The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-09-01
OUR RAILROADS.
The Statistics for the Past Year.
Large Increase Of Business and Augmen-
tation of Capital Stock and Liabilities.

According to the 'Manual OF the Railroads
of the United States for 1885," by Henry v.
Poor, volume of 1866 pages, full of valuable
and interesting statistics, lately issued, at the
close OF the year 1882 there was a mileage of
1899 miles, 1851 having been constructed
within the year. The average mileage oper-
ated for the year was 107 .15S. The amount
of share capital issued by the several compan-
les up to the close of their respective fiscal
years was 49, 456, ,07S, 1876, an increase from the
previous year of S3S5 254,5 ,585. The funded
debts of the several companies amounted to
So, ,1S4, AIS POI, an increase from the previous
year of SS52, ,554 496. Their floating or un-
funded debts amounted to S255, ,170, 1862, an in
crease of $42 ,4O4.965 from the previous year.
The total increase Of share capital and of
funded and floating debts from the previous
year equaled S7S0,2l3,776. The total amount
of all liabilities at the close of 1882 was S6,-
S95 ,664, ,359. The total per mile for completed
mileage was SCI ,342. The total of stock and
liabilities for 1881 was Sc, Jos ,540, ,5S3; the
amount per mile, S59,9S5; the total for 1880
was SIS 37S, ,015 92S; per mile, S5S, ,949; the total
for 1879 was S4,S72, OF ,5l7; per mile, $751;
730.
The gross earnings of all the roads for their
several fiscal years of 1882 were S770, ,356, ,7l6,
an increase from the previous year OF S67,-
066,511 OF the gross receipts, $202, ,140, ,775
were received from passengers. $500, 1867. .247
from freight and SCI S4S, ,734 from miscellane-
GUS sources. The net earnings for the year
were S310 6S2, ,S77, and inoreases of S24, ,929 100
from the previous year. The amount Of inter-
est paid was S149, ,295 $3.50, an increase of S2O,-
70S, ,07S from the previous year. The amount
of dividends paid was S102, OBJ ,434, an in.
crease of $685., PA from the previous year.
The percentage in 1882 of gross earnings to
investment was II 2 per cent; in 1881, lis; in
1880, 1l4; In 1879, 1913 The percentage Of
net earnings to investment In 1882 was per
cent; in 1881, ,I4.7; in 1880, 81, and in 1879,
A per cent. The earnings per mile Of all the
railroads operated for 1882 were gross, S718S;
in 1880, gross, $T435; net, $3293; in 1879 gross,
6652; net, S2I61.
Since 1879, a period of three years, there
have been opened in the United States 2S, ,019
miles of railroad, and 10, ,463 miles were opened
the past year up to the close OF the fiscal gears
of the several companies The extent actual
ly opened during the calendar year was II ,591
miles.
The increase OF share capital and indebted
ness of the railroad companies for the three
the average cost per mile Of the new mileage
being, in round numbers, $4,000. The in
crease in the three years of the funded debts of
the several companies has been 1864 ,926 029; of
their floating debts, $685. 2S9, ,9l0, the two sums
amounting to 1858 ,2l5, $685. q sum eQualing
something over $4,000 per mile of line. The
cash cost of all the railroads constructed in the
| United States in the last three years did not
exceed, probably, $4,000 to the mile, or $780,
| 600 900 in all. To this sum is to be added at
daF Nod oh fafix
| exended in.improvements of old lines. Ii is
| safe to estimate that the actual cssh expendi-
| lures upon all the railroads OF the United
| States within the past three years did not ex-
ceed 81 050 000 900, sum 1913 GAG, ,S42 less than
| the increase, in the period named, of capital
and Indebtedness of the several companies.
| OF course such an enormous increase OF la
bilities over actual cash outlay is to be greatly
| regretted, aud is well calculated to create a
| distrust of all securities, good and D'd: II
| most of the States the general railroad
| laws forbid the issue of share capital unless
| its full equivalent is paid; but these are
| avoided by contracts by which certain amount
| of stock aud bonds are issed in full pay
| ment for the construction of given number of
| miles In all States, probably, statutes against
| usury cannot be pleaded in avoidance of rail-
| road bonds They can, consequently, be issued
| andl sold in any amounts and at any price,
| the only limit being the refusal of the public
| to take them. Taught bv the disasters of the
past, we are probably entering upon a more
healthy period in railroad construction. 1t is
now seen that in such States as Ohio, and
even in tie State of New York, no extent Of
additional mileage which has not for its OBJ
ject the development of a particular interest
| coal, for example, which is fast suppanting
wood as a fuel-will add materially to the
! amount of earnings in such States, the ex-
! isting mileage in such supplying all the means
| and facilities wanted. In such States, con-
sequently, with the reservations made, no new