The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-03-15

Of one ton of freight two hundred miles
for one dollar Indeed. the Pennsyl-
vania railroad i'm 1895 reported that it
carried S173,2lS. .4O3 tons of freight one
mile, at the rate of five and six-tenths
mills per ton per mile"
Coming now to passenger rates we
find the rule of decline i'm charges stll
in operation. although, as Mr.. Bryce
points out, the constant demaffds Of
the American public for better and
more expensive accommodation and
higher speed make the decrease less
marked. The average passenger rate
has fallen from over three cents per
mile in 1870 to less than two cents in
1894; in round figures. say a reduction
of one-third. "Relatively speaking"
adds he, our passenger rates are low
er when compared with those of for
elgn Countrics-much lower when den
sity of population and the character
of accommodation are considered. In
England, for example, the third class
trains carry passengers for penny
mile-that is, an English penny, or two
=
trst-class travelling I'm England, with
Il population Of 5il to the square mile.
will average double this, while SO per
cent. OF the people in the United
States. population to the square mile
only 2l3l, travel frst-class at an aver
age cost, including the unsettled areas
of the country, where population is less
than three to the square mile, of two
cents ner mile"
These, with many other figures of
equal interest, are presented by Mr..
Bryce to show that a point has been
reached in the soCialstiC onslaught
upon capital ana enterprise employed
in American railroads where Il halt is
necessary if consequences of the ut
most seriousness are to be averted by
the general public. The railway sys-
TENS have keen forced by competition,
litigation and hamperng legislation
into a corner. Seventy per cent. OF
their stock and - per cent. of their
bonds are now productive to the
investor. Either the attack on the rail
roads must cease or the latter must
reOrganiZe on a basis of lowered eX-
penditure in labor and equipment. AS
Mr.. Bryce we'll says:
"Unremunerative railways rates de-
stroy prosperity and threaten public
welfare. 1t is a mistake to suppose
that this decentralization falls only upon
the capitalist 1t affects every one in
Guiding even those who clamor loudest
against the railways. The ills arising
from unrcmuneratiVe railway rates in
jure, first of all, the workman. as he is
thrown out of employment or his wages
reduced. 1t Injuries, in fact, over one
million railway employees, or persons
directly employed by our vast sys-
TEN of transportation, and affects the
comfort and happiness of 1000 900 hu-
man beings. Then come the hundreds
Of thousands who have invested in rail
way securities, from whom, in many
cases, it takes away the income. Again.
it reduces the ability of large holders
of these stocks and bonds to engage in
rev enterprises, because it wipes out
thei' value and destroys so much live
capital or rather destroys securities
upon which capital could be borrowed.
The correlated or allied industries fol-
low. Further reduction of rates can
not he made without reducing the
wages of labor. When railways are
prosperous and remunerative, millions
are expended in new equipments, i'm
provements of plant. and betterments
all along the road And lastly, it may
be said, all trade and industry, wher-
ever railways penetrate, are injuriously
affected, and it is this last wave Of the
enlarging circle of distress that is most
severely felt"