Mississippi River From Pike's Peak
Riverboat in Muscatine, 1883
Riverboat Passes Through Dubuque, 1959
Train on Trestle, Preston 
Train Crosses Viaduct at Boone
Majestic Riverboat Reigned on the Mississippi
Passenger Train
Steam Train Crossing Bridge 2004
Railroad Map of Iowa, 1881
Steam Train
Railroad Tracks Across IowaRailroad Challenges
Iowans were excited to see the
railroads move into their towns and cities. The coming of railroads meant
faster freight service and passenger travel. There was much to like about
railroads. But there were problems too.
Powerful Railroad Companies Irk Iowans
After working hard to bring the
railroads to almost every part of the state, farmers found railroad companies
were not as wonderful as they had thought. The goal for the railroads was
to make as much money as possible. Rates were set unfairly. Some railroad
companies charged more for short hauls within the state than they did for
freight going all the way to Chicago. Competition between railroads on similar
routes should have meant lower fares, but companies often made agreements
to charge the same price or to pool their earnings and split the profits.
As railroads grew in size they also grew in power. Legislators were unwilling
to make laws affecting railroads. For many years they had received free railroad
passes. Legislators thought they might lose this special treatment if they
passed laws the railroad owners did not like. The problem came to a head in
1888. Were railroads meant to serve the public welfare or their owners?
Iowa’s Governor Leads the Way
Iowa Governor William Larrabee considered the railroad question very important. He believed there should be some controls over the prices railroads charged. He led a campaign to control railroad rates and told the public about the way railroad companies did business. The campaign succeeded and the legislature passed a law that controlled freight rates. A commission of three was organized to review the rates. They were to decide on a fair charge to the customer and a fair rate of profit for the railroad. At first, the railroad companies tried to find a way to block the law. After their failure to win in court, the companies’ leaders decided to adopt the Iowa commissioners’ rates. The Iowa railroads continued to grow in size and earnings. Lower rates encouraged new manufacturers to build factories in Iowa, and the railroads had more business. Governor Larrabee had done his job well for all the people of Iowa.
Railroad Workers Were Unhappy
Sometimes there were problems between
the railroad employees and the railroad owners and managers. Employees often
worked 10, 12 and even 16 hours a day. Sometimes they did not receive extra
pay for the extra hours they worked. Conditions on the job were often very
dangerous. Workers joined together to improve their poor working conditions
and increase their salaries. They formed labor organizations with leaders
to represent the workers in talks with their employers.
The year 1888 was a tough one for railroad owners. The legislature in Iowa
was busy making laws to control railroad freight rates. And along the Burlington
Route the railroad locomotive engineers and firemen went on strike.
They refused to work because they believed the Burlington officials were not
paying them fairly. Other railroad workers who supported their cause walked
off their jobs too.
The Burlington officials hired other men to work the strikers’ jobs
and announced the passenger trains would run on schedule. As the weeks passed
with the Burlington officials standing firm, some strikers turned to violence.
Dynamite charges exploded at Creston near the railroad shops. The violence
only hurt the public’s opinion of the strikers. After 11 months the
workers decided they could not get what they asked for and called off the
strike.
The strike did have an effect. Because the Burlington could not keep all its
freight trains running, the company lost money. The strikers lost their jobs
and eventually had to find work somewhere else. The union lost the faith of
the workers. The business people in railroad towns were affected too. Railroad
employees had been good customers, and the strikers had less money to spend
after they quit their jobs. The enginemen’s leaders learned lessons
from the strike that would help them to be successful in settling future disagreements
with railroad officials.
Mixed Feelings
While the railroads brought benefits to the people of Iowa, they also brought problems. Faster freight service and passenger travel were offset by high prices. People saw the railroad companies earning excessive profits, and this didn’t seem right to frugal Iowa farmers and business owners. People who worked for the railroads saw the companies earning excessive profits while they were paid low wages. When people heard the whistle of the trains as they chugged into town, they had mixed feelings about what that meant.
