The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-04-18

supelsI'ctufe Drloges, Ties, FENCES, STATION
buildings wood part OF cars, abrasion of the
banks ad certain station expenses are neither
increase nor diminished by the through or con-
tDgent lnsiness. This has been estimated at
fully onethrd Of the whole expenses Of road
including lis equipment, proving beyond doubt,
cavil or dispute, that contingent or through bust
mesa malbe done ct two.thirds the average rate
per mil,of other business, and afford as large
proft ss he local business which, without the aid
OF this log business, would have all this expense
to bear.
The INST troublesome and difficult part of the
railroad bsinees has been the adaptation Of the
capscitiesf the road to the endless variety Of
circumstances and conditions which daily present
themselves If dead level Of rates were posi-
bic. railrca managers would have seized with
the greatest svidity upon the pro rata principle,
and their work were then well nigh done. II Is
because OF he utter impossbity Of this system
that the eeat necessity exists; that men Of
much experience and capacity to judge OF the
course oil tnde, and TO foresee the wants Of the
country and wisely meet all the varied wants of
the community consistent with the interests COM
mitted TO iiim, should be selected as managers
Of cur road.
"a pro ras rate on passengers is equally IN
Just rs on fright, although the injustice may not
be so apparent II ignores the difference between
the coet Of tong business by wholesale and re.
tail. Can passenger be carried through line
OF road, being taken on and of, with his baggage,
al every station as cheaply and with as little risk
as be can be carried through at one sitting Who
pays the stafion-man for handling and caring for
bis baggage, for warming and lighting the passen.
ger-house! Who guarantees that he will not
break his limb. or otherwise inure himself at the
forty OF fifty stations where he gets off? And the
least that can be said is, that the company runs
forty or fifty chances 20 one of the through pas.
seDger. And shall this passenger demand all this
at the same rate OF the wholesale or through pas
eenger?
off the matters herein stated are true, it fol.
lows:
"First-that pro rata or uniform rates would be
both unjust and impracticable. Unjust to rail-
roads and their patrons, and altogether imDracti-
cable in their adoption.
"Second-That the varied Increasing wants OF
this new country could not be developed and
changed 10 meet the demand Of o dsnser popula.
ton Of various Industrial pursuits.
" Third-That through, long or contingent bust.
nees may now be done, and that it isnow done by
the roads OF Illinois, at q large and remuneratinR
prOft--even at twothirds the average rate Of
local business.
Fourth-Ths. with any bill establishing equal
rates per mile per ton OF freight, or per head OF
passengers, all this business would be lost to the
roads Of Illinois that run only within the State.
know not Of a single exception.
I" Fhth-That the profits thus lost to the roads
from extraneoJs business would have to be
charged on locs business, thus adding to the 10.
cal rates and greatly increasing The burdens OF the
people.
Sixth-Notariff of rates can be adopted that
does not LOOK to just remuneration for capital
invested, and not attainabe from long business,
it must come rom short or local business.
" SeveDth-Fbat the adoption of the measure
will reduce tb city of Chicago from its position
ss the metropolis OF the great Northwest, having
an empire forts constituency, to one having only
q moiety Of te State Of Illinois from which TO de.
rive its trade and to which it will contribute sup.
plies and devdopmentfor all business subject to the
completion o. other routes would have TO be aban.
doned. Ihegreatest railroad center of the world
aIrrnk In II. =
the lie givento the commercial sagacity which
mede il such .-'....-.--..
"Eighth-hst uniform or pro rata rate will
greatly uDsetle values. Enlarging the value of
farms and APPROACHING industries near market in
a ratio that vii greatly astonish the unthinking,
and reduce In like proportion the value of the
more distant mes.
'Ninth-PDbsbiy while a farm within ten
miles OF giNn market can have its graia trans.
ported for thee and one-quarter to four cents
per bushel, th farm les miles from the same
market wouldpsy forty cents per bushe. Differ
ence per acrein yield Of thirty bushels TO the
acre Of ten dGars, being TIE interest on a differ.
ence IN valnel the farms Of over one hundred
and fifty dollrs per acre. This would utterly
aDnhilste all alues In the distant farms as com.
petition in the Same market with the nearby
farmer.
Mr.. Albert Fink. The able general suPeriuton-
dent of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad,
says in his LIST annual report:
"The revnue derived from through business is
nearly 81 pc cent. Of the total revenue, and over
GA per centDf the local earnings. Although IL il
generally coceded that the transaction of large
through bu;ness over the road must prove remu-
neratiye to be company, the fact that local in-
terests are thereby also greatly benefited ia
hardly eveIappreciated. 1t is no doubt for this
reason thatocal shippers consider ii an act OF
Injustice tcthem-the builders Of the rosd-that
the rsilroa company transports freight coming
a nleQn n uvh
freight sfower rates than is charged for local
freight. hey argue--and to those who are ig-
norsnt OF be principles which govern the case
their arguments must appear plausible enough
that the eople who contributed their means
towards th building of the road should have the
preferenceover those who never furnished dol.
lar for its obstruction. Were it merely a ques-
ton of preference, this should certainly be the
case: Bunn reality the question Is this: Shall
the througl business be secured to the road or
shall it be permitted TO pass over other routes /!
IL lie evder that If the rates are not made 10 meet
competing lines of transportation. this class of
business INST be lost to the company altogether.
During he past year this company realized
from throuh Business alone the sum CT sSl2 $50
rs, of which IS 76.l00 per cent. was expended 10
operating The road, leaving g net croft of 1885,
2l3 81, equa to &c 47.l00 per cent. of the entire
net revenue Thus, people living at a distance,
who had nothing TO do With the building Of the
road, contributed largely toward making it a sue
eessful enterprise. Nor are the owners OF the
road alone benefited By this business. The sum
of s477,6 22 SO, operating expenses, was nearly
all expended along the line Of the road, thus slim
uatDg TRACE by increasing the wealth of the
States through which the road passes. Now if
this busiDesshsd not been secured to the road at
such ratef az could be obtained, il would have
been necessary either to have increased the local
rates SO Aldo per cent, or to have reduced the
annual diyihnd 10 per cent, leaving 1t at
10 Instead OF per cent. on the capital stock.
But as long the road operated in the interest
OF all the stockholders, and not for the benefit Of
certain class Of shippers. the main object must
always be 70 secure a sufficient revenue TO pay q
reasonable dividend on the capital invested. |
Hence, il the through business Is neglected, is
forced over rival routes account of high rates,
the local shipper must.ether contribute the whole
smount or tie loss or the owners Of the road lose
the interest their capital, 10 which latter case
he local shippers must still furnish the entire op.
Grating expenses as otherwise the road conld not |
be kept In running order for any length of time.
The unavoidable result, therefore, wonld be to |
-aise the local tariff, while on the other hand,
with a large through business, the company would
be ensbled TO lower it.
'In view Of these facts II IL apparent that the |
opposition SO frequently made by local interests TO
be efforts Of railroad companies to secure |
through business, by judicious extensions or close
Of bafr rnaI mill