st to exceed $10,000 a
mile. Very recently the Union Pacific Railroad Company proved, before
the Board of Equalization at Salt Lake City, by the testimony of
engineers, that the average cost per mile of the Utah Central line was
only $7,298.20, itemized as follows:

Engineering $ 300 00
Grading 5-ft. fill, 18,480 yds. 2,310 00
Ties, 2,640, at 30 cts. 792 00
Rails, 82 tons 1,845 00
Splices 12 00
Bolts 24 00
Spikes 142 20
Track-laying 600 00
Bridges 200 00
Station-building 100 00
Fences 150 00
Right of way 720 00
---------
$7,298 20

In a recent article Mr. C. Wood Davis states that "many auxiliary lines
have been built at costs ranging from $8,000 to $15,000 per mile, and
capitalized at two, three, four, and even five times their cost, as in
the case of the 107 miles of the Kansas Midland, costing, including a
small equipment, but $10,200 per mile, of which 30 per cent. was
furnished by the municipalities along its line. Yet, with construction
profits and other devices, this road shows a capitalization of $53,000
per mile."

And that "the Missouri Pacific line from Eldora to McPherson, Kansas, a
comparatively expensive prairie road, being located across the line of
drainage, cost much less than $10,000 per mile, as have thousands of
miles of other prairie roads."

It is safe to say that $25,000 is a liberal estimate of the average cost
per mile of American roads to the stock-and bondholders, and that their
capitalization represents $38,000 of water per mile. The total net
earnings of the railroads of the country were $341,666,639 in 1890, and
$356,227,883 in 1891, upon an actual investment of only about
$4,250,000,000. This is a return of about 8-1/2 per cent. and shows the
force of Mr. Poor's statement that, if the water were squeezed out of
railroad securities, no better-paying investment could be found in the
country.

We often see references to the fact that no dividends are paid upon a
large portion of railroad stocks, but there is no reason why dividends
should be paid upon many of them, as they represent no ca