Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-03-01

How then can we stand any reduction in
rates either in freight or passenger traffic?
How light reduction would wipe out the
Sl04 100000 entirely? And not
only wipe that out but would
trespass at ouce on the account necessary 10
pay our interest OF course you gentlemen
all understand that if the interest is not
paid on the date what follows. Six months
default, and a call for a receiver is the thing
In order, and il does seem that the property
which runs into thirty-six counties in the
State of Iowa and which 1 think has done
the business of its patrons as satisfactorily
as any of the roads in Iowa, so far as know
II has, and think, if any of our Commits
sioners are here
Chairman Mr.. Coffin is present.
Mr.. Ives: l think Mr.. Colin will bear
me out in the statement that so far as COM
plants have been entered in his Office against
railways operating in Iowa he has perhaps
had as few from points on our line and pa
irons of our road as from any road in the
State. When these complaints have been
made they have been promptly met. And
If a remedy existed it has been applied, and
so far as lknow now, there is not single
complaint in the Commissioners Office
against our lines in Iowa. Do you remem-
Der whether that is the case, MIR. Coffin?
Commissioner Coffin: That is so, l be-
lieye.
Mr.. Ives: If we are giving such ex-
cellent satisfaction to our patrons with the
present state of affairs as regards passengers
and freights, why is there any cause, why is
there any necessity for a reductionp Who
has been the sufferers from our doing the
business at these rates? | think | have
shown you as plainly as it is possible to be
shown that the margin in the expenditure
of 100000 of only 100000, is as close
as any business man would run i'll business.
To have SO small percentage as that left
over after paying his running expenses and
interest on his capital certainly does not
point to eXtoriion. 1t is proposed that re-
ducti0ns shall be made, and great many
bills have been presented TO you gentlemen
for consideration which have this object in
view, and among others the two cent fare
bill, of which there is more than one, but
one has had the prominence, and think
demonstrated to you the other evening what
the estimated loss of earnings to us on our
passenger business would be if the reduc-
ton contemplated was made. The loss i'm
the passenger business would be Sll0, 900.
That would entirely wipe out the $l0i, 900
which we had left, but which will say very
frankly we did not have in our treasury
We had expended that money in improving
our property, and during the last year and
during the year before we had replaced our
pile bridges, a great many of them, with
stone ones and filed up bridges. We have
replaced wooden bridges with iron bridges,
and done everything possible with the linn
tied means at our command to better the
property, making it safer for people to ride
over, making it safer for them to ship their
freight over, less delay and less damage, and
in that way make it more acceptable for the
people of Iowa to patronize. l will tell you
frankly without doing that we could not hope
to secure the business. 1t is no use to run
the road without you can have it about as
good as your neighbours or else people will
take your neighbor' S road. / think it is eco
nomical for the road. i think the eypendi-
ture is well made in this direction to improve
the quality of the road in every particu-
lar so that it may carry its business
safe and with less loss and also
carry it cheaper, and why carry it
cheaper? Because the rates of freight inev-
itably go down of themselves without legis-
lation. l think l mentioned to you the other
night, with regard to that, comparative
statement of what we earned ten years ago
and now. In regard to these reductions it
has been claimed we did business a great
deal cheaper than we used to. 1t don't cost
us as much to do it; we put twice as muchin
a car and haul about as many cars. In the
first place we put our track in condition to
carry this bigger load in car. We are build
ing larger railway cars. Our locomotives are
nearly twice the power of the locomotives
we had ten years ago, and in that way we are
enabled to carry larger number of tons and
therefore keep our revenue about equal with
our expenses and still carry at ia cheaper rate;
but it seems to me the reduction of the rate
hoe ant Full hirly will oh
you it is ahead of the facilities, the gain we
have made in the facilities for carrying this
business. For instance, the freight earnings
in 1877 was 3. 16 cents per ton per mile. In
1SS6-the reports for 1887 are not yet COM
pleted so that l could get at them, but they
won't vary much from what they were-in
this report for 1886 they were carrying for
liz cents per ton per mile mere fraction
of a cent, very small fraction over one-third
of What they were carrying for ten years ago.
That is to say we are doing'our freight bust
ness now for practically one-third of the
money in the aggregate of what we did it at
ten years ago. That certainly meets and dis
counts all these advantages which we have
derived from the betterment of our track and
extra power of locomotives. What has
it cost us to do that business?
In 1886 where we earned liz cents
per ton per mile it cost us
81 cents, which left us .32 cents per ton per
mile, with which we met this interest ac-
count of SOL, 900 and had 100000 left.
Now, then, you can see how an intinitesimal
reduction of cent per ton per mile in this
business would eat up that $4,000 1t
would be SO small we could not figure 1t.
But have heard it claimed that the local
freight business of the State of Iowa should
be done for thirty per cent less than it is
now; that our local freight tariffs should be
reduced thirty per cent, and some even say
they should be reduced forty per cent. L
have taken thirty per cent as a basis, that
being all that they can stand, and, as think
l. can show you, more than We can stand.
Thirty per cent of q reducution on our local
freight earnings would amount to S205, 900.
The loss then, on the passenger business Of
$4,000, and on the freight of sos, 900,
makes loss of $S15, 900. We have S104,-
600 which we could apply on that if we do
not expend it on improvements. OF course,
if we didn't have it we could not expend it
on improvements. And, if we had that, we
would still be short S211, 900 of being able
to pay our interest.
Some other bills have been before you, of
which spoke the other evening. One es-
pecially, in regard to the fence matter,
which would involve our company in fur
Their expenditure of 1880 The items, if
we should be so fortunate as to have to make
the expenditure contemplated in that bill,
added to the previous loss of Sl1 900, makes
loss of S406, 900, that we should be short
S406, 600 of having money to pay our
interest. We could not have paid our inter
est of S761 900. In view of these facts how
can you contemplate such thing? 1t would
no en ruinous Ia the Iowa road which has