People's voice., 1893-01-20
RAILROAD NATURALIZATION.

A Reduction in Rates of transportation
| Increases, Instead of Reduces, Railroad
Earnings.
Talking about the desirability and
results Of state operation of railroads,
the last batch of facts as to the opera
ton Of the state owned Hungarian sys-
TEN under the zone plan, just published
in Vienna by Edward Engle, may be of
interest Previous to the introduction
of the zone system by the government,
the average annual number of passen-
gers carried was 100000. The first
year after the zone plan was adopted
(lS89) the passengers were 49, 1000, 900.
The second year they mounted up to
$4,000, 1000, ind the third year, that is
last year, they reached 2S,000,OOO. The
financial result has been equally bril-
liant, the receipts rising from 9,7O5, 900
tlOrins annually before the adoption of
the zone system to 2S,3OO,OOO florins
this last year.
The zone system was simply an extra
ordinary reduction of rates on a sys-
tematic plan. No railroad managed for
private profit ever dared to do such
thing or ever would dare to do it. The
whole story of the zone system is an
o7erwh Ginning argument for public rail-
road management as not only the least
oppressive but the most progressive
system possible New Nation.
About the time of the annual en-
campment of the Knights of Pythias,
which was held in Kansas City last
summer, the newspapers made a great
hubbub about the low rates made by
competing railroad lines
The Chicago Tribune said: 1T costs
only 50 to travel from Chicago to Kan
sas City, and several persons, they say,
are thinking seriously of going before
long"
In the course of an editorial upon the
subject, the Kansas City Journal said:
"The lower the rates gofor the Knights
of Pythias encampment the more peo-
pie will come here, that is evident.
Both the Santa Fe and the Alton are
trying to force them down as low as
possible They have got them down
where big business is assured. They
may take them lower Kansas CITY
can rejoice Whether there will be
any after result to the fight can't be
told. As rule when rates 90 down it
is pretty hard to put them back to the
old figure again. Three dollars from
Chicago to Kansas City is a pretty small
sum to pay for a ride; so is 81 from
Kansas City to Chicago These rates
should make business 1t can't be ex-
pected that they will remain at that
figure, but if they stay there just few
weeks there is no prospect of ever get
ting them back again-not all the way
back"
There are some very important ad-
missions in the foregoing paragraphs,
chief among which is that the lower
the rates are the more people there are
who travel. But we see no reason for
the statement thot the rates cant be
expected t. remain at that figure" The
demand made by the peoples party
that the railroads shall be owned and
operated by the people, or the govern
ment, if crystalized into law, would
give us permanent feature as low, or
lower rates than those mentioned.
In Hungary, where the government
owns and operates the railroads under
the zone system passenger can ride
any distance, from 14S to 454 miles, in
frst-class compartment of fast express
train. for SS.S4, and third-clasS upon
the same train for S1.92. The second
class fare is $3.50.
The full schedule of passenger rates
is as follows.