Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-03-13
4 million Of doII;srs in The yestly result

y y
Yet one cent per tom per nilc is not an
uncommon error Ga tile contrary; great
cr errers than that are almost universal. 1t
scan,sa be denied that the whole public,
stocklcf lcss, customers and directors. ha-
2,ituaNy le+2z testhe increasing monthly gross
receipts as evidence ef the lacrcisiny pros
penty of their roads; that they habitually
sonfeund The magnitude Of companys re-
seipts with thc na.tsitudc If it's profits.
Yet there is no fact better susceptible of
fIu strictcst mathematical demonstration
tlsar this that the charycs uh;ch mW ySeles
fTc nstrt7suns nett rcrtnUc Da ras2 s9odS
doiny Il miscellaneous LusiacSs mra I've
from one To tw0 cents PR TN per MAie
qrentcr thru Moh which wW protacc Me
nrrrimnm gross yvtenac IF, then, com
pany aims to obtain tie greatest possible
gross revenue, it can only succeed 10y u
great s,1ci1tirc Of drutends.
In fact. the gross receipts Of q company
nmy be enormous and yet insufficient to pay
She expenses Of transportation.
The success Of rail road, after the work
has been properly constructed and placed
nnier e vigorous and economical admins
tration, is still wholly dependent on its ta-
ra Of toll. Every thing else may be right;
hut il tie tariff is wrong the stockholders
E,ust suffer. Aad this tariff, which ought
to be framed from the results of direct and
continued observation and calculation, is
asual)y the resultant of the gucsscs and par
tlalltics of the officers or the most active
members Of the board: or, what is vastly
worse, Of external Influences brought to
bear on the board, or of limitations of the
tariffs Of other roads which had been prcyi-
ously adjusted by the same exterior influ-
ences.
Now, it is net proposed to recommend
rigid adherence in every case to the tariff
which has been adjusted with single eye
80 the procurement Of the maximum profits.
What | advocate is the construction Of such
tariff, in the first instance, as a necessary
guide to the formation of the actual tariff.
The board will be compelled to submit
to semc sacrifices. by having such IL scale
before them they will always have the
means of measuring the value Of the sacri-
fees which they propose to make. It will
aid their Judgment Of the magnitude Of
shcsc sacrifices to knew that while very
small departure from the precise charges
which would yield the greatest nett rcvefl-
ac is always admissible, and small deauc-
4tions from that charge, almost always advi-
sable, material departures from it cannot BE-
vcntarcd upon without entailing great loss
es. 1t is a lac, general and susceptible Of
demonstration, that dcviatisns from the
charges which will yield the greatest nett
profit, will cruise reductions of the nett rev.
enue proportional to the square IF those de-
stations. Hence deviation of only one
snill per ton per mile from the charge whie Il
corresponds with the greatest nett profit
might cause an exceedingly small diminu-
ton Of the profit; while deviation of one
cent would increase the loss consequent on
the deviation one hnnd,ra-fo'd, or one hum
drcd times as nrck as the deviation Ct on
ly one mill whould have caused.
The inynr'ons consequences due to orer-
etarycs are always greater Mun those due
to uuaer-charycs. A charge that is too
high reduces beth the prcfts and the basi-
scss Of the road; and is consequently add
verse both to the interests of the Company
and those of the public.
But at the same time it is very certain
that ovcr-chargcs are much less likely to
occur, or occurring, to continue, than un-
derchargcs. Everybody is on the watch
to protect the public interest. That side Of
the question is abundantly guarded by the
strongest influence in this country-and ir-
resistible public opinion.
But who is there to protect the stock
holders interests? The president? The
president Of rail road company who can
and who darcs always to uphold that inter
est, and will not bend before storm of pub
re opinion, must be formed of the stuff that
heroes used to be made Of Such men arc
She Curtiuses of this commercial age
The method which propose for the con-
struction Of the tll-shcet will have the eff
feet Ct drawing tie revenue from those ar
flccs which can best afford to yield it, and
precisely in the proportion Of their ability
TO contribute. The commodities which are
near market will be taxed higher, while the
same commodities, when drawn from more
scmete points. will be encouraged by lower
charges These results necessarily spring
from the practical application Of lesystem.
which will be always perfect protection
against the two greatest dangers working
for less than cost and over-taxing the dis
tant trade.
do not, Of course, eeiEend that O. tariff
constructed as propose, is q, general pana-
cea far all the financial ills Of the rail road
system. 1t cannot make a road which has
cost too much for the business to be done
upon it, always rcmuncratise to the capital
expended. But under an administration
in other respects judicious, it will draw frols.
every road the best results that the line is
capable Of Attending. If the road is econo-
'nically managed, and there arc the Gle
ncnts of profits in it, this system Of charg-
ang tell will bring them out.
If a company cannot mako dividends with
the random tariff in use. the directors may
be able to find cut, by constructing such
toH-sheet as [ recommend, whether they
cannot do better by another. It might re-
suit that they would find that their charges
'Tcro generallytoo low. They would know
that to increase them would be unpopular.
With the facts plainly made out by
competent officer, and print d and submit
ted for their reflection, they could decide
whick to choose, a popular tariff ard no
dividends or an unpopular one and reasona-
bic profits.
Washington, Octoler Is, 1857.