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

figures / have read you this evening" that
the average passenger pays us $l.20
for his ride, and this reduction is
going to save him twenty cents, is
he going to leave his business, and he rides
for business, he don't ride for pleasure, the
farmer or mechanic rarely rides for pleasure
without 1t is in the case of some excursion
when they all go to have good time be-
cause of the cheap rate made by the railroad.
Is he going to leave his business for 20 cents
of a reduction of the fare? We have car
ried hundreds of people that did not make
us a cent. and only did it for the purpose or
giving these people q chance to get away,
and see something; we think it is a good
thing to educate the people in that way.
| But the mechanic in his shop, and the farm
or on his farm does not leave his shop or
his farm TO travel, just for the sake of trav-
cling, or only because it costs a few cents
less. He looks at dollar and thinks how
many bushels OF corn or wheat it takes tor
make that dollar, and he Is not going to-
spend it simply because he can
go 90 cents cheaper If this blk
should become q law than he could BEFORE
do not think it is in reason that any suck
result would follow, and for the further rea-
son that we have very few, less perhaps
on our line that some of the others, a very
few people of wealth and leisure who donoE
with the older States, having large popu-
lation and large surplus of wealth who
travel more, ten TO one than the laborer who
earns a dollar by the produce of his farm or
by his work in the shop. And for that rea-
son this reduction is not going to help the
people you hope it will, and it is not going
to increase the number of people who travel
on railroads to anything like a sufficient
amount to keep our revenue up where 1t is
now.
In connection with this there is another
thing might mention here, it has been stat-
ed that the revenues of the railroad vera
largely increased on account of the cutting
off of passes. Now, gentlemen, have not
any very extensive figures on that subJects
l have not had time to get them. When
was here before i heard that talked of, and
when l went home i told our general pas
senger agent that would like to have him
commence and make the comparison of the
months of 1886 and 1887 of the passenger
earnings, so that could see how they were..
He only had time last night, by working I'M
Ill IL o'clock, to get out one month-that OF
April. This report was made up from the
conductors report of trains for those two
months of April, 1886, and April, 1887. On
these conductors reports are noted all free
transportation and for what cause; and what
was the result? The result was that the
passenger earnings for April, 1886, were
SOL, 093.S4; complimentary transportation,
l,G64 passengers carried 118,077 miles
would at the regular legal rate have brought
us $4, 005.s1, being a percentage of per
cent of the total amount. In the cor
responding month of April, 1887,
the passenger earnings were So, 597.43, be-
ing an increase of 81, G03.59. The people
who were carried on free transportation in
April of the previous year, If they had paid
their fare, would have paid US 81, 005.S1 the
increase in passenger earnings being ST.
SO, or a little over one-third of the
amount we would have received had those
riding OIL free transportation paid their reg
ular fare. But have little memorandum
here. that have taken from these papers,
which shows that the main line. of the rail-
way, which carried 81 per cent of the free
business, lost during that month 1,6S966,
and the sixteen hundred and odd dollars
which was earued more in that month we
earned on what we call the Iowa Falls dlvi-
sion, from Traer on west and into the north
west, a section Of country that has had good
fortune this year in its fine crops, and has at
tractod great deal of attention; the emigra-
ton into that country has exceeded what it
has been since we went up there, SO that the
Iowa Falls division earned an increase of 3d.
293.35, showing conclusively that there was
not one cent earned by the railway company
more, on account of the cutting off of the
passes, than there would have been If they
had been left. l am very frank TO say to-
you, gentlemen, that in my opinion it was
good investment for the railroads to give
passes as they did, and l will tell you why
AS general proposition they We're gwen, |
may admit, to men who are able to pay their
fare, but they were given for business pur-
poses largely. Every man who was the re-
ri of fol nf M
ton to speak a good word for the railroad in
his community wherever it was, and inhu-
ence passengers to its trains or car load Of
freight, wherever he could do it by speaking
a good word, he did it. More than that, he
had pass and he had money in his pocket,
too, and he says: have pass, will go to
Chicago, will go to Cedar Rapids, or will
go to Burlington, and l will take along my
wife and some of the children. He will pay
fare for them; and l am satisfied that the
railway company has got dollar for dollar,
in many instances two dollars for dollar,
for every dollar of free transportation they
have given away.
do not think of any other point, gentle
men, that care to present to you. If any
of you gentlemen have any questions to ask
that can answer, shall be glad to do So
Menberof Committee: What part of your
road do you receive 81 cents on now?
Mr.. Ties: From the station of Holland
few stations east of Iowa Falls, to Water
town and Sioux Falls, Dakota.
would say that the road was built to
Holland before what we call the re-organiza-
ton, when it passed out of the hands of the
receiver the road was organized as the b.,
c. II. & N. Railway, all that was then built,
to Holland, and the Iowa Falls Division, so
called, as an extension from Holland west
into the northwest. On that portion of tho
road we are entitled to 81 cents a mile.
Member Of Committee: AS a matter OF
fact, do you get it along there from station
to station?
Nr. Ices: Yes, / think we do, and our
tariffs l see are made up on that basis.
had an occasion to look at that the other day
and the rates from Holland to all stations
beyond there is 81 cents mile.
Member Of Committee: From Estherville
to Emmetsbug, % miles, we pay So cents.
CMr. IUes: That would be fraction under
three cents. 1t is just possible that the rate
between those two stations might have been
made for this reason: you remember tho
Milwaukee & St Paul has branch running
from Emmetsburg to Estherville, and
think we might have made the rate to meet
their competition, although it is possible We
might have maintained the rate of 5 Il cents
and done the business, but as a matter of
course it is rule among railways to make
the same rate as its competitors, and 1 think
that is the reason. My attention has never
been called to it before.
All can say to you is as l said before, go
c / 10 aaf 10