The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-05-01

/ y.
papers, packages and other things to bt
charged for and received by each express
| company on all such property, money
| papers, packages and things which by the
| contract OF carriage are to bs transported
by such express company, between points
wholly within this State.
| Our stock and bond law provides tina,
| aiter Its enactment no bond or other In
debtedness shall be increased or issued
or executed by any authority whatsoever
| and secured by lien or mortgage on any
| railroad, or their franchises and property
over and above the reasonable value OF
said railroad property. And 1t is made
the duty OF the railroad commission 10
| ascertain, and in writing report to the
| secretary OF state, the value OF each rail-
| road in this State, including all its fran
| chises and property And ii Is provided
| that every judicial or other sale of any
| railroad IN this State hereafter made,
| which shall have the effect to dis barge
| the property so sold from liability IN the
hand of purchasers fer claims for dam
| ages, unsecured debts or junior mortgages
against such railroad company so sold ont.
shall have the effect to aunu and cancel
all claims of every stakeholder therein to
any share in the stock of such railroad
and 1t shall rot be lawful for said pur
| cbesers or for any railroad company or
ganized hereafter to operate said railroad
OF allow any compensation therefor in any
manner whatever nor shall any part OF
the debt, to satisfy which such sale was
made be continued or held as a claim or
lien on said property.
The capitalized value Of the railroads Of
Texas in stock bonds and other liabilities
on the 30th OF June. 1897 was $3.50 62S 1S6,
Their value as fixed and determined by
this commission was $1li l9e.elJ and then
average present value per mile was Sl5,S44
per mile. Tho net earnings for the opera
ton of the railroads of this State was S.
ooi.9 This gives 2.l3 per cent interest on
the stock and bond capitalization Of these
roads. and 1t gives 3. 90 per cent on their
valuation as fixed by this commission,
and II Go per cent on their value as rem
dered for taxation,
In our report TO the eighth innual con-
Vention OF railroad ssioners. before
mentioned. we stated that we had made
commodity rates and adopted class rates,
covering all articles liable Ia be shipped in
this State except lumber. We have no.
yet made rates on lumber for the same
reasons as were given at that time, but
we have during the past year made new
and lower tariffs on several commodities,
and have removed several articles from the
application of class rates and made COM
modify rates ON them which were lower.
some OF these articles are as follows Live
stock wooden handles. spokes and feloes.
ash, bois dare and hickory timber and
blocks, earthenware, stoneware and POI
terry fire brick. wooden fence posts and
house blocks, cedar loss and poles agricul-
tural implements. baking powder. beams,
columns ana girders. cotton gins, feeders
and condensers and cotton presses, fencing
and railing, new furniture. jellies and pre-
serves. machinery, engines and boilers.
saddlery, harness and saddlerv hardware.
soap, cotton, pickles, condiments and vine
gar. crude petroleum, cotton factory pro
ducts, coal and Ignite and candy and con-
fectionery.
The general freight agent of one of our
lines using the actual movement over his
road as basis for the calculation, states
our reduction or cotton made during the
year amounts on an average 10 6. 50 cents
per 100 pounds, and We have no reason TO
doubt the substantial correctness of his
calculation
TIE following statement may be of IN
terest to YOU in this connection; For the
year which ended June 30. 1891, which was
the last year before this commission was
organized. the railroads Of this Safe per-
formed service equal TO transporting
LII, 4S9579 tons of freight one mile, and
received for tina, service the sum Of S24,
$50 52G.e2 which is equal 10 / i03 cents
per ton per mile. .'or the year which end
cd June 80 1897, the same roads Sub
stantially) performed service equal to
hauling 2 i2A, 33t 1913 tons of freight one
mile, which is .03l cents per ton per mile
If for the latter year they had received
the same amount per ton per mile for
the service rendered as they did receive in
lS90ol, their freight revenues would have
been S3i 013, 36S 90 Their sworn reports to
us show that their freight revenues we're
but S25 720, 90, which is relative fall
ing off OF $S.292 SIS. 81.
There are other factors besides reductions
in rates made by us which each In part
tend to produce this result. We have al
ways been very conservative in making
estimates of the amount of reductions
which resulted from our work, hut feel
safe in saving that for the year ended June
30, 1897 1t was not less lhan $500, 000.
and that for the current year lending June
30, 1881 1t will not be less than 100000
on account of the cotton crop of 1891 hav-
ing been moved under our revised tariff,
before mentioned.
While the freight earnings of the Texas
railroads have decreased relatively. thai
is. they have not increased in the same
proportion that their ton mileage has, yet
as a general rule there has been steady
absolute increase in both their gross and
their net earnings each year that This
commission has been in operation Fer
the frst seven months of the current fiscal
year. the ret earnings ~ thirty-four COM
panes. Which make monthly reports to MS,
were SiSi,.,0o % greater than for the
seven mon his ended January 81, 1897 not
viths'anding the difference in the tariff
on cotton. = staple which is moved prin-
cipally durinr; those months
Comparing the average revenue per ton |
per mile received BY the Texas roads dur |
ing the year ended June 30. 1897, with |
the amounts given for the various groups |
in, the ninth annual report OF The inter- !
state commerce commission. we find ;hat
1t Is less In Texas than in groups |. :, .
(Which includes the greater part OF Texas) |
and 10. but is greater than in groups g |
5, g. :. G and s.
Mention wes made in our report to The |
ei. nth convention of railroad commits |
sioners of the fact that We hal not then |
made rates OF charges to be observed by |
the oNircss companies operating IN this
Stslc, mainly because they ha no general |
Offices in Texas where Information was |
a; cess He. which was nee 'ssary COR us |
to possess in order to act n.e3'geutly IN |
the Mater. Since that time our legislature |
has ltassd an act requiring such offices to |
he es;i iished in r. ;as. More time was
lost 81, g, count of the cumuluics cbtair-