The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1895-06-28

men, fagmen and watchmen Sl.75. tele
graph operators and dispatchers $l.93, and
employees of floating equipmen Sl.97.
CAPITALIzATIoN AND VALUATION OF
RAILWAY PROPERTY.
The total amount of reported railway
capital on June 30, 1894. was $40, 796, 473, Sl3
or S62, 95l per mile of line. This Is an in
crease in the amount outstanding during
the wear of 1920, 23S 403. The amount of
capital stock was S4,S34075,6 $50, of which
81 03. 5S4. 1866 was common stock, and $50
4Qi .4g3 was preferred stock The funded
debt was $3.50, 5S3.O19, classified as toll
lows: Bonds, 4.593s931. 754; miscellaneous
ohlipati0ns, S456, 277.3S0: income bonds,
1912. 403.6S1 and equipment trust obli2a-
lions. 1868, $40, 204 The amount of current
liabilities was S605, 815.135. The amount of
railway securities held by the railways as
an investment was 81. 541.UoS,o|U decrease
during the year of SIC. 1913 565.
The amount of stock paying no dividend
was So O66, $50. 094. OF 63.43 per cent OF the
total amount OF the stock paying divi,
dends 43l per cent of the total stock paid
from to per cent; lOl2 per cent PAID
6 to per cent; and 5 AZ per cent paid from
to Der cent The total amount of dlvi-
dends was S95. SIS, 976, or an average rate on
the dividend paying stock of 5.4l per cent.
The amount of bonds paying no interest
was S65O, ,7S9, or 14.17 per cent, Inc
| amOUnt OF mlSCelldlltOuS OullSouIoho pay
mo no interest was S53426, 264, or I'LL per
cent. and the amount of income bonds pay
inc no interest was S2l0,75 ,554, or 1894 per
cent.
PUBLIC SERVICE.
The number of passengers carried was
! 61Q tSS. 1qq an increase over the previous
wear of q. l27 5S7. This increase Is almost
wholly in Groups Ill and ". ana WAS nc
casiOnpd by the Worlds Fair travel. Inc
| IA
average number of passengers III tram
was A. and the average distance Travelled
by each passenger was 23.Ob miles. me
passenger mileage per mile of line, winch
indicates the density of passenger tral1c;;
was 81 1888, a slight decrease as compared
with the previous report. ~ Ihere was
large decrease in freight traffic, the number
of tons carried being 63S, 1885, BOB, as against
| 745, 1l9.4S2 in 1898, decrease OF l0b' w 929
tons, The ton mileage was 80, 330. %, W. a
decrease Of 10. 253, 007, 131 from the previous
year, and the ton miles per mile o line de-
creased from SOL ,232 in 1893 to l5I252 in
1894. a decrease in density of trat1i of 90
$50 ton miles, the average nnmbci of tons
in train was 1880, decrease OF All tons
showing a decrease of economy in the use
of freight equipment, The average haul
of one ton was 125.SS miles.
EARNINGS AND EXPENSES.
The gross earnings of the railways for
the wear ending June 30, 1894, were S1,073,-
361 ,797, a decrease as compared with the
previous year of 47,390,017. or 1907 per
cent Passenger revenue decreased &c.
42,25S, or 5.35 per cent, and the revenue
from freight traffic decreased Sl29, $50, 94S.
or Is. SO per cent. The amount of operating
expenses wa 1871, 414322. a decrease of
1896 500, 977 or 11.66 per cent. The largest
per cent of decrease was in the operating
expenses assigned to maintenance of way
info Of
ment, which show, respectively, decrease
of 1912 and 1852 per cent. The net earn
ings were S341 ,947. 475, a decrease of 800,
1873, 100 as compared with the previous year.
The income derived from sources outside of
operations was $l42.Sl6,S05. The amount
of fixed charges and other deductions from
income was 1929, 00S310, leaving a net in
come of S55, 755,970 available for dividends.
decrease as compared with the previous
year of nearly 5000 per cent. The amount
of dividends paid was S95,575,976, decrease
of only S5.353,9O9 from the amount paid the
previous year. The fact that nearly the
normal amount of dividends was paid not
withstanding the great decrease in income
available for them, and that the payment of
the amount stated entailed deficit from
the operations of the year OF $40, 9l2 OLA. is
suggestive. The revenue derived from the
carrying of passengers was S2S5, 349, 55S, or
26. 58 per cent of gross earnings. and the
revenue derived from freight traffic was
S699, 400 913, or IS. Ii per cent of gross earn
ingS.
ACCIDENTS.
During the year 1923 railway employees
were killed and 23422 were injured as
compared with 1921 killed and 31.729 injur
ed in 1898. This marked decreasein casual
ty is in part due to the decrease in the
number of men employed, and the decrease
in the volume of business handled. The
increased use of automatic appliances on
railway equipment also may have rendered
railway employment less dangerous and it
may be that the grade of efficiency of EN-
ployees has been raised.
The number of passengers killed was S24,
an increase of 25, and the number injured
was $780, decrease of 1876. OF the total
number of fatal casualties TO railway en-
plOyeeS, 25l were due to coupling and I'M
coupling cars, 439 to falling from trains and
engines, 80 to overhead distractions, 145 to
collisions, los to derailments, and the bal
ance to various other causes not easily
classified. TO show the ratio of casualty,
it may be stated that one employee was
killed out of every 42S in service, and one
injured out of every 80 employed. The |
trainmen perform the most dangerous ser
vice, one out of every 156 employed having |
been killed and one out of every II having
been injured.
The ratio of casualty to passengers is in |
striking contrast to that of railway employ |
ees, passenger having been killed out of
each 1,91261S carried. or for each Al, 103, 22S
miles travelled. and l injured out of each |
204,2 carried or for each 4,709, III miles |
A distribution of accidents to the |
territorial groups exhibits the diversity in |
the relative safety of railway employment |
and of railway travel in the different Sec
tons of the country.
CONCLUSION.
In concluding the report the statisti cian |
renews the recommendations made in pre-
vious reports in regard to the desirability of |
requiring annual reports from express COM
panies; corporations, companies and per-
sons owning rolling stock used in inter-
state commerce; corporations companies
and persons owning depot property, stock |
yards and elevators used by interstate
carriers, and from carriers by water that
with railways for traffic. Refer
ence is also made TO the question requiring
to report freight earnings by |
On account of the present
depressed financial condition of railways,
ii has been decided to let this matter rest
another year, although there is no question
as to the desirabilIty of such reports.