Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-03-18
Railroad Charger.

Mr. Charles E.let, Jr, the most accom-
Ilished of American engineers, has addres-
sed An admirable letter to the National In
tcligencer on the subject Of Railroad charges
for freight and passengers. This able pro-
duction shows the rulnOus effects OF an I'M
properly arranged Railroad tariff, both from
understanding and 0vercharging. The New
| Ic!S and Erie Railroad stock rs worth next
To nothing, yet this road annually transports
more than n million Of passengers and over
thrce-quarers of u million Of tons OF freight.
Tie gross annual traffic Ut this road, In
freight, says Mr. Ellet, is about equivalent
t, eigb, millions OF barrels of -four, q mum
Der which, laid side by side in row, would
this magnificent and most valuable Improve
ment does not pay, because iis managers
have adopted an inadequate tariff OF TOLLS
Another illustration mentioned by MIR. Ellet
is the Reading Railroad Company. Pennsyl-
vanln. aud some idea OF its business be gives
! by stating that it transports coal enough
! euery SIR months 20 bill up the whole Of Penn
sylyania Avenue, Washington, depth Of
forty feet, from the base Of the Capitol to
the Presidents Mansion, with vast quaint
ties of merchandise. and heavy travel in
addition. The stock of this road is selling
for about OHe-SiLth or Oae-Seuenth Of its par
value Mr.. Eilet also mentions four great
companies engaged in the TRANSFORMATION OF
the nuthr icte coal of Pehnsyv nj from
the mines to the seaboard, works which,
with their outfits, have cost about fifty mil
lions Of dollars. They carry now about six
anf
to form pile forty feet wide forty feet high.
and thirty miles long, yet, these companies,
oycrburdened with trade, each seeking to de-
stroy the other's prospe ity, adjust their
charges so ~ to render the prosperity OF any
one Of them impossible.
But it is not only q company that ear
ries habitually for les than cost that must
20 to ruin. Mr.. Elet expresses the opin-
ion that 1.-The Injurious consequences due tn
overcbanges are always greater than those
due 10 undercharyes." A charge that is too
high reduces both the profits and the buSi-
ness Of the road, and Is consequently ad-
verse, both to the interests Of the company
and those of the public. Again, to show
how important to the prosperity OF com
pany correct tariff OF charges is-neith-
er to- high nor too low--he says: at is
tar general, and susceptible OF demon
-trauon that deviations from the charges
which will yield the greatest nett profit,
will cause reductions of the nett revenue,
proyortloHaito the square If those deuiGtIo"s.
ence, u deviation vi ouly QUO mill per ton
per mile from the charge which corresponds
with the greatest nett profit, might cause
an exceedingly small diminuton of the prof.
It, while deviation Of 0ac cent would in
crease the loss consequent on the deviation
one hHn,ircd tnid. or cne hundred times as
much "a the deviation Of one mill would
have caused This is an astounding fact
when it is remembered, too, that devia
ton Of one cent too high il even more in
furious than deviation Of one cent the
ether way. Mr.. Ellet, then, well asks the
question, which should rivet the whole at
teution of every railroad company: What
subject can be presented to q Board of Rail
road Directors Of greater Importance, or
more worthy of labor and study than tho
preparation of it's tariff of charges 2"-Rich.
Dispatch.