12 Conservative *
RAILWAY MIL.EAGK.
To the casual observer there is noth
ing fascinating in the appearance of the
ordinary Railway Guide. To him it is
a mass of figures , with names of railroad
officers and a little bit of unattractive
advertising , That it contains some
interesting and useful information for
the ordinary reader , as well as for the
actual traveler , was strikingly illustrated
by a wager among a party of men the
other evening.
"I'll bet you a new hat , " said one ,
"that you can't name the four longest
railroads in America. "
"I can feel that hat on my head now.
I may as well let you buy me a new tile
as purchase it myself , " replied his
friend.
The wager was witnessed by a few
friends , and then a great guessing tour
nament was inaugurated. If you think
this is such an easy matter , just write
down the names of the four longest rail
roads in America , before reading further
or without referring to a guide. See
how near right you come. As a rule
nine out of ten persons will miss it.
Even well posted railroad men occasion
ally go astray on this subject , the com
mon error being to place the Santa Fe
system second , while as a matter of fact ,
the Burlington Route passed the Santa
Fe in the mileage race and secured
second place several mouths ago. In
point of mileage , the first four American
railroads are : The Chicago and North
western , the Burlington Route , the
Santa Fe , and the Canadian Pacific.
This information may be had by any
one willing to look into a current issue
of the Traveler's Official Guide. That
BO few persons can correctly name the
four longest American roads is apparent
proof that they do not often see a rail
road guide. Exclusive of side and
double tracks , the mileage of the four
longest roads is as follows : Chicago &
Northwestern , 8,346 miles ; Burlington
Route , 7,859 ; Santa Fe , 7,718 ; Canadian
Pacific , 7,684. Most persons guess the
Pennsylvania and the Southern Pacific
as among the first four. The Southern
Pacific ranks fifth with 7,201 miles ;
then comes the Pennsylvania with 7,098
miles.
The other railroads longer than 2,000
miles follow in the order named :
Chicago , Milwaukee & St. Paul. . 6,420
Southern Railway 6,416
Missouri Pacific 5,826
Great Northern 5,208
Northern Pacific 4,746
Grand Truud 4,188
Illinois Central 8,990
Chicago , Rock Island & Pacific. . . 3,771
Louisville & Nashville 8,285
Union Pacific 8,060
New York Central & Hudson River. 2,924
Big Four 2,845
Missouri , Kansas & Texas 2,222
Baltimore & Ohio 2,204
Plant System 2,140
Erie 2,104
Mexican Central. 2,054
Now York , New Haven & Hartford.2,047
It is surprising to some people to find
so many well known roads of the East
with comparatively small mileage. The
Boston & Albany is only 394 miles long.
In other words , the road that unites
The Hub with the capital of the Empire
State and is one of the busiest and rich
est roads on the continent , is scarcely
more than one-twentieth as long as the
Burlington Route. The Fitchburg road ,
favorably known not only in New Eng
land but all over the country , is exactly
458 miles long , and its mileage would
have to be multiplied by seventeen to
get within hailing distance of the mile
age of the Burlington. The Lackawaua
Line , which has become widely known
as a great trunk line since western enter
prise came to direct its management , is
less than 1,000 miles long , and might be
absorbed as a branch line by any one of
a half dozen western railroads.
Some railroads with but little mileage
have been endowed with uncommonly
long names. The Beaver Meadow ,
Tresckow & New Boston railroad has all
of three miles of track built and in
actual operation. Some day the super
intendent of the department of motive
power and machinery of the Beaver
Meadow , Tresckow and New Boston
railroad may take a trip over his own
line , stretching from Beaver Meadow ,
Pa. , all the way to New Boston , Pa. , a
total distance of twenty-one miles.
The Mauitou & Pike's Peak railroad ,
the famous cog-wheel road ascending
Colorado's lofty peak , is nine miles long ,
but if you tried to walk the ties of this
railroad , you would think it had a mile
age of 999 miles. The Cairo Railroad is
four miles long , and there is a small
road in the Catskill Mountains which
has a mileage of two miles.
The most popular length of the nearly
900 American railroads appears to be less
than ten miles. There are over 600
railroads less than this distance in
length. There are many other interest
ing features which a cursory examina
tion of the mileage of American rail
roads will disclose. But if you want to
collect a few bets from your friends ,
judt ask them to name the four longest
railroads in America. You'll will.
COST OP ONE COMMISSION.
Complying with a resolution of in
quiry , the president sent to the senate
an itemized statement of the expenses
of the Philippine commission. The
statement includes the following items :
Compensation of $10,000 each to Com
missioners Schurman , Worcester and
Denby , $80,000 ; per diem allowance to
commissioners after their return to the
United States , $5,285 ; secretary to com
mission compensation , $8,500 , per diem ,
$3,600 ; ( $12,220) ) ; transportation , $13,687 ;
household expenses in Manila , $9,252 ;
clerical services $31,701 ; miscellaneous ,
$14,998 ; total , $117,185.
The president also transmits , with his
endorsement , a recommendation from
Secretary Hay that provision be made for
payment to the naval and military mem
bers of the commission ( Admiral Dewey
and General Otis ) at the same rate as
that paid to the other members. He
says they have received nothing for their
services in excess of their regular
salaries.
NOT SO EASY A MATTER.
A Scottish prison chaplain , recently
appointed , entered one of the cells on
his first round of inspection , and , with
much pomposity , thus addressed the
prisoner who occupied it : "Well , my
man , do you know who I am ? " "No ,
no I dinna care ! " was the nonchalant
reply. "Well , I'm your new chaplain. "
"Oh , ye are ? Then I hae heard o' ye
before ! " "And what did you hear ? "
returned the chaplain , his curiosity get
ting the better of his dignity. "Well ,
I heard that the last twa kirks ye were
in ye preached them baith empty ; but
ye willna find it such an easy matter to
do the same wi this one. "
H.W.Jft HNS'
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