countries and in all climes, the railway is the great factor of civilization and development, and nowhere is it more so than in the State of North Dakota. With the vast unoccupied public domain within the borders of the State, millions of acres of the most fertile and productive land in the world' awaiting settlement and still unproductive, this State, which a few short years ago was considered a barren wilderness, produced in one cereal alone (wheat) 64,000,000 bushels, and this is an under-estimate of the crop of 1891. With numerous commercial centers springing up in every section of the State, it is indeed important and essential that the laws regulating railway corporations should be so framed as to guard the interests of both the people and the railway companies, and as nearly as possible to deal out even-handed justice to the farmer, the merchant and the railway corporation, for the one is just as necessary to the welfare and prosperity of the State as the other.

Although the fact is apparent that the Commissioners of Railroads have not the power necessary to the satisfactory adjustment of the differences that arise from time to time between the railway companies and their patrons, they have given all complaints, applications and petitions for improvements and betterments a careful and thorough investigation and consideration, and in some cases their requests have been promptly complied with by the railway managers. Remaining as they have, in many cases, an advisory board, without the power of final judgment or of enforcing their decrees and orders, they have met with some success in the adjustment of the matters in difference which they have been called upon to consider and investigate. In nearly all cases where the Commissioners have, after careful consideration and investigation, made a request or demand that a wrong be righted, the railway companies have been prompt to acknowledge their error and right the wrong, and although many complaints have been made over which the Commissioners of Railroads have no jurisdiction, the majority have been such as to command careful investigation and sometimes decisive action.

In submitting this report, the Commissioners of Railroads desire to call your attention, and that of the Legislature next ensuing, to the fact that under the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter 126 of the Session Laws of 1891, being an act entitled "An act to regulate grain warehouses and the weighing and handling of grain, and defining the duties of the Railroad Commissioners in relation thereto," the proprietors or lessees or managers of all public warehouses or elevators in this State shall file a bond in the office of the Commissioners of Railroads of the State, to the State of North Dakota, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by said Commissioners of Railroads, and that provision is further made by Rule V of the "Rules and Regulations for the Inspection f Grain and Government of Public Warehouses of the State of

North Dakota," adopted by the Commissioners of Railroads August 1, 1891. Out of all the public warehouses and elevators doing business in the State of North Dakota, a full list of which will be hereinafter given, only three have filed a bond in the office of the Commissioners of Railroads, in compliance with the provisions of said act; all of the remainder of these public warehouses and elevators doing business in this State are doing so in open and bold defiance of the law. The proper regulation of these public warehouses and elevators in the State of North Dakota, is second in importance only to the proper regulation of the railway lines in the State, and in many instances it is the paramount and chief issue and the greatest source of trouble and irritation in the State. Of the complaints, petitions and applications, and adjustments and recommendations made thereon, the report will hereinafter treat specifically.

Among the items of information required by law to be embodied in this report, and which will be found in the complete tables compiled, are the following concerning each railway company doing business in the State:

The amount of capital stock.

The amount of preferred stock.

The amount of funded indebtedness.

The amount of current liabilities and assets.

The cost of road and equipment.

The schedule of property owned.

The mileage owned.

The mileage operated.

The passenger and freight and train mileage.

The description of equipment.

The consumption of fuel by locomotives.

The renewals of rails and ties.

The accidents to persons.

The characteristics of road.

The car mileage.

Employes and salaries.

Contracts, agreements, etc., affecting business in the State of North Dakota.

Important changes during the year.

Operating expenses.

The history of the road.

The organization.

The list of officers of each road, giving name, office and place of residence, and a general statement of the transportation business of each road.

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA.

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONERS OF RAILROADS,
BISMARCK, December 31, 1891.

TO THE HONORABLE ANDREW H. BURKE,

Governor of the State of North Dakota.

}

SIR: In compliance with Section 18, Chapter 122, Session Laws of 1890, being "An act to regulate common carriers, and defining the duties of the Commissioners of Railroads in relation thereto, in the State of North Dakota," we respectfully submit herewith the Second Annual Report of the Commissioners of Railroads of the State of North Dakota for the year ending December 31, 1891, with detailed reports from the various railway companies operating lines of railway in this State.

The duties imposed by law upon the Commissioners of Railroads of this State are varied and numerous; and while the Commissioners have accomplished some things of which they may speak with gratification, changes are expected and improvements demanded by the public which, under the existing laws of the State, are impossible. That every resident and citizen of the State of North Dakota is deeply interested and concerned in the railway interests of the State, is so plain and patent that it would seem to be unnecessary to urge the Legislature, which is supposed to represent the great farming interests of the State, to so amend the law that the Commissioners may more fully represent the interests of both the people and the railway companies, and accomplish results which may lead to a better understanding and more satisfactory feeling between the railway companies and the people. All the property in the State, every farm, every business house, every improvement, and all that pertains to the material interest, welfare and prosperity of the masses, is dependent, to a very large degree, upon the railways, and it is imperative that the law should be so amended and equalized that it will advance the interests of the farmer, the merchant and the railway company; that it will, in fact as well as in theory, protect the interests of all, and prevent unjust discrimination of the one against the other. In all

countries and in all climes, the railway is the great factor of civilization and development, and nowhere is it more so than in the State of North Dakota. With the vast unoccupied public domain. within the borders of the State, millions of acres of the most fertile and productive land in the world awaiting settlement and still unproductive, this State, which a few short years ago was considered a barren wilderness, produced in one cereal alone (wheat) 64,000,000 bushels, and this is an under-estimate of the crop of 1891. With numerous commercial centers springing up in every section of the State, it is indeed important and essential that the laws regulating railway corporations should be so framed as to guard the interests of both the people and the railway companies, and as nearly as possible to deal out even-handed justice to the farmer, the merchant and the railway corporation, for the one is just as necessary to the welfare and prosperity of the State as the other.

Although the fact is apparent that the Commissioners of Railroads have not the power necessary to the satisfactory adjustment of the differences that arise from time to time between the railway companies and their patrons, they have given all complaints, applications and petitions for improvements and betterments a careful and thorough investigation and consideration, and in some cases their requests have been promptly complied with by the railway managers. Remaining as they have, in many cases, an advisory board, without the power of final judgment or of enforcing their decrees and orders, they have met with some success in the adjustment of the matters in difference which they have been called upon to consider and investigate. In nearly all cases where the Commissioners have, after careful consideration and investigation, made a request or demand that a wrong be righted, the railway companies have been prompt to acknowledge their error and right the wrong, and although many complaints have been made over which the Commissioners of Railroads have no jurisdiction, the majority have been such as to command careful investigation and sometimes decisive action.

In submitting this report, the Commissioners of Railroads desire to call your attention, and that of the Legislature next ensuing, to the fact that under the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter 126 of the Session Laws of 1891, being an act entitled "An act to regulate grain warehouses and the weighing and handling of grain, and defining the duties of the Railroad Commissioners in relation thereto," the proprietors or lessees or managers of all public warehouses or elevators in this State shall file a bond in the office of the Commissioners of Railroads of the State, to the State of North Dakota, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by said Commissioners of Railroads, and that provision is further made by Rule V of the "Rules and Regulations for the Inspection f Grain and Government of Public Warehouses of the State of