THE program of railroad construction outlined in the two
previous chapters permanently changed the western railroad
equilibrium. The roads east of the Missouri crossed the river,
and the roads west of the river crossed to the territory on
the east. Gould's southwestern system no longer was the only
line which connected Chicago and the Middle West with Texas.
The Atchison was a new competitor, and the Rock Island having
thrown its lines west across the state of Kansas into Denver, and
south to the Kansas-Oklahoma boundary, was another disturbing
factor. In the Northwest, the Burlington had invaded southern
Minnesota by acquiring a working interest in the affiliated Chi-
cago, Burlington & Northern. The construction of the Canadian
Pacific and the provision of through routes over the road and its
connections, and the development of railroad-owned steamship
lines on the Great Lakes from Duluth were other factors which
upset the delicate balance of territorial equality established prior
to the events of the middle eighties.

The construction and expansion programs stimulated in large
part by the policies of Gould introduced new forces which in a
short time broke down almost the entire rate structure, both
through and local. Demoralizing disturbances sufficient in extent
to reduce earnings and impair financial structures had formerly
been confined to eastern territory. These disturbances had been
brought under control by various devices. The textbook of re-
corded experience served no useful purpose however in teaching
western railroad men the perils of rate cuts. They themselves had
to undergo the experience personally before they could be made
to adopt most of the measures the eastern railroad men had
adopted. When rate wars had produced their baneful effects
upon railroad earnings and finances in the West, it was Gould
who for the first time in his career assumed leadership in an

-554-