Most people know about the great railroad explosion following the end of the Civil War, but few know about the carnage committed against fellow rail owner James J. Hill out of sheer jealousy.
Hill built a profitable railroad line without government subsides following the end of the Civil War. Unlike his competitors, Hill built his lines slowly and focused on trade, stability, and quality, rather than obtaining government subsidies. His rail line would not advance until it had established itself as a viable mode of transportation in the region. Part of Hill’s “secret to success” was that he, unlike his competitors, looked to the future and realized that a well built product could run more efficiently and have lower maintenance costs over time. Hill has even been quoted as saying, “What we want is the best possible line, shortest distance, lowest grades, and least curvature we can build.”
As has been stated in history over and over, any job worth doing is worth doing well. This mantra allowed Hill’s railroad to succeed, advance, and turn a sizeable profit. Hill’s expansion into the Asian market also helped him to succeed as the Orient was a then, untapped resource and an additional source of income. Where there was no market along the line, Hill created one by offering incentives to private individuals willing to tap the resources near the rail lines and offering discounts to new “customers”. These business practices ensured that his railroad would be utilized effectively and generate income for further expansion.
The Great Northern Railway was the ONLY transcontinental railroad that did NOT go bankrupt and in fact expanded during the depression of the 1890’s garnering Hill admiration, fame, and envy. Resentful rail owners saw his success as a threat to their own existence and as such were driving force in the creation of Anti-trust laws. Here was a line generating revenue, not taking federal money, operating at a lower cost than the competition and expanding into foreign markets; this could NOT be allowed to continue.
The competition’s lines were poorly built(some were even built atop frozen earth that then thawed), constantly in repair, chose long winding routes that used more fuel and thusly went bankrupt over and over. The green eyed monster finally saw an opportunity to destroy a successful privateer when the Trust Buster took the oath of office. On March 14th under the Sherman Anti Trust law, Hill’s Northern Securities Company was dissolved and Hill’s “empire” was never the same.
