The record-union., 1892-12-06
motive tenders. and at the other places of
r1.rL COST AT LIE East.

lllOilN ktHDtISs anu dI bllC OAAiNA B4etSI7 VI
consumption.
FUEL COST AT THE EAST.
| From Philadelphia and Baltimore to
/ Chicago and ST. Louis, and thence to
/ Kansas City, the average cost OF coal de-
! livered on the locomotive tenders, OF the
roads extending throughout Pennsyl-
Vania. Maryland, W est Virginia, ONO,
/ Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. may be
safely estimated at not more than - 70
/ per ton-iS per cent. only OF the average
[ cost per ton to the roads operated in q all
! fornia.
! The following Comparisons show the
/ vital Importance of cheap fuel in the oper-
alton Of railroads: he cost Of the fuel
used by the Southern Pacific Company IN
/ operating its roads in California was in
| 1891 $, -, ,SS6, equal to 81, l56 per mile Of
road.
The system of the Chicago and Alton
Railroad Company, from Chicago to st.
Louis and to Kansas City, in all SIS miles
I mot including second track, extends
through Illinois and Missouri. The cost
OF the coal for operating it, delivered on
the tenders of the locomotives, was in 1887
9iIO per mile, being $40 per mile less
than the cost to the Southern Pacific Com
pany in California in 1871. But there is
TO be considered the further fact that the
passenger and freight mileage per mile
OF road was much greater on the Chicago
and Alton system than on the Southern
Pacific Company's lines.
DIFFERENCE N COST OF FUEL.
Estimating the passenger and freight
mileage OF the Chicago and Alton system
10 be the same rs on the Southern Pacific
lines OF taiiioruia shows that the differ
ence in the cost Of coal per mile OF road
operated is fully sSl5 per auuum, and that
thiS excess IN cost aggregates $500 coo
4 per Muun, OF a traction more Than 10
/ per cent OF the gross earnings of the
/ roads Of the southern Pacific Company
4 in California
z Iho average cost Of the coal used hy the
santa lie ~ stem in California is s. - Der
+ ION. therefore. a> its volume of passenger
ANA freight business and mileage ner
mile OF road are much less than on the
I roads OF the Southern IaciHc Company,
! lt IS sale 10 estimate that, compared with
I the Alton system, the excess IN the cost
/ OF TINS item o. expense is considerably
more than 10 per cent OF its gross earn
lngs. This excess in cost Of fuel is an
oucrous charge in the cost OF operating
the railroads of California, and it amounts
10 Irom 10 per cent. to 70 per cent. OF their
( gross earnings.
The fact that the average COS of coal in
/ California IS more than five times As,
great AS the average cost on the lines
! spoken OF, from the Atlantic sea board to
Kansas City, also the gradients being
! lnucA more difficult ana the volume OF
/ passenger and freight traffic considerably
! less, throw sufficient light upon the cues
I ton 20 clearly show that COMPARISONS OF
/ the tguTes OF rates alone to determine
! their relative justice and equity will not
/ be accepted or upheld even by those per-
sons least informed.
There IS not driver OF transportation
team tollng over the vast mDUntains, or
through the desert arid regions Of the
1 Vest, carefully training Il green line
mule,' who does not at the same time
consider and learn 10 know that the c. st
OF fuel, the character OF the roads and the
tonnage to and from, and also his own
compensation, are important factors by
which the rates OF his line are made and
| justified.
Low GRANS SCONTIN Entail RATES FOR
CERTAIN PRODUCTS TO EASTERN MAR
KETs.
1t is well to consider the fact that the
railway companies have an especial inter
est IN common with the people of Calilor-
ma III low rates Tor the TRANSPORTATION OF
/ the various products OF the State. Tor
Nnlch II Is feasible to find market by
rail east OF the hocky Mountains.
The managers OF the railroads appreci-
ate this fact, and they evidently act upon
1t by making rates 50 low for the class of
service performed that they themselves
are not sure Of direct and reasonable re-
muneraticn, or even reimbursement OF
the actual cost to them But Whatever
tends to increase the producing capacity
OF the State is not only beneficial to the
4 people, but also 10 the railroad properties.
and it is doubtless for this reason ana
/ because they estimate indirect and ulii-
mate compensation that the rates are SO
much reduced on this class Of business.
/ The rates which have prevailed this
! season on some of the important pro-
ducts shipped TO Eastern markets bv the
| Southern Pacific Company are presented
| in the following schedule
RATE PER ToN PER MILE
! From san Francisco to Eastern roints On
commodities curing summer ot1SJ2 10000
/ pounds per carload: