The railway express business was started in 1838 by Mr. W. F. Harnden, on a suggestion from Mr. Josiah Quincy, who had to travel weekly from Boston to New York, and was in the habit of taking small packages for business acquaintances. Mr. Alvin Adams became associated with Mr. Harnden, and in 1845 formed the Adams Express Co. In Great Britain, this business is conducted by the parcels-post and the railway companies, but in other European countries it is mainly in the hands of the post-office department.
A very remarkable feature of railway development is that from the beginning there has been a tendency to increased traffic, better service, and a steady reduction in rates. In the United States the average rates per mile since 1867 have been as follows:—
| Year | Passenger, cents | Freight, cents |
|---|---|---|
| 1867 | 1.994 | 1.925 |
| 1870 | 2.392 | 1.889 |
| 1875 | 2.378 | 1.421 |
| 1880 | 2.442 | 1.232 |
| 1885 | 2.216 | 1.011 |
| 1890 | 2.167 | 0.941 |
| 1895 | 2.040 | 0.839 |
| 1896 | 2.019 | 0.806 |
HAGERMAN PASS ON COLORADO MIDLAND R. R.
While the reduction in passenger rates has been comparatively small, it must be remembered that the safety, speed, comfort, and service have greatly improved. The marked reduction in freight rates has been made possible only by a still greater and more remarkable reduction in the cost of transportation. This has been effected by consolidation of companies, by improvements in roadway, bridges, etc., and by the introduction of heavier trains, with engines of greater power and cars of greater capacity. This economy can be still further extended. The reduction in rates has been much greater than that in the prices of commodities. Rates for wheat and hay, for instance, have decreased 23 and 20 per cent more than the market prices, and the rate for shipping anthracite coal to tidewater has decreased 50 per cent in the past ten years, while the price of the coal has decreased only 10 per cent. The average freight rate on the Pennsylvania Railway in 1898 was 0.536 cent per ton per mile, while the cost was 0.369 cent. The cheapness of transportation in the United States is shown by the following figures for 1898:—
| Passengers carried one mile | 13,000,000,000 |
| Tons of freight carried one mile | 95,000,000,000 |
| Revenue from passenger service | $26,000,000 |
| Revenue from freight service | $62,000,000 |
| Distance railway carries 1 passenger to earn $1 profit | 500 miles |
| Distance railway carries 1 ton to earn $1 profit | 1530 miles |
| Average profit per passenger (including baggage) per mile | 2-10 cent |
| Average profit per ton per mile | 1-15 cent |
The lowest passenger rates in the world are on the Indian railways. In Europe the passenger rates average higher than in the United States, though the accommodation is inferior.
Railway transportation has almost entirely superseded barge, canal, and river transportation, except in special cases. This is due to the greater speed, the greater efficiency of service, the greater carrying capacity, and the extent to which spurs and branches are built to enable cars to reach mills, factories, and other industrial plants. It was for a long time held that the low rates of water transportation exerted an influence in keeping railway rates down, but with the present condition of the latter this no longer holds good as a general proposition, especially for the limited capacity of barge canals. The rates established for wheat and corn from Buffalo to New York by rail in 1899 are about 0.23 and 0.18 cent per ton per mile, which is but little above the canal rates, while rail shipments are much more advantageous.
The railway system is a vast employer of labor, directly and indirectly, and several million persons in the United States derive their support from the various railway industries, without taking into account such allied industries as rail mills, bridge works, locomotive works, and car works, etc. The number of direct railway employees (exclusive of the employees of terminal and sleeping-car companies, fast freight lines, etc.) is over 820,000, or over 1.2 per cent of the total population. A large proportion of these represent skilled labor of a high degree of intelligence. France has about 1110 employees per mile of railway, and 10 per cent of these are women. The figures for the United States and Great Britain are as follows:—