The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-10-22

IN 1891. according to- Prof. Frank
PARSONS, the people paid the railroads,
IN round numbers, 81, 200, 0O0, 900; the
same or better service would have cost
them only $40, GOO, OOO--less than half
if they had owned the roads free
from debt and under good manage
ment. During the period Of transition
from private to public ownership the
yearly cost of the railways to the peo-
pie would. of course, be more than
S540, 900, 600. Upon the plan of pur-
chase least favorable to the people, the
expenses of running the roads under
good public management together with
interests and dividends would be $77O,-
ooO,O0O a year, falling towards $540, 000,-
OOO, as the stocks and bonds were paid
on and interest and dividends ceased;
that is, the savings of the people by
public ownership would run from
$3.50, 900, 900 to $3.50, 600, 600 a year. ac-
cording to the plan of purchase adopt
I'd.
This would enable the nation to re-
~N\S W AAStl
figures and still realize a profit. Even
a greater reduction then might be
made, for the lowering Of rates would
be followed by a rapid increase of pa
tronage that would materially increase
the revenue of the roads. 1t costs lit
tie more to run full trains than trains
half full. In this fact lies the posi-
bility that, under public ownership,
fares might be reduced in this country
In a few years, not merely one-half,
but to one-quarter or even one-tenth
or to one-twentieth of the present
rates, if the benefits of the increased
traffic is given mainly to the passenger
rates.
In 1889 the government roads Of
Austro-Hungary reduced fares in many
cases to one-half and in some cases to
one-sixth of former rates, the average
reduction being more than 40 per cent
OF the whole system, yet the traffic in
creased so much that the total receipts
were 1892, 900 more than the year be-
fore.
The cost of carrying a passenger in
the United States is set down by the
railroads at about 2 cents a mile. This,
however, is clearly too high, even I'M
der u clumsy and wasteful system.
Dcrsey's English and American Rail
ways" puts the average cost per mile
at LA cents in England and 1.2 cents
for the whole United States. The Ger
man railways charge, on an average, a
shade over a cent a mile, and they
clear over so per cent profit on their
passenger service. The London and
Northwestern company carried passen-
gers first-class on trains from London
to Manchester and back at one-half
cen. a mile and made a profit of 200
per cent on the transaction, showing
that the cost was about one-sixth of
a cent a mile. Many of our American
roads sell season tickets at a little
more than One-half a cent a mile. They
would not do this if they did not know
that one-half a cent mor than covers
the cost. The Pennsylvania, Reading
and others sell season tickets at seven
tenths of a cent a mile. / am sure,
says Prof. Parsons, that these roads
never figure on less than so per cent
profit on their passenger traffic, even
in their Communication rates. Accord
Ing to Dorsey, it costs the Pennsylva-
MIA and similar roads about one-half
cent to move a passenger one mile,
and in well-settled districts the cost
is much less.
In discussing bribery in legislative
bodies, the Medical World asks. Who
buys legislators? Who buys congress-
men? Who buys city councilmen?
One answer will apply to all these
questions. That answer is, powerful
corporations. What are these power
full corporations? Chiefly our railroad,
express and telegraph companies. 1t
is we'll known here in Pennsylvania
that the legislature of Pennsylvania
is dominated by the Pennsylvania
railroad. Is it not the same to a
greater or less degree in every state?
Do you remember the credit mobilier
fraud of the early '70's? 1t corrupted
congress almost through and through.
1t was a railroad 100" What do the
free passes given to legislators and
judges and congressman all over the
country mean? We have frequently
spoken of the telegraph franks given
so freely to congressman. But that
is only . beginning. Suppose there
were a serious danger of legislation
affecting the principal telegraph COM