Read this and find the answers to the questions Railroads Compete for Customers Railroad companies competed fiercely to keep old customers and win new ones. Large railroads offered discounts called rebates (REE • bayts) to their biggest customers. Smaller railroads that could not match these prices were often forced out of business. Giving discounts to big customers, however, meant higher rates for farmers and other customers who shipped small loads.

The railroad barons also made secret agreements with one another to form pools. The companies in a pool divided up business among themselves and set identical rates. This eliminated competition that might drive rates down. Higher rates meant higher profits. There were some laws to regulate the railroads, but they did little to stop the barons.

Railroads Change America

The growing railroad network helped American industry expand into the West. For example, the manufacturing center for farm equipment moved from New York State to Illinois and Wisconsin. Railroads also changed where people lived. Trains brought homesteaders, merchants, and mine workers onto the Great Plains and into the West. They moved people from rural areas to cities as well.

questions:How did rebates affect smaller railroad companies?
Smaller railroads that could not match these prices were often forced out of business.
18. How did rebates affect smaller customers, like farmers?

19. What happened in a railroad pool?

20. What did pooling eliminate that made rates increase?

Railroads Change America
21. How did railroads help industry?
22. How did railroads change where people lived?