Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-08-19
FACTS TN FIGURES.
A Batch of Statistics About
Our Railways.
ENORMOUS BUSINESS FOB A YEAR.

Big Difference Between the Number of
Men Employed on Our Own and En-
gIish RaiIways-Also Between the Cas-
uaity Reeords-Fearful Slaughter of
Trainmen-Some Business Done in Con-
gress-Why Members of the House Re-
Joiced That EnIoe Was Ill
WASHINGTON CITY, Aug 19.-The Stats
tician OF the Interstate commerce COM
mission, Mr.. Henry C. Adams, has just
completed his second annual report to the
commission. This report shows that the
railway property of the United States Is
controlled by 1,750 organizations. The
number of men employed is 704, 743, show
ing that $50 men are employed for every
100 miles of line. In England there are
l,74s men for every 100 miles of line Each
American engineer has carried what is
equivalent to 2,274, AS tons of freight one
mile, and 1853. 36e passengers ore mile. The
total number of passengers carried by rail
in the United States was Az, III, 345.
As to Brake Appliances.
The total number of tons of freight car
ried was $50, $50 $50; the average haul for
each ton of freight was le7 81 miles, show
ing ton mileage of 6S, 727, 223, 14G The ia
BILE of equipment of railways shows % 036
locomotives, of which s,079 are passenger
and 1910 are freight locomotives; 4, 706
passenger locomotives and s, 743 freight To-
comotives are fitted with automatic train
brake There are 96l, Il9 cars used, of
which 1885 are in the passenger service
and S54, 03l in the freight service; %, $40
passenger cars and 70, 5l3 freight ears are
fitted with automatic train brake.
The Figures on Fatalities.
The statistics of accidents show that
during the year covered by the report 80
passengers have been killed and 9, 146 pas
sengers injured. This shows that one pas
senger has been killed in every !, 523 133
passengers carried, and one passenger in
jured in every go 024 passengers carried
The rate of mortality in England for the
year 1855 is one passenger killed for every
I, 942, $50 carried, and one passenger injured
for every 527, 5T carried. This discrepan-
cy may, perhaps, be explained by the fact
that the number of miles travelled per
ticket is in this country much greater
than in England, and also ny the fact that
English railways are much better manned
than in this country
Heavy Loss of Trainmen-
OF employees in the United States !, 972
have been killed, and %, 02s injured dur
ing the year. These figures show that one
death occurs for every 357 employees, and
one injury for every IS employees. Or if a
similar statement be made for trainmen,
that is to say for engineers, firemen, con-
ductors and other trainmen, one death
oc ours for III employees, and one injury
for every u employees.
Financial End of the Report.
The gross earnings for the year, exclu-
sive of rental of tracks yards, and termi-
nails, are 500. SID, l29; and the operating
expenses, exclusive of rentals of tracks,
yards, and terminals, are s644, zoo 70I This
leaves net income from operations of SEQ
100. 42s. After deductions are made for
fixed charges the final net income for all
the roads in the United States was s10l,-
SSs, 80, or <66l per mile of line Out of
this sum dividends have been paid TO the
amount of Sc, no. 1875, which leaves sur
plus from operations of the year of $19-
27S, 5Ss, or 1925 per mile of line
The Bonded Indebtedness
Another interesting table in this report
shows the amount of bonds which will fall
due in each of the years from 1889 to 1899
inclusive. The total amount of stocks is
81. psi, l9O. 7l9, of which $s47. 40. 800 are
owned by railway corporations. The total
amount of bonds is q, 81, 527, $50, of which
s3i,i, 2s2, 502 are owned by railway corpora
tons. The report further shows that the
passenger earnings have increased from
80 As per cent. of total earnings in 1855 to
81. 10 per cent. in 1899; while freight earn
ings have decreased from o. Is per cent. in
lSSs to tS ~ per cent in 1899