.82 in the passenger department.

The Chicago and Northwestern report a loss from the same cause, during the months of October and November, of 24 per cent. on their passenger business, and 26 per cent. on freight.

That any of the roads, in times of so great depression, and under the working of a law claimed to be ruinous, should have increased the amount of their net earnings is an encouraging fact, indicating, as it does, the steady industrial progress of the state.

Your commissioners are not yet completely furnished with the requisite data for determining whether the maximum rates fixed by the law, are or are not in some cases lower than the companies can adopt with a reasonable expectation of earning under them a fair profit on the legitimate cost of their roads. On the one hand, we are not prepared to allow that the rates are ruinous, as is claimed by the railway companies, which have not hardly made, as yet, a full and fair trial of them; and on the other hand it is undeniable that those rates are considerably lower than are at present charged by a great majority of the railroads of the country, as plainly appears from the comparative statements to be found on pages 265,270 of this report, in which the tariff charges made by a number of leading roads, west and east, taken at random, are placed side by side with the "Potter Law" rates.

The question will naturally arise upon making the comparison, why the other roads quoted may not bring their rates down to a level with those of the Atlantic and Graet Western and the Baltimore and Ohio roads. Possibly an examination into the condition of the Atlantic and Great Western Co., whose rates are even a

little below those of the Potter Law, would afford a sufficient answer to this inquiry. But up to this time we have no knowledge of any sufficient reason for the very remarkable differences in the charges of the several railways cited.

RAILROAD AID.

Assuming that a recognition of the aid given to railroad companics of the state properly belongs to a consideration of the general question of cost, the commissioners commenced investigations at an early day, with a view to determine, if possible,

(1) The amount of lands donated by Congress, and actually received by various companies to aid in the construction of railways; (2) The amount of bonds executed for the same purpose by counties, towns and municipalties; and

(3) The amount of aid rendered in the form of farm-mortgages. To this end, inquiries were addressed to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, to railway companies, to clerks of all county and town boards of supervisors, and all registers of deeds in counties traversed by railways, and supposed to have given aid to railroad construction in any form.

Owing to the difficulties inseparable from such an undertaking, including the shortness of time for the work, and the want of funds ́ for such use, these efforts have not been wholly successful. The facts obtained will be found under the head of "Statement of Land Grants in aid of Wisconsin Roads," (pages 227-241), and in tabulated form, on page 242.

It is sufficient, in this connection, to say, in general terms

(1) That so far as is already learned, the total amount of aid realized from congressional land grants, is 3,343,458 acres; estimated value, at $3 per acre, $10,030,074;

(2) That we have found record of $6,910,652 in county, town and municipal bonds, paid or held for collection, and representing 36 counties and 71 towns and cities;

(3) That we have found record of 3,785 farm mortgages, distributed among 27 counties, and aggregating, in amount, $4,079,433; Thus making a grand total-the correctness of our valuation of the lands being granted-of $21,227,160.

Assigned to the roads to which they severally belong, the amounts are as follows:

Among the duties imposed upon the commissioners, is that of separating cost, receipts, easnings and debt of roads lying partly in and partly out of this state, in such a manner as to determine the proportion in each case belonging to Wisconsin. The commissioners have partially complied with this injunction of the law. But a full and accurate determination of the facts requires further inquiry. The difficulties pertaining to such an investigation will be more apparent, when we remind you of the almost inseparable relations existing between the various parts of our principal lines. The property and business of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway extends to five states and one territory. One portion of its road was constructed by the company; another portion was constructed by agents or representative companies in the interest of the general organization; another portion was acquired by purchase or consolidation, while another portion is operated under lease or other special contract, temporary or permanent. The debt contracted in the construction and acquisition of these various lines is sometimes general and sometimes local, while the receipts and expenditures are so necessarily divided and apportioned as to render the discov. ery of their source and cause in most cases problematical, if not impossible. The difficulties intimated are much enhanced by the fact that no state lines are usually recognized on the books of the company.

Unfortunately, moreover, the reports heretofore required from railroad companies under state authority, have been of the most imperfect and unsatisfactory character. The form prescribed is not only deficient in detail, but indefinite in arrangement and purpose.

STATE LINES AND THEIR EXTRA-STATE CONNECTIONS.

It is clear to us that no satisfactory solution of the question of railway obligations to the public can be attained without a more intelligible basis of estimate than has hitherto been ascertained, of the exact relations of these companies to those portions of their lines lying without the state. Most of the charges relating to irregular management and expenditure refer to these collateral lines. and to the contracts under which they were acquired. The statistics we have presented hereinafter will sufficiently illustrate the results, at least, of some of these complications. They show that roads are often purchased or constructed outside the state which bear no just proportion of the general burden of expenditure, and which, for all present time, certainly, must serve simply to consume the receipts from more profitable, if not actually less costly portions of the line. Indirectly, but nevertheless actually, the extra burdens thus imposed upon the older and more remunerative portions of the road, become a tax upon our own people.

It is true, that extensions of our railway system, by means of legitimate purchase or other expenditure, are most ardently to be desired. Ultimately, at the worst, such extensions are undoubtedly to become a source of profit to the general company which promotes them, and also a means of facilitating personal communication and commercial exchanges. How far these extensions should be promoted at the cost of home lines, is a question of policy. deserving serious consideration. Certainly, no merely speculative expenditure in this direction should be recognized as a proper charge upon our domestic interests; but it is equally clear that the promotion of the general interest, by every legitimate enlargement of our railway system, and an extension of the sources of profit for home lines, is not to be captiously discouraged.

STATISTICAL SUMMARY.

The reports of Wisconsin railway companies for the year ending December 31, 1873, show the following totals:

With the purpose of facilitating a more complete investigation of the inter-state relations of our railway system in future, and of promoting uniformity in classification and legislation, in August last, the Wisconsin commissioners accepted an invitation to meet the commissioners of Illinois and Minnesota, at Dubuque. A second meeting was held at Madison in September, and a third is appointed to be held at Springfield. The practical utility of this method of informal co-operation cannot be over-estimated.

AMENDED FORM OF RAILWAY REPORTS.

Among the fruits of the consultations held, is the adoption of a form of railway report, substantially uniform as to time and character for the several states represented. This form is embraced in the Appendix of this report, and will be found to require from the railroad companies a methodical statement of every material fact of public concern bearing either upon the local or general affairs of the railway corporations. Substantially this form is already in force in the states of Illinois and Minnesota, and public action the ensuing year will be largely determined by the information thus ascertained.

It is earnestly recommended that the modification of the annual reports of companies we have suggested, especially as to the matter of date, be hereafter enforced by law. It should be understood, however, that the adoption of the form and date of annual report to the commissioners as stated, has no reference to the date or form of annual report of gross receipts to the State Treasurer, upon which last mentioned report is predicated the annual charge for licenses.

UNIFORMITY IN CLASSIFICATION AND LEGISLATION.

The efforts made by the Commissioners for promoting uniformity in the classification of freights, and also in general railway legisla