The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-09
through rate plus two CENTS" was the
History of the Road.

0dALSu, anu Wueu were the various sec
branches in North Dakota constructed?
"A. Ihe Northern Pacific road was incor-
P IsH1 July 2, 1854 Location commenced
1867. Line completed to Brainerd in Febru-
airy, 1870; to Fargo in the spring Of 1872,
to Bismarck in the fall Of 1872. The ex-
tension west OF Bismarck was commenced
in 1879. and completed to the western Dor
der OF the state in $780, The main lihJ Of
the system was completed from Duluth to
the Pacific ocean in 1885, The branch lines
In North Dakota were built at various
Wahpeton to Milnor. September. 1888.
Fargo to La Moure, July, 1883.
jamestown to La Moure. December. 1885.
La Moure to Cakes, December, 1886.
La Moure to Edgeley, November, 1887.
Sanborn to Cooperstown, December, 1885,
jamestown to Darlington. July, 1883.
1888
Minnewaukan to Leeds, December 1889.
Grand Forks to Pembfna, October, 1887.
Is there any basis upon which we can d.
vide earnings expenses or apportionment of
equipment. on any geographical line, state
or otherwise?
Work That Is UnpracticabIe.
A. The road Is necessarily operated as
unit in order to secure the greatest posi-
BILE economy by avoiding the multiplication
of agencies for the superintendent Of such
operation.
OF earnings that will be accurate, within any
arbitrary limits, such as state lines or oper-
ating divisions. certain portion of the
business within each state is purely local:
that is, 1t consists of traffic, freight or
passenger. originating ct some point and
transported to some other point, both in the
same state. The revenue or earnings from
such business can be and Is accurately
determined.
On the other hand, If 1t held that any
portion OF the earnings of the system, as a
at once becomes necessary to establish
basis for such distribution, which must
necessarily be arbitrary; for instance, 1t is
impossible to state what proportion Of the
revenue resulting from the carriage of
passenger train from St. Paul to Tacoma
should be assigned to the state of North
Dakota.
II 1t Is urged that this credit should be
mileage proportion Of the revenue receiy ed,
1t Is obvious that this is unfair, since the
expense OF securing this passenger must
have originated either at St. Paul or at
some other point, and the territory within
which the passenger originated should re-
ceive special credit for the service of
50 him: Then. in the case of freight,
mileage pro rata of the amount received for
Its transportation from point or origin to
destination, or ton mileage pro rata, it
must be remembered that the business may
nave originated at any point in the United
States and be destined to any other point
throughout the same country, or be intend
cd Tor export.
Are other Considerations.
1t may be transported over the company's
system upon the basis Of the through rate
or upon the basis of the divisional rate made
with another company, and perhaps with
a steamship company as WELL The same
car may contain various classes of freight.
winch would take different rates according
to their classification and the tariff IN
each and every case the section in which
this business is secured and In which It is
delivered would probably be entitled to spe--
cial consideration If the amount received
for transportation is to be divided.
The problem of making divisions between
different states, If there is any reason for
making such divisions, is exceedingly com
pick, and could only be practically solved
by the establishment of an arbitrary basis
Any division which will approximate exact.
ness would neeessitate large expense for
accounting and be productive Of no benefi-
cial result so far as the carrier is concern
ed. The only cases in which such divisions
are undertaken are those In which they are
required by state railroad commissions, or
by law, in order to serve as a basis for,
taxation upon gross earnings. In the for
mer instance, the companies observe the
In the latter instance, the return Is made In
accordance with the law
- me distribution of expenses according to
any geographical or arbitrary limits is also
impracticable. Such distributions are made
In conformity with the requirements of the
railroad commissions and of the Interstate
commerce commission. -
Expenses That Can Be Localized.
Lightweight per cent Of the operating ex-s
penses of a railroad can be localized and
distributed with accuracy; the remaining
12 per cent, consisting Of expenses general
to the whole system, must be distributed
with some arbitrary provision. and are dis
tributed as follows:
Do, Nf
age; repairs Of engines, upon basis Of engine
mileage; general expenses, upon basis of
earnings. =.
It is obvious that to distribute expenses
with any degree of exactness, we must take.
into consideration the location of the state
or division of the road, with respect to the
sources OF supply. Of fuel and material. and
that it should not be assumed that supplies
Of all kinds moved across the state of
minnesota for the benefit of the Dakota and
other divisions are handled without cost:
nor is it fair to state that the cost of engine
and car repairs Is constant per road mile,
per engine mile or per car mile, since the
conditions of service upon different sections
of the road have a direct and important
bearing upon these expenses.
The distribution of general expenses upon
an equitable basis is practically impossible,
inasmuch as the expense incident to solicit
Ing business is much of it incurred at inn
portant terminal points. We might say
that the proportion of this expense charged
to the terminal divisions should be greater
than that charged to the interior, and this
is probably true to some extent On the
other hand, the shipments solicited produce
revenue for the benefit of the entire portion
OF the system traversed.
1t is very difficult to distribute general
salaries, legal and other expenses between
various states and divisions, and the at
tempt to do so with any considerable degree
Of accuracy would entail the establishment
of an arbitrary basis and a considerable
increase in accounting expenses.
Moth Dakota's Resources.
@. Do the natural resources of North Da-
kota provide any of the requisites for the
operation Of railroad?
A. They do not. All the fuel required by
locomotives, all ties, rails and other ma
terials and supplies required in connection
with the maintenance and operation of the
line. must be procured from points out
side Of the state.
@. Is it customary, under existing con-
ditions, to make charge for the transpor-
tation Of material and supplies used in con-
nection with the maintenance and operation
of the line in North Dakota?
A. 1t is net.
Difficult to- Decide.
@. How does the cost Of operation in
other states?
A. For reasons which have before stat
ed, it is difficult to make a division of
earnings OF expenses of the system as be-
tween states. About so per cent of the
der the head Of Conducting Transports
tion," which includes the cost Of station
service, engine service, train service, and
contingencies such as superintendent and
various minor expenses not properly CLASH
fed under other heads. The cost per unit
~ rfofi