Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1849-03-09
Railroad Fares and Preirhts.

place furnishes a suitable occasion for some re- |
marks upon the effect Of high aud low fares on
the increase Of Railroads, and We bespeak for |
them the candid consideration as well Of the d. |
rectors, rs the stockholders aud the public
In the early use Of Railroads, the fare charged |
was about cents per mile, and has gradually
and reluctantly fallen to ~ and cents. On
many Of the most important roads, as the Erie, |
and New York and New Haven, the fare is only
cents per mile, and the consequence is, these
road, arc ihrongcd with passengers five stop
to think Of tho character and habits of the peo-
PIE Of the considerations which influence them 4
aud us in the expenditure Of money, and of the
entirely new state Of things produced by Rail. |
road facilities, II does seem that Railroad COM
panies would comprehend how immensely tho |
ratio Of travel Is increased as the ezpense Of Is
lesscned.
Much Of the prejudice that exists on this sub
iect grows out the cost Of transportation by the |
former modes Of travel Stages, which have
until recently been the usual mode Of travel,
could carry but certain and limited number.-
Their capacity, at the utmost, was small stage
could not be made to hold more than ten or
ficelre, and the fare had 10 be regulated BY this
fact. A reduction Of fare below that which
compensated for carrying stage load would re-
suit in loss, because il it increased the number
of passengers il also increased in like proportion
the cost of transportation.
But how is il with Rairoadsg The engine
that came from Boston to the celebration brought
over thousand, and is capable Of drawing hro
thousand passengers, without any appreciablc in
crease Of cost Lcyond that necessary to draw ten,
except the wear Of the passenger cars in which
they ride. Here then is new element which
never before existed in the medium of iranspor-.
iation, and which changes entirely the circum-
stances which formerly regulated the rate of4are
and freight The increase Of travel does not
now cause any proportionate increase of the
cost Of transportation, and experience proves
that the increase Of the business Of Railroad is
veryeonsiderably greater than an increase proper
Tomato to the reduction Of fare or freight; that
Is TO say, the reduction Of fare one half. moro
than doubles, !, nearly quadruples the travel
This is not true universally, but depends upon
7 the densencss Of the population and business
character of the country. II could not be true
between isolated towns or through mer. ngri-
cultural country and the profitable reduction Of
fare and freight is in proportion generally to the
population and business OF the country. There
is for every district Of country, without doubt, an
amount Of fare and freight which will give a
muximum stimulus to travel and business, and a
maximum profit to the road What that point
is, observation, experience and trial mus, dis.
close.
This subject has excited great attention IN
Europe, and has received careful and thorough
: investigation. Our Railroad directors will do
well to profit by their researches. The Dublin
: and Kingston Road, six miles long, cost near
100000 per mile. High fares were imposed,
and Il yielded only three per cent, and com
miiiee was appointed 10 devise some way of in.
crcasing the dividend. They reported that The
best mode of doing II was 10 give "ls people ne
greatest omouEf If accommodation for ne least
anposnf Of mooney BY running frequent trains
az high speed, for ioe rates Of fare The policy
was adopted, and in the course Of four years
they divided Ten per cent.
The Glasgow and Greenock Railroad Is twenty
u
nv, 80 ''"n' sn1 IVN'p'es WI" .,'", n a',a
AD 80 800 '4e VPe''"s " s"e .'A'''
O'1 .S0 '''o r-' ''v"' '"s"'' ave V any WINS
a"u 'a' "u",De' y p1''s"ss's PER year was
$500 ~, - =" 80. az u NJ eeI''
-s -. 80 80 0rN'''s ,-N -'-''''''- ,'e
"s .s-es' 80 = !,
u ~. ~ ~ " s- ee"', s-'e.r,u
. 49, -. -, "e 80
pSp-'"e" ~ eNis''~s ~.
Nv. ~ ~ s"NN' - ~" ,.'s y" '"i'
~ 'io" 80 - 'a''
~ 'es"eS1 !" 49, ee"'1 '0' '"e '"Sn''-
'"'s, ''".,' anu 'nVus" '"e'' vas NJ 'e'ueuo"
% y" o s' '-0 gus 'e.s'P" "e's "',
',sA'eu yyN'" P' ,'". in io1' ''e 'n'ru
,as. 'a'e' "s.e 'I''v' " '"e"'y''"o Genus anu
e s'o'' is'eiP'' 's'' V'i more 'han &c" per ee'n'
D.'"''" '"s'e '"''' p'A'.s 'n''e was III ioi4
o"'' ""'N'y ''''"' '"''!'''s aoou' ''e' n'0.isaha
pas'e"se's psi a"nu'n' "hi'e ho Popuiauoh Oh
o'& was on.y uouo'e 'ha' OF ioi4' Sueh are
81