The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-02-10
RAILROAD EARNINGS DECREASING
The Interstate Commerce AS
sOciatiOn's Blunder.
The Report of the Commission De-
clared DisingenuOus.
Tho Greatly Depressed Condition Of
Railways Some Statistics
Which Are Quito
AprOpos.

The Railway Age and Northwestern
Railrosder OF this week attacks the re-
Gently published report Of the interstate
commerce commission for the year end
ing June 30, 1898, which has been very
widely quoted in the daily press OF the
country, on the grounds that it is dds.
ingenious" and likely to grossly mislead
the public as to the existing condition of
railway finances. The report in question
takes a generally cheerful view of the
situation, and points out that, while net
earnings for the year under considera-
ton fell off about IS per mile of line,
they were still enough to pay 3d. per
cent on the capitalization of the comps-
MES. The Railway Age says:
Why we say that this summary is dis
ingenious is because, in the first place,
no distinction is made between railways
in different parts of the country and no
hint is given that these averages" are
not inditferently applicable to all sec
tions. AS q matter of fact the report
shows that in four out of ten of the ter
ritorial groups OF states the roads showed
an actual deficit instead of their 3.5
per cent average" net earnings; and in
all the territory west of line
drawn from Chicago through ST.
Louis to New Orleans there was uni
verssl falling off in net earnings, while
for the roads lying east of Chicago there
was general increase. In the second
place the abstract is disingenuous-and
the report itself not less so-because the
whole tone Of it gives the reader to I'M
derstand that any assertion that the
railways of the country are not as a
whole prosperous ie uniustitiable. The
figures given in the report are now
seven months old. The period which
they cover was, for 10 months of its
course at least, time of general COM
mercial activity. That period embraced
all the time during which the prepafas
tions were being made for the worlds
fair and two months of the time during
which the fair was actually open. Dur
ing that period there should not. if the
railways had been receiving reasonable
rates in proportion to their expenses,
have been any sort of decrease in net
earnings. All external conditions were
favorable to them; and in spite of this
there was falling off of So mile in net
earnings-or $4,000 for 100000 miles
OI lluo-WnlCu nhu Hi To D6 DOTue uy
considerably less than one-half of the
mileage of the country. Now if this
was the result during those months OF
activity and heavy travel (if when BUSH
mess was large rates we're not sufficient
to keep net earnings up even to the level
of the year before) it waa quite certain
that, when business fell off and the
same conditions of rates were main
tanned, there could be no other result
but that which has come-wide
spread disaster. This is what the re-
port should have pointed out. Instead
OF CLOSING over the decrease and making
light of it, it should have insisted that
with such decrease in times of pros
perity there must necessarily have fol-
lowed ruin and tribulationinth the times OF
depression which succeeded That such
report, assuming general tone of
cheerfulness, should appear at this time
is deplorable. There ia nothing in it to
put the public on it's guard against a
gross Misunderstanding of the situation
but there is everything in it to invite
such a Misunderstanding.