San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-07-21
KRUTTSCHNITTS REASONS.
HE EXPLAINS AND JUSTIFIES THE
SAN ANTONIO SIDETRAOKING.
He Goes Into the History of the
Road and Quotes the Earnings,
Pleading Poverty in the Fall
ing Off of Revenue.

Ing OH Oh revenue.
The following letter was received
yesterday by Mr.. H. l.. Benson,
secretary of the Business Mems
club, from Mr.. j. Kruttschnitt,
anent the changing Of the San
Antonio division:
OFFICE OF J. KRUTTsCHNITT,
Vice-Pres. and Gen'l Mgr,
GALVESTON, HARRISBURG AND
SAN ANTONIO RAILWAY Co.,
On LINE, Tex, July 10.
To III. L. Benson, ESQ.,, Secretary Bust
ness Mems Club, San Antonio, Texas.
GENTLEMEN :-Referring to our
interview of this morning, in which
/ touched on certain statistics of
operation of the G. HI. & s. A. rail-
way, taken from the 1891, 1892, 1898
and 1894 reports to the Texas State
Railroad commission, it has &C.
Cured to me that it would be we'll
to present these facts to you in a
more connected manner, thereby
enabling you to better appreciate
their force as we'll as their influ-
ence on US in reaching the conclu-
sion to do away with one division.
In the year 1891, the g. HI. & s.
A. R'y Co. received an average Of
l.37 cents for every ton carried one
mile over its lines; q 1892, 1.33;
in 1898, 0.96 cents, and in 1894, 0.76
cents, a decrease in 1894 under 1891,
of Az in the compensation re-
ceived by the company for trans
portation services.
AS the rate of compensation de-
creased, the management endeav-
ored to do that which every wise
and prudent business man seeks to
do under similar circumstances, to.
wit: to do a larger business at
smaller rates Of profit, and at the
same time, by close supervision, to
cut down the operating expenses
to the lowest possible point con-
sistent with proper and safe SER
vice to the public.
To show you how closely we have
followed the methods prevailing in
your own Establishments, 1 would
state that in 1891 the total freight
traffic on the road, amounted to
253,000,000 ton miles. This volume
has increased steadily during the
years 1892, 1898 and 1894, in the
latter of which the volume reached
407, 100000 ton miles, or an increase
of 61@6, yet this large increase was
not sufficient to offset the reduc-
tion in rate, and the gross earnings
Of the company were actually 1919
less. Although every possible ef-
fort was made to reduce the oper-
ating expenses, 1t was impossible
to 80 reduce them as to keep pace
with the great fall in revenue.
Under these very trying circum-
stances, the management feels some
pardonable pride in pointing to the
fact that even in the darkest times,
the wages of its employees were not
reduced, in that respect forming a
somewhat conspicuous exception to
the general rule followed by nearly
all large railway systems, OF reduc-
ing the pay Of their employees dur
ing the period of financial depres-
sion that we passed through in the
year 1898 and part Of 1894.
The statistics rendered the State
Commission, evidence the fact that
during this period, the average
earnings per employe actually
show a slight increase, having
been 81 SO per day per man in 1891,
$2.O6 in 1892, $2.04 in 1898 and $2.O7
in 1894.
Confronted as we have been with
the extremely difficult conditions
and intricate problems evidenced
by the above statistics, you can
readily understand why we have
been driven, much against our will,
to cast about us for means of effect
ing still futher economies.
Shortly after assumed charge OF
the G. FL. & 8. A. Railway company
/ added the San Antonio division
to the two operating divisions then
existing, for the reason that at that
time we were inaugurating new
methods of handling our freights
and to insure the dispatch
necessary to not only con-
troll what business we had,
but to increase the tonnage 70 the
|. azsaat shown above, additj >fis,
! p supervising I'D