The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-12
RAILROADS OF ENGLAND
HOW FREIGHT RATES AND PASsEN-
GER FARES ARE REGULATED.
An Arrangement by which All Traffic
Is Practically PoOled-WOrlx of the
Railway Clearing House.

pooling arrangements, but they are not inn
portant" The fact is, the English railways
have arrived at much the same results by an
arrangement or agreement as to rates and
fares to be charged by competitive COM
panies running to the same points from the
same termini Under these agreements
which appear to be absolutely kept as to
passenger traffic, the whole regular traf-
fic of the United Kingdom is practically
pooled. For example, there are four great
railways competing for the traffic between
London and Ldverpool-the London & North
western, the Midland, the Great Northern
and the Great Western. The London &
Northwestern is the shortest and most direct
way, and therefore the fare is based on that
route Between it and the Great Western
there is a difference of some forty miles.
yet the fares on all four roads are identi-
cally the same. A regular pool once existed
between these roads for the Liverpool traf-
fic, but when it expired matters had ad-
Justed themselves in a manner satisfactory
to each company and the compact or agree
ment has been substantially kept without
the form of pool OF course, if any one
of these four railways began to cut rates
they would be met by the other companies,
until all had enough of such folly and en-
tered into an actual agreement again. This,
it should be remembered, they have a per-
feet legal right to do. Thus we have here,
and there are hundreds of similar instances
in England, tacit agreement as to COM
petitiye rates-namely that each company
shall secure, by legitimate means, all the
through traffic it can, the rates of fare be-
ing similar at all competitive points. Again,
the distance between London and Birming-
ham is 113 miles by the Northwestern and
1872 miles by the Great Western, yet both
charge the same and do the journey in the
same time. Meantime the Great Western
will soon open a shorter route, which may
lead to reduction of time, but certainly
not to a reduction of fare.
Mr.. Frederick Harrison general manager
of the London & Northwestern Railway,
was asked about this proposed movement
of a rival railway a few days ago, and SIM
ply replied: Il cannot say. l have heard
of the intention of the Great Western to
run two hours train between London and
Birmingham, but if the Great Western
Company or any other company ran from
Lodon to Birmingham in two hours, we
should do it in the same time or less" This
may be called healthful or legitimate COM
petition.
Nor is there anything Utopian about a run
of two hours to Birmingham, for the London
d Northwestern Railway now does it in
two hours and twenty minutes. The incl
dent illustrates the sort of competition of
the English railways, which, While retain
ing the competitive element when it comes
TO efficient service to the public, is not dis
posed to destroy these great properties,
we have in many cases in the United States,
by a senseless and needless war of rates.
10 insure against such catastrophe the
English railways may pool their receipts,
but the fact that this may be legally done
seems to have, with few exceptional
cases, done away with the necessity of do
ing It, Agreements as to the passenger traffic
are universally kept, while the rates on
goods traffic have certainly not brought the
English roads to the unhappy state of bank
ruptcy which we see on all sides at home.
English railways are prosperous; they are
employing the full number of hands; they
are keeping up their roadbeds and their
rolling stock, and they are paying the mill
lion or more investors in railway stock an
average dividend of about 4 per cent. on
the total investment. The English seem
to go on the principle that an impoverished
railway is a public evil rather than a pub
lie benefit.
SOME STARTLING FIGURES.
Between London and Leeds, by the Great
Northern, is 1S6 miles, and by the London &
Northwestern, 226 miles, but the fares are
identical on both lines. There is, of course
nothing like the competition in England
which we have in the United States. The
primary reason is not difficult to discover
To promote new railway in England has
for nearly century been a costly opera
ton. While on our side of the Atlantic
during the railway building periods, rails
were laid anywhere and everywhere, on the
other side enormous sums of money were
being expended in opposition to rival
schemes. Some of our railway builders
would be astonished at the sums thus
pended The violence of the opposition to
new railways in England is almost incon-
ceivable to those engaged in similar enter
prises in the United States. The solicitors
bill for the Southeastern Railway have
been told contained 10000 foos and
amounted to $1,000 600. The parliamentary
costs of the Brighton q South Coast Rail-
way "a company that L believe is now
pooled on competitive traffic with the Lon
don 81 Southwestern Railway averaged
$24 600 per mile. Those of the Blackwell
Railway amounted to the extraordinary
sum of $1,000 per mile. Here we have the
surprising fact of an expenditure of $24OO
Of some railways in the United States-for
parliamentary expenses to secure the nee
essary legislation to construct the railway.
Indeed, one of the most noted Of the royal
commissions on British railways estimated
in 1872 that the expenses hitherto incurred
by the companies in obtaining parliament
tary authority for and in opposing rival
schemes amounted to no less than S35O,0O
000 In one sense this tremendous sum may
be said to have been used to destroy enter
prise in another it has served to prevent
schemes that were little better than high
way robbery. IL mas maze prosperous rail-
ways of these roads that We're laid out for
legitimate purposes and made the path of
the railway wrecker" more difficult in the
British isles. 1t is a debatable question
whether or not this fund has not been well
spent for the misery entailed upon hum
dreds of thousands by ill-considered and
fraudulent railway enterprises in the United
States has been greater than any cheaper
ing of freight to the shipper. And, worse
than all, it has stamped American railway
investments deep with diShOnOr abroad
that it will take years of honest and bus
nesslike management TO eradicate the
stain.
In comparing English railways with Amer
lean it may be we'll to remember that the
field in England, although comparatively
SMALL has never been ''Jayhawked' as in
the United States. and that the almost
railways. not for the purpose of legitimate
transportation, but to destroy prosperous
properties has met with decided and strong
opposition. For this reason the great rail-
way systems of England, while competing at
certain important points, have, as a rule a
distinct local field of their own. Perhaps
this makes it easier for the English rail-
ways to agree on rates and stand by the
agreements. So far as my observations go,
there are agreements as to passenger rates
which are absolutely uniform at competitive
points and fairly uniform throughout the
kingdom. There is rivalry and competition,
so far as service rendered is concerned
some companies offering better facilities
than others in the way of more comfortable
and smarter carriages dining cars, quicker
transit, attractive excursions, etc, but the
rates on passenger traffic are as uniform as
an ironclad agreement could make them.
WORK OF THE CLEARING HOUSE.
This result has been brought about not
because pooling agreements or freedom of