The record-union., 1893-02-07

3
than on the comparatively straight and
level lines of the Eastern so-called prairie
! States.
I The profiles before you indicate the diff
ference in the grade system of roads east
/ and west of the Rocky Mountains more
/ clearly and forcibly than can be expressed
/ IN ngureS, but il may not be out OF place
/ to state that, 10. the roads operated by the
southern Pacific Company in California,
covering mileage of 2,S95 miles, the
length of level track is only 54S miles;
the Length OF curved line, GAG miles; the
number OF degrees of curvature, I2S,3l9,
j equal TO 506 complete circles: the sum of
/ ascending grades in feet, 4, ,S62; descend
ing grades, 26,0S5 feet; total rise and fall
OF grades, 6S,S feet.
There are eighty-six tunnels on the
| Pacific system lines OF the Southern Pa
| Gihc Company, aggregating 66.I feet.
flity-four thousand feet is in the Cali
1ornla railroad system, which includes
/ the SlskIyou Mountains along the bound
/ airy line between California and Oregon.
| sixty of these tunnels, aggregatng
49,f4S ieet in length and costing over
s4,oOO,O0O, are within the State boundaries
OF California. These tunnels have been
costly TO construct and are expensive to
MAINTAIN. There is practically no similar
| expense for either construction or mainte-
nance work in the Mississippi Valley
| States. Taking the snowsheds and tun-
nels OF the Southern Pacific lines in Cali
| lorna together, their aggregate cost is
/ over S6,OOO,000, or probably sufficient
sum TO ouid and equip over 200 miles Of
railroad i'll Kansas. If invested in Kan
sas railroads, and if the San Francisco
Traffic Associations estimate of uniform
distance tariff covering railroad rates ia
lhls State IS correct, it might he expected
that interest at a fair rate might he earned
! upon this S6,000,G00 investments; but the
1. s..N.4
| brings no direct returns. Ii is an extra
cost connected with the construction Of
something less than ten miles of railroad,
ana constant expense is required for
maintenance of the heavy timber work
required IN great portion OF this tun-
neling.
The damage consequent upon wash
outs, landslides and snow blockades is
also exceptionally great in the mountain
regions. From these causes, not longer
than three years ago, railroad communi-
cation between California and Oregon
was suspended for more than two months
| at time. At present, on The South Pa
cIhc Coast Road, between San Francisco
and Santa Cruz, there is a great land
! slide i'll the Santa Cruz Mountains, which
has crushed down tunnel timbered and
praced as strongly as possible. n large
force OF extra men, as many as could be
| placed on the work, employing shifts to
carry along the work continuously night
ana day, nave not succeeded in TeopeniDg
the road for traffic, which has now been
interrupted thirty-four days. This road
has been so damaged by other slides and
Washouts that 1t is more than probable
| llat, taking lnto account the increase in
! operating expenses, together with the de-
crease in earnings consequent upon the
interruption OF traffic, the road may not
this year earn enough to cover its operat-
i1,fr
tain grades, and considerably more tun-
nelS-at least 30 per cent. more-than on
the PENNSYLVANIA Central Railroad, and
is one of the roads mentioned by the
gentleman representing the Traffic AS
sociation as showing excessive gross
earnings as compared with Eastern lines.
! Another road mentioned by him i'll the
same connection is the California Pacific,
operating ll5 miles of line, from Sacra-
mento to South Vallejo, from Davisville
to Knights Landing and from Napa
Junction TO Calistoga. This road crosses
the tule lands between Sacramento and
Webster, being subject to overflow and
damage by floods which, from year to
year, show a tendency toward a greater
hight. This particular road, for over
| eight miles, is protected on both sides Of
a high embnnkment with q granite face
wall, very costly to construct. If the
high water plane of the Sacramento
| River continues to rise, as is probable,
| it will become necessary to build up the
embankment supporting the track to a
greater hight, and, in consequence, re-
move and replace this walling. The
floods of the present winter have been
right up to the grade and the drift de-
posted by them now lays at the ends of
the ties for several miles. The timber
work on this line is extensive and costly
to keep in repair. More than 100000
will have to be expended this year in re-
pairs of the bridge over the Sacramento
| River. Knowing, as [ do, the require
ments of the road for maintenance, L will
say that it needs every dollar that it can
earn.
LABOR EXPENSES.
! The labor expense on the railroads in
| the Southern Pacific system and in Cali
! fornia generally averages more than 80
per cent. greater than on roads east of the
| Rocky Mountains.
1t may be noted that in the State of Kan
sas, according to the Railroad Commits
sioners' report for 1891, page 29l, the
average daily compensation paid railway
employees is 81 70, while in California and
contiguous States and Territories the rate
is about 81 81, or 40 per cent greater than
| in Kansas. (On the Southern Pacific lines
alone it is at least - 59). 1t is to be
understood that the daily rate of COM
pensation is computed on 3l3 days in a
|
Railroad Commissioners in the various
States.
AS nearly as can be estimated the pay
| rolls of the Southern Pacific Company, for
services rendered in California are s., 100
| 600 per annum for about 1900 employees.
Could the rate of compensation be re-
! duced to the Kansas figure Isl 73 per
day. this would become ST. 900, or
3,230, 200 less than now paid, or Is per
1 cent. of the amount earned annually in
| California from transportation of passen-
| gers and freight.
At the Illinois rate of wages (Sl 90 a
day the saving would be s.. .46O, 900, or
about 10 per cent. of the Southern Pacific
Company's earnings in California.
The difference between the rates oc rail-
way wages, rs between the Mississippi
! Valley and Pacific Coast regions, is we'll
| typified by the so-called Atchison prop
critics. For their Chicago, Sante Fe and
California line, the Railroad and Ware
house Commissioners report, State of Hi
nois, for the year 1891 shows the average
daily rate of compensation for all classes
ofemployes to be 81 G6: for the Atchison
system i'll the state OF Kansas the Rail-
| road Commissioners, in their report for
| 1891, show rate of 81 81; for the Atlantic
and Pacific Railroad, extending from
! Eastern New Mexico westward through
Arizona into California, the rate is 50 Oh;
and on the Southern California Railway
properties the rate of wages is 81 Il. as
shown by the California Railroad Com
missioners' report for 1892.
The efficiency of railway employees, that
is to say, the number of tons of freight
transported to each person EMPLOYED, is
somewhat less in California than in the
| Eastern States.
The principal sources of coal supply for
use in California are Colorado, Wyom-