The fact is, railroad men are opposed, and always have been opposed, to reduction of rates, and to all progressive movements that require increased expenditures or threaten to temporarily reduce their revenues. When the introduction of the zone system was first advocated in Hungary it was opposed by just such men and just such arguments. No one can contradict the following facts, viz.: That the average cost of European roads is much greater than that of American roads; that the number of railroad employes per mile is much greater there than here; that much larger sums are expended for repairing and improving the roads, and that therefore the lives of passengers are much safer in Europe than in America; and that the average speed and corresponding accommodations of European trains, and especially those of England, Germany, France and Austria-Hungary, compare quite favorably with the average speed and corresponding accommodations of our roads. It is, under these circumstances, absurd to claim that the higher prices charged by American roads are due to the greater cost of service. Mr. Hadley's labors as a railroad author have, it seems, greatly increased his corporation bias. In an address which he delivered before the American Bankers' Association at New Orleans in November, 1891, upon the subject of "Recent Railroad Legislation and its Effects upon the Finances of the Country," he made a number of assertions which ill comport with the fairness of a public statistician or the wisdom of a Yale professor. After a few introductory remarks, Prof. Hadley made the following statement: "Every one knows that railroad property has fallen in value since the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act four years and a half ago; few have made any accurate estimate of the amount of that fall. Let us take the stock of the leading railroad systems centering in Chicago as a type. Here we find an aggregate shrinkage of over $60,000,000, or more than one-quarter of the par value of the stocks. Par Value. Price. Shrinkage. Apr. 4, Nov. 4, 1887. 1891. C., M. & St. P. $30,904,261 93 75 $5,560,000 " " Preferred 21,555,900 122 119 647,000 C. & N. W. 31,365,900 121 116 1,568,000 " " Preferred 22,325,454 148 139 2,009,000 C., R. I. & P. 41,960,000 126 82 18,462,000 C., B. & Q. 77,540,500 140 98 32,567,000 ----------- ---------- Total. $225,651,000 $60,815,000"