CHAPTER XLIII.

RAILROAD INVESTMENTS. VASTNESS OF OUR RAILROAD SYSTEM.—ITS COST.—FALL IN THE RATE OF INTEREST.—TENDENCY TO A FOUR PER CENT. RATE ON RAILROAD BONDS.—EFFECT OF THE CHANGE ON STOCKS.—PROSPECTIVE SPECULATION.—SOME SOCIAL INEQUITIES TO BE ADJUSTED THROUGH CHEAPER TRANSPORTATION. There are, perhaps, few who distinctly realize the magnitude of the amount of capital invested in the railroads of the United States. The immense area over which our population is distributed necessitates a much greater length of rai…