The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1889-05-09
President Hill, OF the Manitoba. Tells Gull
Ions Com mittee About the Canadian
Pacific's Future Prospects.

BosToS. May s.-The annual report of
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe road for
the year lSsS, was given out this evening
The gross earnings were SIS. ,9l3; de-
crease, 81, ,S47. .453;operating expenses inelud-
ing taxes, sIl, Isl; Increase, S6lS, 707; net
earnings. dedueting taxes, s4,5S5, ,95l; de-
crease, 50. .457, 100. Ofthe decrease of gross
earnings the loss on the passenger business
is SS0l, 900, and on freight traffic S2,054, 800
] The deficiency for the twelve months to
December 81, was S1,5l7. $50; surplus DE
cember 81, 81, SIS, ,620; net surplus, $685.
SOL
The report says that even with the addi-
tiOnaI tariff derived by the Atchison sys-
tenn from extensions, the actual number of
passengers and tons of freight transported
was considerably less than during the pre-
ceding year, and II Is obvious that except
for business coming TO il from its new
lines, the earnings must have shown q
greater decrease still. The reduc-
ton of business is due 10 various causes.
First, unusually light crops for
two years and a consequent depression OF
business. In a community chiefly agricul-
tural. such as that served by our systen,
wealth is not accumulated rapidly, and the
loss of a single years crop is seriously felt,
while the loss of a crop for two succeeding
years becomes almost disastrous. Natur
ally, the railroads in such regions feel the
misfortune of poor crops as speedily and
completely as the people themselves. The
earnings have been further greatly reduced
through the construction of new lines
which have covered our territory with a
network of roads, reaching almost every
point of consequence on our lines, and di
Niding the business which has heretofore
sought our road. Following the opening
of these new lines came active and vigOr-
Gus competition for the diminished busi-
ness and a reduction of rates, which had
TO be met, but which under the provisions
of the interstate commerce law could only
be met at the cost of propOrtiOnate reduc-
tionS to and from almost all other points on
our lines, whether they were reached by
our competitors or not In common with
all roads, and particularly those of the
the west, we have suffered largely rom un-
remunerative rates.
With many influences working in practi- |
cal combination to reduce the earning |
power of railroads, their right to make any |
combination for self-protection has been |
denied by state and national enactments /
The theory of these laws is radically |
wrong, because they overlook the fact that /
the public interest requires stability in /
rates not less than they should be fair and |
reasonable. Nothing can be more certain |
than that unrestrained competition, arti- /
ically stimulated by public sentiment, is
productive of far more evil than good The /
report says the long and short haul
clause of the interstate commerce act |
has operated to disarrange the
commerce of the country, TO force
business into unnatural channels and to
enlarge the traffic of a few lines, while
and destroying that of many. In
of the western states rates have
been established by law, which are ruin
ously low, and although our system has
been comparatively free from this injustice,
it will be easily seen We cannot escape its
effects. When rates in Iowa are arbitrarily |
forced down the difficulty of maintaining
fail rates in adjoining states are immeasur-
ably increased Aside from competition,
there is in time OF business depression diff
Guilty of maintaining the rice of transport
alton when every thing else has depre-
ciated.
The report refers to the heavy reductions
in coal and grain rates atthe request of the
railway commissioners on account of busi-
ness depression, etc, and says returning
will, no doubt, materially dimin-
ish the demands made upon the railroads
for lower rates. Ii is believed by the direc-
tors that the new association of western
roads for the prevention of unnecessary
and destructive wars of rates will be bene-
fc al both to the public and the railroads.
Speaking of the increase in dividends in
The fall of 1887 to per cent, which action
" as severely criticized, the report says:
There was every reason to believe at that
time that the earnings of the road for the
last half of 1881 would he greater than for
he first halt of the year, but through the
particular failure of the corn crop and
)tber unforeseen causes the year formed a
exception to the previous
course of the cOmpany's earnings"
OF MlahOma the report says: There is
every reason TO believe the earnings of the
Atchinson line will be largely increased
BY the settlement of this region"