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

Now, to take up the matter more directly
in hand, which Is the consideration Of this
bill which proposes TO reduce assenger fares
on the roads OF Iowa: In the BILL as un-
derstand il, ON class A roads, first-class
reads. the fare is to be reduced TO two cents
a mile; on class Is roads TO be reduced to
two and half cents mile; and, IL re-
member rightly, class & roads are entitled to
charge three cents. | find, in looking over
this report that we made to the commission
ers, that our earnings for IoYa on SCI miles
OF load We're 81, s34, 295.47, per mile S},29l
and odd cents. That would necessarily
place our property in class Il, two aud half
cents per mile. l would say that under the
classification under which we have been OPP
Grating, nearly half Of our lines have been
operated at the rate of three and half cents
per mile, and the balance three cents; and
If the roads are re-classiiei, as ! suppose
they would be under this change of rates,
classified carefully, it would place us in the
class, causing us n loss on portion of orr
lines of half cent, and on the balance
cent per mile per passenger have made
little memorandum here of what this
change would be likely to cost us. We car
ried, as shown by this report, of through
passenger 90, S2l, of local passengers 46l, 1872,
making total of 5j1,503 passengers. The
average distance which we carried these
passengers was about forty miles, and
amount received from these passengers about
S1.2O each, making an average rate from ALL
including excursion business, reduced rates
on account of fairs, Fourth of July, Christ
mas, etc, half rates for children and clergy
making an average rate for the year of
2.513 cents, so that the proposed reduction
on this basis would save for each passenger
90 cents. The reduction on carrying SOL, sos
IL u On N
will show you later on how that is going to
affect us financially. Ii may be said, and it
has been said, that you are not going to kill
OFF these weaker roads, but that this lcgisla-
tlon is intended principally for roads that are
able to stand reduction, trunk lines such
as the G., Il. q O., the Rock Island and the
Northwestern, who do a heavy business
across the State, and that a reduction upon
these roads they could afford to stand, but
as to the weaker roads, it might be harsher
TO them. This shows that the bill cOntem-
plates reduction of our rates. any way.
But even If we are allowed to con-
tinue our rates, and il would be confined
entirely to the first-class roads, we would be
affected at every competing point in Iowa;
that is, where our road crosses some OF these
other roads on which the rate is proposed to
be reduced. Our competitive points in Iowa
run there are Al points at which we compete
with lines whose rates are about to be re-
duced. 1t is foregone conclusion that We
have to make the same rates that they do TO
get the business. Neither of You gentlemen,
or any other gentleman who resides in the
State of Iowa, are going to ride on our road
and pay us any more than you will have to
pay on the Northwestern, or the Milwaukee,,
the Illinois Central, or any of the different
roads we may be connected with. II is
not reasonable to expect it. So that what
ever is done in the reduction of rates upon
these roads which it Is claimed can
stand it, is going 20 effect us, whether
or no. But as l said before the
Redistribution of roads under this bill is
going to reduce our rates, anyhow. ] find
that have to refer now to our own report
of 1856, in order TO arrive at the cost of car
rying passengers per mile, and necessarily the
corresponding figures of what the passenger
trains earn per mile, and in that report the
earnings per mile Of passengers was given
at 37-100 cents ] will say here, that the
reports of the commissioners closes on June
30th of each year, while our annual report
closes on the 31st of December, and neces-
sarily, as business is much larger in one por-
ton of the year than another the two re-
ports can never exactly agree. 1t shows a
fraction of a cent difference here in the two
reports, but the cost of carrying passenger
is not figured out in this report, so | com
pare the earnings and cost per pas
senger in 1886. We earned in the year
1856 on each passenger per mile 37-l00
cents; the cost to us was 1 97l00 cents,
leaving balance of 47-l0O, or 40 of cent
per mile per passenger above the cost of OPP
Grating expenses necessary for carrying the
passengers. In charging up to the paSsen-
ger department the expenses, as expenses of
the passenger train per Sc, of course there Is
no way to exactly separate how much of the
station agents expenses, or the expenses of
his depot, should be charged to the passen-
ger department and how much to the freight
department; it is impossible to state how
much service he renders to one in that place
and how much to the other, and it is the
same way in regard to the care Of the track
the same section gangs and the same eXpen-
SEES are necessary to put on the track that is
used for both freight and passenger service.
and in dividing these expenses we have to
place it on a comparative basis of earnings
which each department contributes to the
general fund, and which is perhaps as fair a
way'as any.
While the passenger trains may not be as
many, in some cases they are more, and
y
Dill has told you, the passenger equipment
is vastly more expensive; there is a great
deal more money rolling along in a passenger
train than in any freight train you can hitch
together, and the expense of its maintenance
is as much larger in proportion as the cost
Of the cars. The expenses of the mainte-
nance of the passenger engine, making a
higher rate of speed is a great deal more
than for the maintenance of freight locomO-
tives, so do not think it is an unfair diy-
sion of expenses that these expenses which
it is impossible definitely to separate, should
be charged in proportion which the earnings
contribute. Now it will be seen from this
that we have fOur-tenth of cent left be-
tween our earnings and our operating ex-
penses on each passenger per mile. This
proposition here to take off half cent ON
one portion of our property in which we have
been earning three cents, and on the other
you, gentlemen, at sIhw left for doing the
service? Absolutely we would not receive
1.07-100 cents for carrying the passengers il
this reduction would be made Now |
think / mentioned the figures of what the
loss in earnings would be, estimated on the
basis of carrying SOL, sos passengers; if this
reduction was made the loss would be S110,-
10000. In connection with these two items
of reduction of revenue, let us look at the
additional expense contemplated in this one
other bill-the fence bill. That contem-
plates an expenditure of $4,000 for the
fencing of the balance of our line which Is
now unfenced, an expenditure of 100000
TO place these cattle guards, making a total
Of S175, 600, and the loss on the passenger
service alone Of $4,000, makes loss there
of $685. which these-two bills alone are