The record-union., 1893-02-07

10 say, from thirty to fifty per cent.
higher. 1t costs, for instance, at the pres
ent time $1,000 to bring locomotive from
Eastern works to California. The Pacific
Coast produces no coal suitable for foun-
dry uses or blacksmith work, as well as
anthracite coal required for heating cars.
Both Lehigh and Cumberland coal for
these purposes is brought from the At
lantic States, the transportation aud
handling charges more than quadrupling
its cost to California as compared with
Eastern railroads.
Oak lumber for draft timbers for cars
and for many other purposes in building
and repairing rolling and floating stock
costs +. o. b. in kentucky and Indiana
from Sl2 TO Sl5 per thousand feet, board
measure. The expense of freight and
handling brings the minimum cost i'll
Sacramento up to so per thousand feet,
board measure. The current market quo
tation in San Francisco is, l believe, $50
per thousand feet, board measure.
With the existing and prospective vol
ume of traffic to be used, the rates for the
transportation Of freight and passengers
in California should, on account of the
higher cost OF labor, fuel and miscella-
neous supplies, to say nothing of the
greater requirements for fixed charges
on account of the higher cost of the roads
in California, be at least 50 per cent.
higher than similar rates which would
be fair and equitable in Eastern states.
In this connection, it is proper to state
that because the States and erritories
adjoining California on the east do not
produce lumber or hardly anything that
is required in the maintenance of the
Southern Pacific line in those regions,
many classes of materials are bought IN
California for operations outside the
State, and many articles are manutac-
tured i'll California from crude materials
purchased here and shipped over for the
operation of the road and maintenance of
its way and structures III adjoining
States. For these reasons, the amount
paid out by the Southern Pacific Com
pany to California dealers and producers
exceeds the earnings OF the company on
freight and passengers taken up and laid
down in California.
In summarizing his views, the Manager
OF the san Francisco Traffic Association
stated III effect that the railroad earnings
per mile in California were greater than
In Nebraska, Kansas, and contiguous
States, and that the cost of operating roads
in California was not greater than III those
States. AS matter of fact, the cost of
operating railroads in California is very
much higher than the region he men
toned, and railroad men who have made
study of these things, will all agree
that, aside from the higher cost of other
items of expenditure, if the railroads in
that region were obliged TO pay for labor
and fuel the rates which apply on the
Southern Pacific lines in California to-
day, they would not earn their bare eX-
penses of operation. Figures are not
necessary to prove this proposition to
railway experts who, from practical eX-
perience and personal observation, have
informed themselves as 10 the difference
III operating conditions. AS corrObor-
atiye OF this fact, however, we present to
your consideration a statement compiled
from the Railroad Commissioners report
OF the State of Illinois, for the year 1891,
also, similar statement of the five prin-
cipal roads in the State of iowa.
Permit me 10 quote you from the last
published report of the United States
Interstate Commerce Commission, on
statistics OF Railways of the United
States" commenting on the statistics
compiled under authority OF the commits
sion, which are believed to be the most
complete that have yet been prepared, the
railways of the United States therein be-
ing divided into ten territorial groups:
1t is believed that the attempt to group sta
tistics will be completely JUSTIFIED by the faces
presented in the present report, Tor the COM
parsons which il renders possible throw new
and important light on the operations of rail
ways IN the United States. They show, for
example, the great divergence in the condi-
tions under which railways are operated.
1hCS. whether we consider the gross earnings
per mile OF line, the operating eXpen es per
mile of line, number OF locomotives per 90
miles of line, passenger mileage per mile of
line, freight mileage per mile OF line, revenue
per passenger per mile, revenue per ton per
mile. per cent. OF passenger earnings to total
earnings, per cent. OF freight earnings to total
earnings, value of railway property Per mile
of line, or any other prominent fact pertain
ing 10 railway economy, the variations are so
great 10 dispel the thought that there is
any approach toward uniformity in the con-
ditons under which railways are operated or
in the administrative rules 10 which they CON
form.
Among other comparisons made of
these groups the statistician shows that.
out of rs, ,207, 100000 tons of freight carried
one mile in the United States, only ,9l4-
600, 900, or 2.7 per cent, were moved in
group No. 10, including California, the
largest in area of all the groups. Out of
IL ,S47 .0O0,0J0 passengers carried one mile
in the United States, only 6Sl, 900, 900. or
5.S per cent, were in group No. 10. These
facts are exhibited graphically on the
blue prints shown you herewith. In con-
nection with them is d similar statement
showing graphically the distribution of
population in the United States, showing
that, of the 81, $4,000 people reported by
the census of 1890, only 2,350,0O0 were in
the States and Territories OF Washing
ton, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California,
Arizona and the western portion of New
MeAlCO, VI o.i per CSuJ.
OPERATING EXPENSES.
OF the total expense of operating and
maintaining railroad about nine per
cent. is for general and miscellaneous ex-
pense, including administration eX-
penses, printing. taxes, etc., commercial
agencies; twenty-five per cent. for main
tenance of way and structures; fifteen
per cent. for maintenance of locomotives,
cars and other equipment; twentyfour
per cent. for wages of engineers, firemen.
station expense for agents, clerks and
iaborers, telegraphers, wages of con-
ductors, brakemen, switchmen. aagmen
and watchmen; thirty per cent. for fuel
for locomotives, steamers, train and sta
ton supplies, roundhouse labor, fuel sta
ton, attendance, heating, lighting and in
specting cars and stations, lubricating
cars, loss and damage to freight and other
property, expense of sleeping, parlor
cars, etc.
The tendency of many people to over
estimate the earnings and undervalue the
expenses of a railroad most probably
arises from the fact that the patrons of
the railroad company in their various
transactions connected with transporta-
tion are chiefly concerned with the rates
charged. They are not called upon to in
form themselves with respect to the cost
of transportation and expenditures other
than that which may come under their
direct notice as necessary for the receipt
and delivery of height, the sale of tickets
and the running of trains. In other
words, it is probable that the most of rail-
way patrons have some appreciation of
the tWenty-four per cent. or twenty-five
per cent. of the total operating expenses
required for engineers, firemen, con-
ductors, brakemen, telegraph operators,
station agents and clerks, switchmen,
flagnren and watchmen, as above, but
understand little or nothing about the
seventy-fve or seventy-six per cent. of
the expenditures which. so far as they are
concerned, do not enforce themselves