The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-11-22
STATE RAILROADS.
Interesting Facts Collected
by the Interstate Com
merCe Commission.
GOVERNMENTS OWN THE LINES
But Only Two Operate Them
Many Countries Lease the Roads
to Private Parties.

WASHINGTON, Nov. %. 1ss4.-At the
last session of Congress a resolution was
passed by the Senate requesting the
chairman of the Interstate Commerce
Commission to furnish that body with
all the information the commission
possessed relating to railroad ownership
by foreign Governments. The response OF
w. r. Morrison. chairman of the Com
mission. to that resolution has been
printed, and is being circulated through
the document room of the Senate. 1t is
shown that the following countries do
not own or operate railways, viz.:-Col-
ombia. Great Britain and Ireland, Mex
leo, Paraguay, Peru. Spain, Switzerland,
Turkey, United States and Uruguay-lO.
The following Governments W and.
operate practically all their railways,
viz.:-Egpyt and Nicaragua.
The following Governments own and
operate some of the railways, viz.:-Ar-
gentina, Australasia. Austria-Hungary.
Belgium, Brazil. Canada, Cape of Good
Hope, Chill. Denmark. France. Germany,
Guatemala. India. Japan, Norway, Por-
tugal, Russia and Sweden-1S.
The following Governments own part
of the railways, but do not operate any,
leasing all the present mileage to private
companies, v~iz.:-Greece. Holland and
Italy-3.
The total railway mileage of the
world was recently estimated at 4o6,4l6
miles on December 81. 1892.
LINES TO REVERT.
The Argentine Government owns $40 of
the 1858 miles in the Republic. About
fve-sixths of the mileage in Australasia
belong to the various colonial Govern
ments, those IN Victoria and New South
Wales being operated by a commission
which also has charge of the construc-
ton of new lines: in Austria about 40
per cent. of the railway mileage is owned
and about 70 per cent. is operated by the
State. Upon the expiration of charters,
not exceeding ninety years. the lines,
lands and buildings of the companies re-
vert to the Government, but the equip
ment remains the property of the private
owners. The tariffs of State roads are
fixed by the Government; those of the
companies are subject to revision by the
Government every three years, and the
Government has power to reduce rates,
If the net earnings exceed 10 per cent. on
capital.
mileage in Belgium is wned and oper-
ated by the State. The roads not owned
by the Government will. under the terms
of their charters, ultimately revert to 1t.
The State owns about one-fourth of
the total railway mileage in Brazil, but
this one-fourth does about one-half of
the entire business.
about 5000 miles in Canada is owned by
the Government. In 1899 the operations
resulted in a net loss of $500, 600, or $500 a
mile.
The railroads of the Cape of Good
Hope and Egypt are owned by the Gov
ernments. Chilli owns one-third of her
lines, and Denmark three-fourths OF hers
The railroads of Colombia will revert to
the Government at the close of a certain
period.
The French railroad system is a mixed
one of State and private ownership.
The companies are practically free from
competition. but the lines are ultimately
TO become Government property.
III competition of the private lines
compelled the Government to lease some
of the State lines to the former. The
scheme of naturalization of the roads
was abandoned in 1893 on account of the
necessity for great additional taxation.
Germany owns 80 per cent. of the rail-
roads in that Empire, and they are oper-
ated as a single system. The private
lines are controlled by State boards.
ENGLAND OWNS NONE.
None OF the roads in Great Britain and
Ireland are owned by the Government,
but the right to purchase all roads is
ItSGTF6Q ~ fdEli1lllGEi- OlilIl5Gl1l IS5A-
lations are enforced by the Railway Com
mission and Board of Trade.
The railroads of Greece are nearly all
owned and altogether managed by priv
ate companies; Guatemala owns thirty
OF the 126 miles in her territory; half of
Hollands lines are owned by the State,
but operated by a private company; two
thirds of the lines in India are owned
by the Government and the other third
subsidized.
Italy has tried both State and private
railroads. and has come to the coaclu-
sion that II is not advantageous for the
State to own and operate the railways.
Unoer the present system private com
panies operate the State roads under con-
tract with the Government.
Only q small per cent. OF the roads in
Japan are owned by the Government,
but the Government has the right to
purchase lines chartered since 1887.
Nearly all the railroads in Mexico have
been built by American companies; there
is no Government ownership.
Nicaragua, Norway and Paraguay own
all the railroads within their borders;
those in Peru. Spain, Switzerland, Tur-
key and Uruguay are owned by private
companies; in Portugal ~siXty-two per
cent. belong to the Government; in Rus
STA, 40 per cent; in Sweden, IS per cent.