Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16

: .
! the Contra railroad and banking company
! of Georgia. the several lines composing the
| Queen and Crescent route. and the Savan-
! nan. Florida and Western.
! We find the same difference by compari-
son OF the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe
! with reports from the South Carolina rail
| way company. the East Tennessee. Nir-
| ginia and Georgia railway, and the Queen
| and Crescent route, received within the
| last thirty days.
| An examination willsalso reveal the fact
| that other expenses OF operation in Texas
are considerably in excess of those in other
| states. The report of the East Tennessee,
| Virginia and Georgia railway, Of recent
| date, shows that coal costs them 81 per
/ ton, while it costs the Gulf, Colorado and
| Santa Fe railway 500, or 10 per cent
| more. 1t is well known that coal is one of
| the largest items of cost
IN TIE OPERATION OF A RAILROAD.
| Had we had the figures of the East Ten
| nesSee, Nirgini. and Georgia, coal would
| cost the Gulf. Colorado and Santa F'e S324.-
| sos. Is per anaum less than it now does
Recent statements show that coal costs
! the Illinois Central railway Sl.06, ana the
| Iron Mountain Sl.4l per ton.
The same comparison Will show that the
| East Tennessee. Virginia ana Georgia rail-
way pays ~ cents for ties, while we have
been paying 30 cents Tor Montgomery branch
| ties OF very inferior quality, and are now
| paying A. cents in order to get Louisiana
ties of the best quality.
Generally speaking. all, railway supplies
are higher in Texas than in other states,
because Texas is further from the source
Of supply, and the cost of getting the sup
plies 70 the points of consumption is proper
tlonateiy greater.
We have shown that had it had the Geor-
gia rate for coal and section force, the Gulf,
Colorado and Santa Fe railway would save
| annually, on these two items alone, Sis,
| 556fS.
We think at moderate estimate the cost
Of operating a railroad in Texas is - per
cent higher Than III Georgia. 1t is certainly
greater in Texas than in Missouri and Ar
kansas, for statement filed with the COM
mission shows that the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa k'e pays Sl.6S per ton more for coal
than the Iron Mountain, 81 A. more than
the AtChison. Topeka and Santa t'e, 9 cents
more for ties. and that the average rate of
wages of employees is - ceutS per
day higher on the Gulf. Colorado and
Santa Fe than on the Iron Noun
tain. 1t is believed that the fig-
ures of the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe on
COS, of operation are fair average of the
Texas roads.
Aside from the cost of labor and mate
rial. il is the fact that most of the Texas
roads penetrate d country where frequent
renewals of ties and shaping up of track
are Necessary, and renders Opcratln" eN-
pcnSes higher IL proportion 10 those Ill other
states. Another cause Of large operating
expenses in Texas Is the proncue5s of our
people 10 institute suits against railroads
on slight prCvOcatiOn, and the inclination of
some OF our courts and iuTics
TO ENCOURAGE TIE SAME.
We have no figures for Georgia, but in 1890
the Gulf. Colorado and Santa l'e. with @JS
miles in Texas mad twice as many suits liz
S-ft cd q = tel
Topeka and Santa I'e in Kansas, with 300
miles Of track, aud three and one-half times
as many as against the ST Louis and San
Francisco in Missouri. Arkansas and IN
dian Territory, with 1000 miles of track.
Other Texas roads do not appear to have
Jared much better, for the Texas and
Pacific. with about 1000 miles in the state,
had nearly twice as many suits against it
as the Gulf. Colorado and Santa Fee.
The fact that tine rates are now praCtI
cally the same aud the cost Of operation
greatly less in George than in Texas, dc-
counts for the fact that majority OF the
Georgia railroads are not only paving in
teresJ on their bonds but earning dividends
on stock. while a majority Of the Texas
roads are unable to pay interest on the
bonds, and only one road IN the state earns
enough to pay dividends on the stock.
ii may ne u surprising statement, but it
appears to be u fact, that the people of
transportiou than the inhabitants of ENG
land. An article OF j. Stephens Jeans, on
American railways and British farmers.
Reproduced from Nineteenth Century III
the November number OF the Eclectic, is
authority for the statement that railway
charges in England are 60 per cent higher
than the average in the United States
The average earnings per ton per mile in
the United States for 1889 We're l cent. The
average of the Texas roads for the same
year was l.3l. The fact that the Texas rate
exceeds the average of the United States
rate 81, at glance might seem 10 indicate
that the charges in Texas We're excessive,
but we must remember that the low aver
age in the United States is made by the
lines between the East and West which
transport an immense tonnage, and Il is
well-known fact that the larger the volume
of business the lesser the rate at which it
CAN BE PRoFITAgLY HANDLED.
Take for instance the lines of the Penn
sylvania railroad east of Plttsburg and
Erie. Their rate per ton per mile for 1890
was Col. but their tonnage for one mile was
7.041. 523, 100, while the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Re had a ton rate per mile OF l.59S
and had tonnage for one mile of only
22.23 41s.577S, being less than onc-thirtieth of
the tonnage of the Pennsylvania lines.
Those lines OF the Pennsylvania railroad
with $500 miles Of road had more than
twice as much freight tonnage as all of the
roads of Texas combined with 1925 miles.
In the year 1850 those lines with little
more than fourth OF the mileage of Texas
earned nearly twice as much as the Texas
roads, and their net earnings We're conSid-
cradle more than twice the net earnings OF
all Texas roads.
To Illustrate what effect the amount of
tonnage necessarily has on the rate Of earn
ings per ton per mile, take the united
railroads OF New Jersey division. Il
part of the Pennsylvania lines east OF Pitts
burg: their rate per ton per mile was l. 151;
their tonnage for one mile being S5l goo 900,
or nearly four times that of the Gulf. Colo
RADIO and Santa Fe. This comparison of
the figures Of the United States railroads
of New Jersey part Of the PENNSYLVANIA
system east of PittSburg, under the same
management with the remainder of the SyS-
TEN. shows what an immense tonnage it is
necessary to have before a railway company
can reduce its charges to the low rates pre-
vailing on the trunk lines.
Another very important item in consider
ing the ability of railroad company TO
carry freight at lower rates, is the amount
of its passenger earnings. Ii it has a large
passenger business. deriving a large profit
therefrom. such profit will of course go to-
wards payment Of fixed charges, and to
that extent reduce the amount necessary to
be raised from freight traffic. The enor-
nous passenger business done by the lines
between the Atlantic coast and Chicago and
St. Louis. is one Of the chief factors in pro-
ducing their low freight rates. For in
stance, il 1899 the Pennsylvania railroad
division of the Pennsylvania company, with
a mileage Of 1440 miles, carried 20, 066, PCS