The Indianapolis journal., 1885-08-21
A Harmless Amusement.

at profit.
A Harmless Amusement.
Eastern exchanges say the stock of the Chi
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road was weak, be-
cause the earnings of the second week in August
amounted to $379000, which is a decrease of
$40. 564 when compared with the corresponding
week of last year The folly Of the decline in
price of 50 per share from such cause is best
shown by the fact that the common stock alone
is thereby worth $618, 900 less than it was on
Monday, while the decrease in net earnings for
the week, if worked at 60 per cent, would be
only 81 300 An article, recently published in
the financial column of the Boston Advertiser,
very aptly covers such weak reports GA great
deal of ciphering is done nowadays in the way
of figuring out profits for the railroads. 1t is a
harmless amusement. but the result never yet
added cent to the net earnings of the railroads,
and the probabilities are that it never will do
For instance, if given month, or the first quar-
ter of the year, shows an increase OF 10 or II
per cent. over the corresponding month or quar-
ter of the previous year. it is easy to figure out
that if this percentage OF gain Is continued
through the whole year a very favorable
profit will be the result Or if.the period taken
should show loss in comparison. then it is easy
to show that. by carrying this percentage OF
loss through the year, very bad decrease would
be the result But the fact is no
one week, month or quarter is cri
| terlon for the rest or the year.
Increased earnings at time may be followed
by decreased earnings at another by which the
whole basis of the figuring will be thrown out of
gear. This is we'll shown by the earnings of the
Union Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy the last few months"
The Value of Soft Water for Locomotives.
Mr.. O. Stewart, superintendent of motive
power of the Fitchburg railroad at Boston. is
rebuilding locomotive that has been in use for
twenty seven years, and which during that long
| period of service used the same fire box and
| fues The frebox taken out was not so dilapi-
dated as many ire-b boxes rep aced after three
| years of service Mr.. Stewart attributes this
not to the superior material of the old boiler and
| freb box. but the character of the water used
| The pure soft water that flows uncontaminated
over the granite and gneiss rocks of New Eng
land leaves scale fire box sheets, and
multitude OF disorders common to boilers using
the llme-imDregnated waters of many districts
are avoided. In Indiana, long life to loco
motive boiler and fire box would be an imposs-
blllty. as the llmewater is so destructive. The
Editor of the National Car Builder, Mr.. Stewart
enumerated quite number of locomotives he
has still running that are over twenty years old
and never have had the tubes taken out He is
making a steel boiler for the engine he is
rebuilding. There will not be much of the old
engine left for new cylinders and wheels form
part of the repairs. In the course of repairs
some driving aXles were removed that had been
running over twenty years. They were taken
to the blacksmith shop and worked down into
side rods. and the man doing the forging said he
never worked more ductile iron. All the engines
on this road are equipped with the Ashton blow
back valve and Mr.. Stewart says its presence
has an astonishing educational effect upon
engineers and firemen There is no waste of
,~%ln, a. czAx
encouragement for Steel Rail MANI cturers
Carnegie Bros. & Co. and the Westinghouse
Air brake Company are filling an order for the
Union Pacific Railroad Company, consisting of
nearly all kinds of railway supplies The order
is probably the largest order filed by Pitts
burg manufacturers. The rails weigh sixty
pounds to the yard. The order in the hands
of the Westinghouse company consists
of daily equipment of fifteen freight cars pro-
vided with air brakes, besides lot of passenger
coaches. The company's engines are being
likewise equipped In proportion. The Chicago
Burlington d Quincy Railroad Company, a few
days ago, had the last lot of an order for 10000
tons shipped. and the next lot on which work
will soon be commenced will be 20, 900 tons The
general manager of the st. Paul, Minneapolis &
Manitoba RAILROAD Company arrived in Pitts
burg, Wednesday, for the purpose of getting an
order of steel rails filled which. it is ntimated,
will be so, 600 tons The company received an
order of $4,000 tons of steel rails from the
Cambria Iron and Steel Company at Johnstown
Besides the order referred to. an order for 5000
tons of steel rails is turned out for the steel
works at Joliet, ILL.,. for the Union Pacific.
| Trouble Brewing for L. s. st. L. Conductors.
An indianapolis & st. Louis passenger con-
ductor is in trouble. couple of ladies, day
| or two since, who had purchased tickets over
the Vandalia boarded his train by mistake The
conductor told them the tickets were not good
over the l. & st. L.; that they could pay their
fare to Greencastle, and then cross over and
take the Vandaia for St Louis. They
said they preferred to pay their fare through to
ST. Louis, which they did. The conductor, it is
said, not only took the fares but the Vandalia
tickets. The ladies were detained at st. Louis,
and mentioned the facts above detailed to a
friend who took the matter up and investigated
it, The conductors returns did not show that
such fares were collected He was summoned
to Cleveland onto the green carpet where
to Manager Thomas he admitted the facts above
related. Manager Thomas remarked that if
that was the way they doing things on the
l. q st. l.. it was time to give the conductors
another turning over and then informed the
conductor before him his services were no longer
needed.
Advance in Passenger Rates.
CLEVELAND, Aug. 20.-At a meeting of the
passenger agents of the Lake Shore, the New
York, Pennsylvania & Ohio the Cleveland &
Pittsburg, and the New York, Chicago & St.
Louis roads, to-day, it decided to advance
passenger rates from Cleveland to New York
from So so and SO to $40 and $ll for second and
first class respectively.
Miscellaneous Notes.
| The Lackawanna and Erie have Joined the
| Central and West Shore in advancing rates.
| The Chicago. Burlington & Northern will, it
| is reported, run to Minneapolis direct, using the
Manitoba Shore Line from St Paul