The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-12-12
RAIL WAY STATISTICS.
Interesting Report of the Civil
Service Commission.
GREAT INCREASE IN FATALITIES

The Number of Deaths on the Rail
Calls for Increased Measures OF
Protection-LargeI Increase In Mile
age and in Number Employed.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12.-The fourth
statistical report Of the interstate COM
merce commission, prepared by its sta
tistican, Mr.. Case, which has just been
submitted, gives complete epitome OF
railroad progress in the United States
for the period covered. Railway mileage
in the United States on June 80, 1891
(not counting double tracks,, was 16s,-
402.74 miles. Connecticut had to every
100 square miles of territory over 90
miles OF track; Delaware. 16 miles; Hi
nois, lS miles; Iowa, 10 miles; Massa-
chusetts, ID miles; New jersey 81 miles;
New York, 10 miles; Ohio, 10 miles;
Pennsylvania, 90 miles. The only coun-
tries in Europe which have an excess OF
10 miles per 100 square miles of territory
are Germany, with IL miles; Great
Britain, with IL miles, France, with II
miles; Belgium, with 2S miles; Holland,
with 10 miles, and Switzerland, with ~
miles. No country in Europe, Sweden
alone excepted, has 10 miles of line per
1000 inhabitants, while in this country
but two states have less than 10 miles of
railway pc: 1,G00 inhabitants. The in
crease in railway mileage during tho
year was 4,sO5 miles. This is less than
the average for several years past. The
greatest activity in railway building
seems TO have been in the states lying
south of the Ohio and east Of the Missis.
sippl.
There were /, ,7S5 railway corporations,
of which $50 We're independent com
panieS for the purposes of operating and
i4i were subsidiary companies, the re-
lnalnder being private lines.
There were ~ companies, each Of
which controlled mileage in excess of
1000 miles, and nearly one-half of the
mileage of the country is the property
of these AZ companies,
The total number of locomotives used
by railroads was J2, l30. showing an in
crease of 1893 during he year, and the
total number Of cars the property of
railways was l,2l5,6ll, showing an in
crease of 1924 during the year.
Increased Demand for Labor.
The number Of men employed OIL rail
ways in the United States during tho
year covered by the report was cSi ,2S5,
being AN increase of 81, 1854.
The extent to which organized indus
try has increased the efficiency of labor
i3 shown BY the fact that every engineer
during the year has ON an average car
lied SB9,O1 passengers one mile and
2,339 $50 tons Of freight one mile.
The total capitalization of the railways
of tho United States was S9,s29, ,d7j, ,Oi5,
or $50, ,9i2 por mile Of line. Tgis shows
an increase i'll outstanding capital of
$500 pcr mile of line rs compared with
tho prcvions years report.
Equipment trust obligations have in
creased from $l9,i7S,2lj to $54, i55. 157.
A few years ago the opinion prevailed
among railway men that the leasing of
equipment by railway companies was
fast disappearing. This opinion is not
supported by the facts.
The gross earnings from operation
during the year woro 81 ,00G, 76l ,395. or
$G,S0l per mile of line Operating OK
penses were $i3i ,SS1, 093, or 81, ,53S per
mile Of line, leaving a not income from
operation Of 1864 ,S73 ,J02, or $2,2G3 per
mile of line. The net income per mile
of line was less than the net income of
the previous year by $3i.
The number of passengers carried dur
ing the year was 53l, lS3,0SS The num-
ber of tons Of freight carried was $751;
G0S.J
The total number of miles run by
passenger trains was j07 927 ,99S, and the
number of miles run by freight trains
was 4l6.274, 50e, The average Journey
per passenger was 81 lS miles, and the
average haul per ton of freight was 120
miles The average number of paSsen-
gers in train was A2, and the average
number OF tons of freight in train was
l6l. The average revenue per passenger
per mile WAS 2.l42 cents, and the aver
age revenue per ton of freight per mile
was e95 cents. The average revenue
per mile for passenger trains was $l.O6,
and the average revenue per mile for
freight trains was $l.64.
Increased Fatalities.
The report shows that casualties dur
ing the year We're greater than in any
previous year covered by reports to the
commission. The number killed during
the year was 7,O20 and the number in
jured was 35,sSl. This report emphasizes
more strongly than previous reports the
necessity of legislation compelling rail-
ways 10 adopt train brakes and auto
matte couplers, and also suggests that
some steps he taken besides the adoption
of the train brake to prevent the fire.
quency OF casualties from falling from
trains aud engines. The large number
killed and injured from collisions also
brings prominently into notice the ne
cessity of some eXtensiveuse of the block
system III the handling of trains aud II
more perfect application of the principle
of personal responsibility in the case of
accidents. An investigation into the
manner Of handling trains is reconI-
meuIcd.