The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-11
EARNINGS OF ROADS
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT PRE-
SCENTED BY THE INTERSTATE
COMMERCE. COMMISSION.
TURN TOWARD PROSPERITY
INDICATED, AT LEAST, BY THE
PARTIAL FIGURES WHICH
ARE INCLUDED,
OF FIFTY MILLIONS.
Showing I'm This Respect Not
Greatly Different From That
for the Preceding Year,

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10.-The inter-
state commerce commission has Just
issued preliminary report on the in
come and expenditures of the rail-
ways in the United States for the year
ending June 80, 1896, prepared by its
statistician. From the interest ana
importance that are attached to rail-
way statistics, the report says, con-
gress should no longer fail to provide
adequate means of securing prompt re-
turns from carriers. which are now de-
layed beyond the legal limit.
The statement submitted presents
the chief items of an income account,
by ten territorial groups, for 652 roads,
representing an operated mileage OF
172,369 miles of line, or about Sc per
cent of the total mileage operated In
the United States. The gross earnings
upon this mileage are 81, LIS, SAC, 562. OF
which 1923, ass, 1871 was from the passen-
ger service and s772,071. 374 from the
freight service. As the operating ex-
penses were 1854, 81 ,515, it appears that
the income from operations was $685.
675,047. The figures given In this pre-
Hminary statement, according to the
report, indicates at least a turning
toward prosperity
The earnings Of the passenger service
are shown to be $1,S77 per mile of line.
being an increase Of $113, as compared
with the previous year. The earnings
of the freight service also show an in
crease over last year of $349 per mile
of line. The gross earnings per mile
OF line were $6,519 for 1896 and the
operating expenses $4.380,-leaving a
net income per mile of line Of s2138.
which is In excess of that for the fiscal
years 1895 and 1894, and compares fair
ly we'll with the net income per mile
OF line for 1893 and 1892. The net
earnings of the 1T, 1863 miles of line
represented in this income report were
$S68, ,O47, against $341, 2sS,047 for the
corresponding roads in '95.
This is the item Increased by in
come from investment) from which
fixed charges and dividends must be
paid before a surplus is declared. The
increase in net earnings is fairly well
distributed throughout the United
States. The surplus from the opera,
tions Of the year ending June 80. 1896.
was $6,328 667. The fiscal year 1895
closed with deficit of $31, OTIS, 030. In
the case of every group in 1895, except
group TX (madnly Texas and Louis
lanai, which had a smaller deficit In
that year, there was either a smaller
surplus or greater deficit than in
1896
The dividends declared by the roads
covered by this advance statement
were $54, 983,732, being almost the same
as the amount of dividends declared by
the corresponding roads the previous
year. The amount stated does not in
clude all of the dividends paid. since a.
considerable portion OF the dividends
paid during the year on railway stocks
is derived from rentals received by
leased roads from the companies thar
operate them, such rentals being re-
turned by the lessons as fixed charges.
The report closes with a brief argu-
ment to the effect that congress should
so amend the act to regulate COM
merce as to secure the enforcement
OF it's provisions.