New-York tribune., 1874-10-13

p this instance the sgu for the State proper are given
1t does not require the skill of an expert to
discover the important changes in the above
table. The great increase in the funded debt
and capital stock paid in excites natural de-
sire to know what was gained by it. Seventy
millions of bonds and thirty-nine millions of
stock ought to represent many miles OF new
road or a vast amount of permanent improve
ments. But no such substantial result is to
be found. Only 104 miles of main line and
40S miles of branch roads were acquired, and
the disappearance of the money cannot be ac-
counted for in this way except by suppOsing
such roads to have cost $4,000 per mile.
When we inform our uninitiated readers that
s45,OOO per mile is very liberal estimate for
building and equipping new road, they will
probably look curiously for the whereabouts
of the odd eighty-fve millions. But their
search will be unrewarded, unless, indeed,
they can see beyond the figures of the report
and into the pockets of various boards of
directors who may have initiated, in humble
way, the example of their Credit MObilier
brethren. For the remaining items utterly fail
to account for this large balance. Allowing
$10,OOO,OOO for the additional double track,
sidings, and steel rails, and $15,000,000 for new
engines, cars of all descriptions and real estate
purchased, both of which estimates err on the
side of liberality, we still have O balance of
$50, 900, regarding the expenditure of which
the report gives absolutely no explanation.
But there is another mystery. The float
cling debt" increased $4,14S,923, and as We
have already allowed literally for every con-
ceivable outlay, except "pickings," we are
ID o. han,
these railway magnates were creating scores
of millions of stocks and bonds, why did they
halt at such petty sumi While they were
about it they should have issued at least
enough to retire their demand notes from the
market.
And now let us see what business they
transacted. This is the account they give of
their earnings and expenses:
Receipts from passengers sa27i5soS
Receipts from freight. 53S.o75 8S,97s9I
Receipts from mail ndexpress.. 3ie6,952 6,Ol337S
Total receipts Gncluding miscel-
lane0us) ..lF995,2i l3i,SiSS4S
Expense Of maintaining road and
real estate. T511,T74 23,1ls1s1
Repairs OF machinery. y............ S,H7,2o l7.s9a@7
Expenses Of operating road....-.. 4s,slsOH ols275l
Total expense OF operatons.... 95,2o739 s629S,9oO
The number of passengers of all classes
carried is given elsewhere as 1854, 800; an
increase over 1872 of 4.371, 500. The receipts
from passengers, however, as stated above,
show decrease of S4,395,s65; that is, the
roads lost trife over one dollar on each ad-
ditional passenger carried But after all. the
net earnings over expenses are the chief test
of thrift and the item in which the public is
most interested. The net increase is given as
s4,265,127; considered by itself, respectable
amount. But it must be remembered that the
floating debt was increased $4,14S.923. TO
sum up the whole matter then, as briefly as
possible, if these one hundred and forty-five
railroads, representing $S57.OoO,Oo0 of capital,
had not expended dollar during the year
1873 for new engines, cars or rails, and had
neither added to nor diminished their enOr-
nous floating debt of S33,452,24 their opera
tions would have shown an increased profit