Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-03
Probability of Court Decision Adverse
to Association.
DISSOLUTION OF TEE ORGANIZATION
Railway Companies Preparing to
Meet the New Conditions.
OUTLOOK FOR BUSINESS

rendered in January as it is expected will
be done. will be against the association,
and. as matter of course, the organiza-
ton Will have to be dissolved. In this
event. i: is a matter of national interest to
know what is TO follow.
Already the question is being asked Is
the season of prosperity which the entire
Country is now enjoying to be turned into
one of adversely. almost before we have
begun to fairly realize The dawn of better
days-are we so soon to endure another
panic? 1t is believed by those competent
to reply that both questions can be an
swercd in the negative
That the leading railway minds of the
united States are preparing to meet the
eHectS OF an adverse decision by the Su-
preme Court as above indicated, is evil
denced by some remarks made recently by
one OF the most eminent railway presidents
IN the country. He said: whatever de-
auctions could be made in the transmits
souri, decision. which, as is known, was
rendered some months ago, were on the
side OF The railroads.
The decision in January will very likely
De against the railways but with a modi-
hcafion of many of the harsh points in the
trsns-Mis souri, decision. If against the
railways. we shall get together and reform
our agreements and adjust them to the de-
cisi0n. There seeIrs to be an impression
with some parties that If the agreement
III the trans-bIisSouri case were affirmed
in this rehearing. rates would go to pieces
and anarchy prevail.
No Danger of Anarchy.
There is not the least danger of that
Every railway official understands that
some agreement is necessary, and when
the court decides what can legally be done
We shall all conform to that decision, and
so adjust our arrangements as to be with
in the law and still protect our revenue 1t
will be much easier to do this from the
fact that there has rot for years been such
a steady and persistent effort among rail-
way officials to stop quarreling and reduce
tariffs and get better rates as there is to-
day.
This IS much easier to DO on account of
the shortage Of cars. No railway can take
care of the business Offering, and, there
fore. there is no inducement to reduce the
tariff. Shippers, instead of asking for
lower rates, are inquiring now as to when
they are likely to get cars The results will
vember and December, when they compare
with the light business of last year. The
increases will be phenomenal
The Transportation Problem.
There are few persons who will not admit
that the transportation problem is the
greatest one confronting our statesmen at
this time. There is TO other subject, unless
ii be that of the tariff, with which the
welfare of the whole people is SO intimately
interviewer. The last report made by the
interstate commerce commission to Con-
gress gave the following facts:
The amount of railway capital at the
close of the last fiscal year is shown to be
SlO,.fs'. J>4,:.SI or SS',206 per mile of line.
The increase during the year was S167, no,
az. Railway capital was distributed as
follows: The amount of capital stock was
N.97iI ,25s 500. of which S4,2D1 ,t91,3Jl was
common stock. and $3.50 5Gl, :.05 preferred
stock; the funded debt was $3.50. 49,, 5I,.
classified as bonds. SIGH. 7!5.:lS; miscel-
ltneous obligations, Sil5,22l,412; income
bombs, S2i2, aH.226 and equipment trust OBJ
legations. s5.9l5.327. The current liabili-
ties amounted to S6lG, $50 1.,t;. on the CAPT
tai stock outstanding, Sl.l69,o11 IFS, or
2s.51 per cent, was owned by the railway
corporations, as well $431 ,J0S,S or 81
per cent of bonds outstanding.
These figures show an increase in the
corporate ownership of securities, probably
rather due to railway consolidation than to
the Strengthening of reserve funds.
Outstanding Obligations.
stocks to the amount of BAT. $40 2o3. or
,o.o6 per cent of the total outstanding,
paid no dividend. and ss0O,J6l 40, or 49,
per cent of funded debt, exclusive of equip
ment trus. obligations. paid no interest
during the year covered by the report. In
no other year since the organization of the
division of statistics has large n per-
Centage of stock passed its dividends, or.
except in 1891 has SO large a percentage of
funded debt defaulted its interest. OF the
stock-paying dividends, $50 per cent of the
total stock outstanding paid from 4 to :
per cent; 5.:s3 per cent of this stock paid
from > to per cent; Al per cent paid
from q to per cent, and 3.D per cent paid
from to per cent. The total amount of
dividends was ss5,2S7, 543. which would be
NY N.f hNr \
cent on the amount of stock on which
some dividend was declared. The amount
of bonds paying no interest was SOL 432S
Gh', or IL y per cent; of miscellaneous obi
cations. s5i. 1885, SS. or 1924 per cent; of in
come bonds SD. 734. SD or 81. 40 per cent"
1t is worthy of note that English states
men have had the transportation problem
before them since 1888. a period of almost
sixty years. The London correspondent of
New York paper, in a letter printed al
most year ago. said
AS early as 1888 an attempt was made to
classify goods for rating purposes This
was done under five or six chief heads A
prolonged era Of confusion and endless
pickering between cOnSignorS and con-
signees and carriers lasted until about the
year 1878. when parliamentary committees
began to be appointed on the question. In
strict accordance with precedent, these
committees effected nothing in particular
until about the year 1888, when the board
of trade reused itself to action. All the
great companies were required to submit
complete scales of rates for the numerous
classes of merchandise.
New OmciaI Schedule.
1.-The board of trade digested the matter
for a few odd years until finally in Janu-
airy. 1893 a new official schedule of rates
came into operation. which represented the
maximum beyond which the companies
were not allowed to go.
However, while the board of trade had
been Eliminating the companies had been
regulating. with the result that the new
lists were found in nearly every instance to
be higher than the maximum rates then
being charged by the companies. The con-
sequence was they were all abolished five
months afterward. This lame and impo-
tent conclusion somewhat dampened the
ardor of these busybodies. who knew much
better how to manage technical matters
than people who had been used to them all
their lives TIE outcome of the crisis was
that the present fairly workable arrange
ment was instituted, by virtue of which the
companies fix the maximum rates by peri
Odical conference. All traders or bodies of
traders who have any substantial griey-
anee to ventilate have the right of appeal
to the board of trade. who will investigate
the matter and make any necessary repre-
sensations to the companies respecting the
same. Any dispute involving important