Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-30
Not a Bit Thankful.
Men Who Depend on Western
Railway Dividends.
A VERY BAD SITUATION REVIEWED.

Many Of the Co rpanies Out of Pocket by
Profits and Great Need of a Remedy
for the State of Affairs-Some Suggest
I've Figures-Eastern Lines Not Entirely
Happy. Either-A Professors Views.
following:
Thanksgiving was quiet day for the rail.
roads. 1t was also very quiet day for the
thousands of people whose income depends
upon the earnings of the western roads
They had very little for which to be thank
full The thousands whose daily bread de-
ponds on their interest in Atchison Burling-
ton, st. Paul or any one of half a dozen
other western railway corporations had
pretty plain picking Over twenty railroads
center in Chicago, and five of tbem-the
Burlington, the st Paul, the Northwe, tern,
the Rock Island, and the Atchison-will
show an aggregate decrease in
net earnings this year, as com
pared with last year, of APP
proxlmately Si2, 900, 900, or about p per
cent The showing for the ronds west of
Chicago is much worse than for those east,
but even in that territory, where conditions
have been much more favorable, the show
ing is far from encouraging. OF the Chicago
roads the Burlington has suffered worst, for
In addition 20 the numerous rate wars which
h; " depleted the net revenues of all the
": st I'm roads it was tied up by strike of
| its engineers and firemen for nearly two
months. The net earnings of this road al
ready show decrease of over 5000, 900,
~
the entire year.
The Atchison, which reaches Chicago via
its Chicago, Santa Fe & California line,
comes next on the list Its losses. as COM
pared with 1887, will range somewhere about
81, 500, 900 for the year. The Chicago, Mil
waukee & st. PauIs net earnings have de-
creased over 1900, 000, and its principal COM
| petitor, the Northwestern, is in arrears to
The extent of over s., 500, 600 The Alton
had fallen $500, 900 behind up to june 80 and
the year will probably show a decrease of
fully $50, 900. The Illinois Central is over
S1,O00,0t0 behind its last years record
The Eastern Illinois is about even with the
world, but it has handled much larger
tonnage than in 1887 Both the Wabash
railway and the Wabash Western have
fallen behind heavily, and the aggregate de-
crease in net earnings for these two roads,
formerly one system, will be in the neigh
borhood of $1,000, 900. The Pennsylvania
roads, the Lake Shore, Michigan Central,
Baltimore & Ohio, Nickel Plate and Chicago
& Atlantic. all eastbound roads, have suf-
fered from ruinously low rates on dressed
beef, provisions, and moderately low rates on
grain and numerous other articles. The ag-
gregate decrease in tine net earnings of the
east-bound roads will not in all probability
exceed 100000, but the low rates have
been Offset by an increase of nearly 25 per
cent in tonnage The full effect:
of the remarkable falling off in railway
earnings have not yet been felt, and nothing
better illustrates the maxim that large bodie.
move slowly than the fact that, notwith
standing all the unfavorable conditions, none
OF the big western roads have gone int
bankruptcy. Dividends have been passed
and an enormous floating Indebtedness ha,
been piled up in many instances, but all o
the great western roads still claim to b,
solvent. Some of the evidences of depression
in the railway business may be seen in tbs
fact that within the past year the St Pau
road has passed the dividend on its common
stock entirely and reduced the dividend OF
the preferred stock from to per cent.
The Burlington has dropped its dividend
rate from to per cent, and the grea
Atchison company pays its a. 900 stockhold
ers only per cent per annum against pal
cent year ago. The Rock Island ha
dropped its dividend rate from to Del
cent, and further reduction is threatened
at the next meeting of its directors. Til
Missouri Pacific, one of the great southwest
ern roads, has cut its dividend down from
to 4 per cent, and its report
indicate that the latter amount
has not been earned. The reductions in di-
vidends named mean loss to investors o
SO, O00, 600 to SIS, 0O0, 900 yearly, but this i
not the worst. Many or tie railroads or tn
west have paid dividends that have not beer
earned. Their credit has been SO good tina
they have been able to borrow money read
lily, and in that way the day of settlement
has been postponed Roilroad affairs havt
gone from bad to worse, and the roads of tn
west are on the verge Of general collapse
In anticipation Of turn in the tide, which
beginning with the passage of the inter
state commerce law, set strong agains
them they have strained their credit. Thu
owners of the roads, therefore, have neithe
time, inclination nor reason for being thank
full They are busy trying to avert genera
bankruptcy, and if this end can be attained
through the instrumentality OF railroad
clearing house or some similar device, sub
ject at all times to public scrutiny, grea
catastrophe will be averted and the common
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