The age-herald., 1898-01-04
RAILWAY RECORD FOR 1897,
Indicating That Times Are Showing a Much
 Healthier Condition. -

The Railway Age prints the following:
 No fact gives stronger evidence of im- proved financial conditions throughout the country than the remarkable decrease in the number of railways for which receivers were appointed during 1897, in comparison with previous years No year since 1887 has shown so few roads or so small mile- age confessing insolvency, while compared with the record for any one of the five years immediately preceding 1897 the list of new receiverships in the last year is sur- prisingly small, in respect to number of lines, mileage and capital involved. In the panic year, 1893, no less than "A companies, with 29,340 miles of road, and $1 ,781 900 900 of bonds and stock, defaulted in their ob- legations and were turned over to the con- trol of the courts. In 1897 the number of similarly unfortunate roads was only IS, their mileage was but 1,537, and their cap italization was less than $93, 0,000.
 No great railway system became insol- vent last year. The largest roads in the list are the Columbus, Sandusky and Hook ing, 226 miles; the Wheeling and Lake Erie, 247 miles, and the Columbus, Hooking Val ley and Toledo, 323 miles-all coal car CTS in the state of Ohio, and owing their em- barrassment to low prices of coal. These three roads represent about 52 per cent of the total mileage, and nearly 50 per cent OI the entlTe CdpltdllZdtlOn cONeItu Dy tuc years receiverships. The other roads were small, and failed from inherent weakness rather than as a result of unfavorable financial conditions in the country.
 It is to be noted that the years of great est railway building were the years of fewest receiverships. Thus, in 1881, when nearly 10000 miles were built, only five companies, with insignificant mileage, appear to have become insovent; in 1882, when over 11,5OO miles were added. the re- ceiverships numbered only twelve, and in the exciting times of 1887, when nearly 13,- 900 miles of road were built, the number of new receiverships dropped to nine. But the bad seed of over-building soon began to blossom into bankruptcies, followed surely, though often slowly, by the fruit age of foreclosure sales. Hence, although railway bankruptcies are now becoming few, we naturally expect that the sales will still be found numerous, and it is not dis appointing to find that during 1897 forty two roads, with 6,675 miles of owned lines, were sold under foreclosure, involving $2s0 900 of bonds and nearly $23S ,000 of capital stock. This makes a total of all most $51S,000,000 of securities, considerable part of which were wiped out of existence while much of the remainder was sealed down to small figures in the process of re- organization.
 number of great companies-Union Pacific, with 1922 miles of road and $tSS, ,0O0, ,0s0 of bonds and stock Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern, 1,42S miles and $76,C000 70 of securities; Louisville, New Albany and Chicago, 511 miles, representing $29 900 900; Atlantic and Pacific, in two divisions, aggregating 676 miles and SIS 900 00) of se- curiti $; Colorado Midland, 256 miles and $2O,O0 O0O000; Cincinnati, Jackson and Mack inaw, 329 miles and s2o,c0OOOO. and many others of local importance, if not of na- tional fame.
 It appears that, commencing with 1876, there have been foreclosure sales of 745 railways, representing over 96,060 miles of lines and s5,95S 900 of combined bonds and stock-equivalent to 52 per cent of the entire present railway mileage and 54 per cent of the present capitalization of all the railways in the United States. It is to be remembered, however, that in good many instances the same road has passed through sale and reorganization two and perhaps three times during the period cov cred, so that the percentage of mileage which has suffered foreclosure is not so great as these figures indicate. On the other hand, large mileage, including some important roads-notably Baltimore and Ohio-is still in the hands of receivers, and will eventually be added to the foreclosure list while considerable number of roads that were in the list of receivershipS have been reorganized without sale
 Looked at in any light the record of rail- way bankruptcies and congratulations dur
 
 palling and discreditable to railway pro- motors and builders, and to the country, in which overconstruction and bankruptcy are both largely the result of defective leg islation and wrong public sentiment. These evils are all abating, the wreclSs of past years of disaster are being rapidly cleared up, few roads at present appear to be in danger of insolvency, and with honest man. agement and fair treatment by the public our railways, like all other business inter ests, may now look forward to period of reasonable prosperity.