The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-07

been thrown out of employment A per-
usal of the statistics of railways as COM
piled by the United States government
shows concluSvey that under existing
conditions most of our railways are run
ming behind and the few that are appar-
emily holding their own are far from hope
full for the future. Economical manage
ment is one thing, but forced economies
can only result in a deterioration of the
property. For a few years some of our
older railways can thus economiZe, but il
is only by continued and liberal expendi-
ture of money that track, road bed,
bridges, equipment and rolling stock can
be kept up to date and in good running
order. The loss to labor has been enor-
nous, and it is important that railway
employees of all grades should study this
side of the question. With freight and
passenger rates less than those of Euro
pean countries, where labor is paid about
half the American rates, how long will
our railways be able to tide along with
reduced forces and three-quarter time?
Unless the decline in receipts is stopped,
wages must be reduced, and then the
trouble will begin. Taking an army of
two hundred thousand men out of active
employment in one occupation is a pretty
serious business. That means an annual
loss in wages alone of not less than $780,
100000. Here we have the direct loss The
indirect loss comes from the irreparable
injury to the properties by reason of not
keeping them up ultimately entailing ad-
ditional losses. The reduction of
rates between 1890 and 1895 repre-
sents a loss of revenue of over 800, 900 900
-$l55O0,O0O in passenger traffic and $S7.
100000 in freight traffic. OF course. this
sum was RENTED to the people of the
United States but the question is. can
the people afford to force an industry in
which nearly one-fifth. or 20 per cent of
h. 80, 1AI. 90 -.
ed to a point where nearly half the stock
and bonds pay nothing i'm dividend and in
terest, and the current expenses must be
reduced below the safety point This is
the problem the people will soon have to
face in relation to our railways. Should
we carry these facts back to 1887, we have
loss to the railways of about $l5O.OO0-
600. That is, If the same rate of passen-
ger and for freight existed in 1895 as in
1887 the receipts from these two sources
would have been that much in excess of
what they actually were in 1895. l am Of
ficially informed that freight rates for
1896 Will average even lower than I'm 1895
The loss of dividends and of interest on
bonds brings hardship to hundreds of
thousands of people of limited means
who have invested in these securities.
This is no less severe than the loss of
work and wages 20 the laborer. The lat
est report shows that 20 per cent. or over
two-thirdS tan aggregate of nearly $780,
COO of all the outstanding stock of these
corporations paid nothing In 1895. The
same is true of II per cent. OF the bonds.
careful study OF these railway budgets
would bring out the appalling fact that
probably half of these investments are
-productiye-certainly five thousand
millions of them. The gloomy list of nom
dividend paying stocks has Of late years
been gaining from about 80 per cent ten
years ago to upward OF 20 per cent. now.
While this decrease Of rates has been go
ing on, the cost of running trains has not
similarly decreased, and herein lies the
danger. In commenting on this. H. +.
Newcomb Of the United States agricul-
tural department says, IN an admirable
article In the Journal Of the American
statistical Association:
These statistics Of decreasing returns
TO investors financial disaster and wide
spread insolvency. clearly indicate that
the present railway charges are not too
high, unless II is desirable TO reduce all
railway corporations to a uniform con-
dillon Of hopeless bankruptcy. There Is
no public interest which demands that
railway charges shall be so low as to be
unremunerative. Too low charges inva-
rlably result In the speedy impairment
OF railway service through the physical
deterioration Of the road-bed and equip
ment, and the reduction Of the efficiency