The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-10-25
IRON HIGHWAYS.
Railway Personals and Other
Matters of Interest for
Statesman Readers.
Interesting Figures About the
Great Railroads of Amer lea
and England.

large receipts from now until the end of
the year.
Maj. @. @. Wrenshall, superintendent of
the Admission and Cincinnati, has resigned,
and Charles K. Scott has been appointed
to succeed him.
Mr.. George B. Cornell has resigned as
chief engineer of the Brooklyn Elevated
company to take the same position on the
Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit
company.
The Fitohburg has contracted for 5000
tons of heavy steel rails which it will use in
the improvement of its track during the
coming year.
The Chicago Steel Rail company, of
Chicago, has been incorporated with a
capital stock of 100000 by Samuel W..
Adams, John Good and William A. Hin
kins.
d. E. Garrison g. Co., of st. Louis, have
been awarded the contract to furnish the
rails, fastenings, frogs, switches, etc., for
the Galveston jetty road. Between 300
and 400 tons of standard rails will be
called for.
1t is said that the Baltimore and Ohio
will proceed at once to make extensive
improvements and betterments of its
property at Philadelphia.
The opening of the Indian Territory to
settlement not being political considera-
ton, the probability Of its early accom-
plishment is improved.
Atlanta is making street cars built of
Georgia wood, beautifully finished in
Georgia ash, and artistically decorated.
The iron, even to the bumper springs, is
| forged in Atlanta. The whole car, except
few pieces of fancy hardware and the per-
! forated seats, is home made. Five of these
have been made, and on each one there
was handsome profit in spite of the fact
that they were made by hand in st. Louis,
Philadelphia and New York. The freight
on a street car from any of the large
works to Atlanta is $75 to 800, 20 to %
per cent of its value. 1t is now proposed
to organize company with sufficient
capital to manufacture cars on large
| scale.
The annual meeting of the Pullman
Palace Car company was held in Chicago
Thursday. Over, $14,000,000 of capital
stock we're represented. The old direct
ors we're reelected. A surplus of $2,015,-
SCI remained from the earnings of the
year, after deducting all expenses and set
ting aside 100000 as contingency re-
serve. The gross earnings were $780,
754. The usual quarterly dividend of two
per cent was declared. President Pull
man stated that the 1858 persons en-
ployed in the company's shops at Pull
man earned an average of 1904 each, 8
much higher average per person thar
exists in any community where similar
work is performed.
The English board of trade has just is
sued its report on the railway business o.
the United Kingdom for the year 1887
which, when compared with statistics
taken from Poor's Manual of Railroads
giving the operations of our own railroad
systems for the same year, shows certain
differences we'll worthy of public atten
ton. There are in England about $4,000
miles of railway, against 201,770 in tn
United States. The amount of capital o
all kinds nvested-that is, including guar
anteed and preferential capital, loans AM
bonds-is in England 1920 100000, Will
ia the United States the similar indebted
ness of the railroad companies to thos
who have invested money in them is 49,,
673,OO0.OOO; that is, while we have in thi
country more than six times as many
miles of railway as are to be found in the
United Kingdom, the costs OF construction
have been only twice as large.
The gross earnings of the railroads il
the United Kingdom for the year 1888
were $3.50, $4,000; the gross earnings o
the railroads of the United States were
1881, 1916 600, showing about three times
the amount of earnings for six times thu
length of road. The operating expenses
of the British railways were $178,328,O0O
leaving the net earnings at $161, 244, 900
In this country the operating expenses
amounted to $500, $4,000, and the net
earnings were 1881, 135,000 1t will bt
seen that in the United Kingdom thu
operating expenses absorbed 52.51 pei
cent of the gross receipts, leaving 47.4'
per cent as net earnings, while in THU
country the operating expenses absorbed
64.45 per cent of the gross receipa
and only 1855 was left as net earn
ings. The comparative favorable exhibi
of the British railways in respect to ne
earnings, is attributable to the fact tina
almost all of them run through thickl!
settled districts, while great many of thu
| Ill bulo OOuhOiy ulO UhAONB
sparsely populated sections, in the hop
of building up and encouraging bushes
not already established. The SAM
difference is seen here locally. Thus, TO
example, the net earnings of the NeN
England railroads in the year 1887 wer
two-thirds as large as the net earn
ings of the railroads in tht
southern states, although the south
ern group of states contained nearl.
three times as many miles of road as wer
to be found in New England, while tn
dividends paid on the New England road
we're, in the aggregate, nearly five time
as great as the dividends paid by tn
southern roads. This comparison is mad
for the purpose of showing the profitable
ness of running a railroad through
densely settled country, as against tn
results of running a railroad through
country where the population Is relativel
small, although it would be easy to sho'
that the charges for freight and trans
portation per mile are lower in New Eng
land than in the southern states.
, On the other hand, the rates of charge
in England are, in the main, higher tina
, those in the United States, and there doe
not seem to have been the same marke
! tendency toward reduction in the co;
of passenger and merchandise transpo
tation; that is, there is nothing to shO'
which corresponds to the immense re
o d,ct;or in the charge for moving freigi