In the first place, it is plain that no more than a century ago the world had comparatively very little need for railways. Each community produced from its farms and shops most of the things which it needed; and the interchange of goods between different sections, while considerable in the aggregate, was as nothing in comparison with modern domestic commerce. The king's highways were open to every one, and though monopolies for coach lines were sometimes granted and toll roads were quite common, there was no possibility for any really harmful monopoly in transportation to arise, because the necessity of transportation was so small. Some writer has ascribed all the evils of modern railway monopolies to the fact that in their establishment the old principle of English common law that the king's highway is open to every man, was disregarded. But if we sift down this ancient maxim of law to its essential principle, we find it to be, _there must be no monopoly in transportation_; and the problem of obtaining the advantages of modern railway transportation and keeping up, at the same time, the free competition that exists in transportation on a highway is seen to be as far from solution as before. The importance of our railway traffic is proven by statistics. Of the total wealth annually produced in this country, it is probably a fair estimate to say that ten per cent. is paid for transportation of the raw material and finished goods in their various journeys between producers, dealers, and consumers, and for transportation of passengers whose journeys directly or indirectly contribute to the nation's industry. That is to say, the gross yearly earnings of all the railroads and transportation lines of the country is about one tenth of the total value of all the year's products. The average is brought down by the amount of sustenance still consumed in the locality where it is produced, and by the amount of valuable merchandise. But of the bulky products like coal and grain, the greater part of the cost to the remote consumer is due to the cost of carriage.