The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1874-07-11
RAILROAD EARNINGS IN1S73.

RAILROAD EARNINGS IN 1878.
Poor's "Manual of Railroads for
1873" furnishes some information
that perhaps will be surprising.
Notwithstanding the panic of Sep
tember. and the subsequent suspen-
sion and prostration of SO much
/ business, the railroads Of the United
States had a more prosperous sea-
son than they had had for several
years. In 1871 there were built in
this country 1860 miles of railway !;
IN 1872 there were 6, ,l67 miles; and
in 1878 there were 3,9l6 miles. In
the three years there were built no
less than ,743 miles of railway,
the most of which has been unpro-
ductive, and a large portion not
earning enough to pay operating ex-
penses, mnch less pay interest on
bonds. Many of these railways
have been built on the no cash syS-
TEN that is to say, exclusively on
credit, in many cases thereby doub-
ling the cost Of the construction.
But it will be seen that the business
of building railways had received a
decided check before the panic
struck it crushing blow. The
work had been overdone, and the
market was overloaded with rail
road bonds, representing more than
the value Of roads, which were not
earning enough to pay the cost OF
running the trains. At the close Of
1873 there were completed 1900
miles of railway. At the close of
1872 there were completed IN the
United States 66,237 miles OF rail
way, which were in operation in
1873. There was outstanding and
supposed to represent the cost OF
these roads an Indebtedness thus
made up:
Capital stock 81, ,947, ,638, 584
Bonds and other forms of debt l, 1,S36, 9O4 ,45O
Total assumed cost S3,7S4, 543, O34
This sum includes, in addition to
the actual cash cost, the watered
stock, and the bonds and stock vot-
ed as gratuities to the construction
companies, etc.
The earnings of these railways
for 1873 were as follows:
From passengers $l37, 3S4 ,427
From freight t-----------------3S0 ,035, ,50S
Gross earnings 1926, AIS, ,935
Operating expenses 3a2, ,6O9, 3l3
Net earnings --------------Sl Slo3,o 0o2
This, it must be remembered, in
cludes all the unproductiye and non
paying railroads OF the country, aud
shows that the operating expenses
averaged % per cent, leaving 80
I per cent rs net earnings. While a
large number of roads defauIted in
the payment Of interest on bonds
and passed dividends, there was
paid in cash for dividends on stock
$67,12O,O00, or an average of 3.45
per cent on the aggregate par value
of capital stock, aud SIG, 200, 900 as
interest on bonds, equal to 6.25 per
cent on the whole bonded indebted
ness of all the roads. Omittlng the
railro ads,-mainly speculative and
built in advance Of any business re
cently-which defaulted, the divi-
dends for 1873, computed on stock
and bonds swollen far beyond the
honest cost of the railway, were not
only liberal but promptly paid.
~
/ LIGH7,NLNG RODS AND METAL
ROOFS.
Prof. John Wise recently read a
paper on Lightning and Thunder
bolts" before the Franklin Institute,
Philadelphia, in which he expressed
the opinion, deduced from extend
ed observations, that the lightning
rod is utterly useless a protection
from the thunderbolt "If the rod, "
he remarked, "could do what is pre-
tended, viz: draw the surcharge Of
electricity from the cloud silently,