The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-07-11

1
| OUR RAILROAD SYSTEM Is
What poor.s Manual sl,ows-Al Year OF
Great railroad Activity-A Great Coun.
try IL Ours. as. ~. ,.,!.sE..
NEw YonE, July 9.-Advance sheets Of
tho forthcoming volume Of Poor's rail.
road Manual Of the United States" have
been issued. The year 1881 was one Of
extraordinary activity In railroad affairs.
Within the year 9,35S miles Of railroad
were built. The greatest mileage for any
previous year was 1870 miles, in 1871. The
cost, ut SIS ,020 per mile, Of the lines con.
structed during tho year was S233, 10000.
Inadditlon ut least SIT, 900, 900 wereexpend.
cd on lines in progress and Sl00, 100000 10
improving their tracks, in building new
stations and In adding to their equipments.
inc Total amount expended In construc.
ton during tho past year was, in round
numbers, Si00,000,000. Up TO tho LIST OF
june, 1882, 3,GT7 miles OF line were opened,
against 1871 for the came period in 1881.
The same ratc Of increase will not lie
maintained for the remainder OF the year,
but the aggregate OF new mileage Is not
likely TO be much short Of 10000 miles. It
Is cerhsiu, says the Manual, that f6r long
time to come II much greater extent OF
mileage will be constructed annually than
was constructed in the past or than will be
constructed In the present year. The earn.
ihgs OF all the roads In operation the past
year equaled S725 ,325, ll9, bcingnn increase
over tie previous year OF $4,000, OOO-the
rate OF increase being very nearly 10 per
cent: The earnings equaled sl3 GO per
head OF our population. Their net earn.
ineS were SIT, G54, no, IN increase Of S2l,.
100000 over those for 1880. Their current
expenses were s4i9,563,01l. The amount
Of interest paid during the. year on their
funded debts was Sis, SS7 ,002; the amount
paid in dividends was S93,Si4, 200, against
SRI, l5,il for 1850. The cost OF operating
our railroads for the year was $40 5Gj,0 OIL,
or G2 per cent OF their gross earnings. The
total amount expended in the construction
oil new lines and in operating and impror.
ing the old ones was over $3.50, 200, Goethe
greater part Of this vast sum being paid'in
wages. The number OF persons employed
in operating them the past year aver.
aged fully II 10 the mile Of ope-
rated line, or, 100000 in all. The
number employed in the construction OF
our railroads equaled 100000, increasing
the total number o! employees 10 100000,
or about one-thirty.second part OF our pop.
ulntion, estimated at 100000. The ton.
mage transported on oil the railroads in
than $500 tons to the mile;or 350,0O0,0O0
tons in the whole. The exact amount cannot
be given from the want OF returns from n
large number OF companies. The tonnage
transported by the railroads making re.
turns to the Legislature Of Pennsylvania in
1851, and having mileage OF l7,2244 miles,
equaled lS22, il0,302 tons; the average be-
ing very nearly 1,000tons 10 the mile, the
avcsge for the whole country may be csti-
mated at one.lialf the. average for that
State. At IN assumed value OF $50 per
ton, the value OF the tonnage moved on
all the railroads OF the United States the
past year, less one-ihird for duplication,
was, say, Sl2,0OO,OO0,000, or more than
500 per head OF the whole population.
Thirty years ago the tonnage OF all the
railroads in the United Staiesdid no. equal
one-half that OF the Eric or New York Cen
| tral railroads ut present, nor 0ne-sixteenth
| that OF the total now moved. The value OF
the tonnage OF ISL, at so per ton, did not
exceed $50, coo 900. or only $40 per head
of population, against a value OF $4,000
OO0, 900, or more than 500 per head in 1851.
a number Of carefully tabulated statements
are given to show the good effects Of rail
roads upon the agricultural development
oil the West in new States and Territories,
rs well as upon the imports and exports in
the entire country. An increase ofexports
in ten years is shown to the amount of
Sii1 100000. OF which $3.50 100000 is said
10 have been made up OF the products Of the
Western States, these being almost Wholly
due 10 the construction OF railroads within
them. a. -
Endeavoring to show the cutter ground.
lrssness" Of the charges OF monopoly made
against railroad companies, statistics lire
given making comparisons between the
freight rates OF 1851 and those OF 30 years
ago. The New York Central and Hudson
River Railroads operations are quoted: SIN
1850, Immediately after its consolidation,
this road moved GO, 073 tons Of freight at a
charge OF S3,75S,320 and ut n cost of 81 500.
9l2, the net being S2,2l5,40S. The tons
moved one mile, tqualed li4,S27, 793: the
charce was 3.270- cents; the cost, 1871
cents; 1thc NET; 1929 cents per ton per
mile. In 1851 the same road moved; Il SOL
$40 tons OF freight ut chnrgc OF SO, 1856.
$50, ut Il cost of SlI. 9l3,2l3, the net being
s., S23 537, The number Of tons moved one
mile equaled 2,Gi6Sl4,09S; the charge was
$50 cents; the cost, .562 cent; the net,
.olS cent per ton per mile.:7 The in
crcasel in ions moved on this road
from 1855 = to- S:lSSl ;was, I10,92l 500
the rate oiincrease being lin round nun.
bers, LOO per cent. Tue. increase in ser.
vice ertormel-tons moved one mile
was 1881 ,9SG,SiS tons, the rate OF increase
cQualing 200 per cent. The earnings from
freight Increased ut the rate Of $50 per cent,
such rate eQualing only one-fourth that OF
service performed The cost OF movement
per ton per mile was-only about one.third
that for 1850, while the net per ton per mile
eQualed only about one.ninth that for 1855.
Had the rates charged in 1851 cQualcd
those Of 1855, ,hegross earnings from freight
the past year would lave been SS6, 45O,Sl7
in place OF go, 1SG, AS, the amount actually
received Had the same net rate been
maintained, The total Ilietyfor 1851 would
haye been So $50, 03G, in place 1928, 537,
the amount actually received. Charges
have been reduced to rates that were be.
lieved to be. impossible few years ago. In
1872 it cost the New York Central l.l29
cents to.move' a ton Of freight one mile. In
1851 it received only .7S3 cent for SINH
lar service. In its reduction OF charges the
Central Railroad only represents
the entire system of the country.
The New York; : Lake Eric and Western
Railroad, in 1867! moved So, O55 tons Of
freight AT a charge Of 2.42i cents and at Il
cost OF LBS cents per ton per mile In
1881 it moved II ,0SB,S23 tons at charge
OF sos cent, and at a cost Of $50 cent per
ton per mile. Had it charged as much per
mile in 1851 as it did in lSj5, its receipts
from freight would have been 7,l0l ,Sll,
in place Of S5.473,3l3, the amount actually
received. The Pennsylvania Railroad
moved, in 1855, SG5,e0G tons Of freight at q
charge OF a.746 cents, aud 8t cost Of t.