Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1897-03-12
OUR RAILROADS.
Figures That Figure for the Railroads
Only.

Figures That Figure for the Railroads
Only.
No fact stands out more clearly with
reference to the railroads of the coun-
try than that their reports do not re-
port. The law requires the railroads
to make yearly returns of their opera
tons in order that the people may OBJ
tain some idea of what these corpora
tons are doing and whether they are
adhering to the terms of their char
ters. But the railroads obey the let
ter and not the spirit of the law. Ev-
cry year they favor congress and the
public departments with long arrays Of
figures that mean absolutely nothing.
Only the expert can make anything
out Of the statements presented, and
even he is left totally in the dark un-
less he happens to possess inside In
formation to give him key to the
puzzle.
Consequently, we cannot hope to
make much of the just issued annual
report of the interstate commerce COM
mission. The document is quite
lengthy. 1t informs us that existing
laws for controlling the railroads are
inadequate, because they lack provis-
ions to secure their enforcement. The
statutes are very definite concerning
what the corporations shall and shall
not do, but there is as yet no way OF
Furnishing them when they disobey the
law. The decisions are openly defied,
and when the commissioners protest
the corporation lawyers laugh in their
faces or threaten to annul the author
ity of the commission by appeals to
the federal judiciary. In considering
the information embodied in the report
made public on Friday, we must bear
all these things in mind. The docu-
ment includes ten groups of systems
aggregating 652 roads, with mileage
of IL, 1863 miles of line. The total earn
ings for the fiscal year reached the
enormous sum of $1,123, 646, 1862. One
third, roughly speaking, represents
passenger receipts, and the remainder
freight charges. The operating ex-
penses amounted to s754,971 SIS, which
sum includes 100000 salaries to presi-
dents and $4,000 to general managers,
besides interest on watered stocks and
bonds. In other words, the true oper-
ating expenses amounted to $35O,00O,-
900, and the rest was swallowed up in
plumber. But even after the deduction
of the plumber, the railroads wrung
profit of over $36O,O00,000 from the peo-
pie. The yearly profit per mile was
$1,S77 on one item alone, or, after de-
Quoting every possible item, we per-
ceive a clear gain of $2,139 per mile
On the other hand, the dividends de-
clared for dividends year ago. This
Sc, 1888, 1872, almost the same sum de-
clared for dividends year ago. This
requires a word of explanation. Inc
railroads of the land are required by
law to reduce their tariffs when the
dividends exceed certain sum. Con-
sequently, the railroads make every
possible effort to keep down dividends.
At the same time, they must not let
the dividends sink too low, or the man
who invests in railway stock will be
frightened away. The corporations
solve the problem by keeping the divi-
dends up to certain limit and never
letting them sink below or rise above
it.. The favorite way is to create spur
ious mortgage bonds. The Vanderbilts,
for example, mortgage their own roads
to themselves to pay themselves inter-
est on these dummy mortgages. 1t Is
an ancient trick, but 1t enables them
to charge up heavy sums against the
interest account and thus show mod
crate profit on the face of the report.
Another plan is to lease lines at
heavy annual rate to a subdivision OF
the same road. The trunk lines are
thus split in two, three and four ficti-
tious systems, one leased to the other.
The rents are all charged tot the expense
account 1t is very much as If man
owning his home went to raise the
rent of 1t against himself and then com
plain to his neighbor that the landlord
had doubled the rent. There is, in fact,
no end to the tricks that can be played
Tor the sake of bringing deceptive fig
Tres into an annual report. The inter-
state commerce commission complains
that it cannot afford the people any
remedy against these things until con-
yress gives it some power to punish
he yiolators of the law.-Twentieth |
Century.