The evening times., 1900-03-15
In PRUSSIA AND HESSE.
Operations of Railroads Owned by
the COyerumeuf

the government
! Prussian and Hessian railroads are re-
| ferred to at length in a letter written by
Richard Guenther, Consul General to
Frankfort. to the Department of State. He
says:
THE railroads of Prussia and Hesse are
: owned by the respective governments and
operated by joint management. with the
exception OF 1854 miles owned by private
corporations.
The Prussian Minister of Public Works
has just sent a report concerning these
Government roads to the Prussian Diet,
from which the following data are taken.
| give distances in miles and values in
United States currency. The total mil
cage has. from IS, 113 miles in the proyi
Gus years, increased to 1884 miles. OF
which 12.410 miles are main lines and
6,GS4 miles are local lines. Eleven thou
sand and eighty-nine miles are single
track. 1929 miles are double-track, 23.6
miles are three track, and 52 miles are
four track lines.
1.-The invested capital of the Prussian
Hesse Government standard-gauge rail
roads is placed at Sl,SJ2, Is. .336,
or S97,444 per mile. The capi-
TAI invested mas lHCTedSSu over
the previous year $39. 800 600 and the
average cost for each mile SIS. The equip
ment was increased by 7S2 locomotives,
1,1lF passenger coaches. 356 baggage cars.
and 81 AIS freight cars at cost Of $27,-
$50. .000-against 1874 GOO the year be-
fore. The number of locomotives in active
service has Increased from II 602 to H.
90; of passenger coaches. from Il 039 TO
21,SS7; Of baggage cars, from 5,437 TO g.
713; and CT freight cars, from 2J2, 1874 to
267 397.
THE purchase value OF these equipments
is put down as 1857 COO. 600, or 1862 per
cent of the total invested capital. The
nun Der of passengers transported increas-
cd from 4I9,490.000 to 522, ,2S0. 600. or 1872
per cent. OF these, l,740,000 were first
class, 81 $50. 600 were second-class. 260,
$50, 600 were third-class and POI. 100000
were fourth-class passengers. Seven mil
lion two hundred and thirty thousand
travelled on military tickets.
The receipts from passenger traffic in
creased from s73. 400, goo to SIS 10000 or
7.t6 per cent. while the mileage only in
creased I6S per cent The average re-
ceipts for every person transported IS hg-
ured at IS cents, against 1874 cents the
previous year. and per mile at 1.025 cents,
against IC39 cents the year before. This
decrease per passenger and per mile is
attributed TO the comparatively large in
crease in the number of fourth class pas
sengers.
In the freight traffic, the number CT
tons transported increased from Isl, SIG. $50
to 1872. 7S0. 0GO. Or sos per cent, to which
must be added 1880 0G0 tons transported
free of charge. so that the total amounted
TO 206. .6l0 0e0 tons, against 194. .520, ,006 tons
the year before The increase is accol nt-
Cd for as result CT good times and Of
new lines OF coal. S4 900, coo tons were
carried. which equals 40S per cent of all
freight against 1850, coo tons, or 4o.9 per
cent the year before. The receipts on
freight increased GA per cent-irom S1s7-
110.Cc0 to slSa. 150 coo, being an average Of
$!.33 per ton, against s1C29 the previous
year.
The total receipts from passenger and
freight transportation in 1S9S-99 were S2S0.-
SEQ. coo, an increase of 81. AGO. 900, or 63
per cent. over 1878, but here il must
be borne in mind that these receipts would
have been s6.G90,000 higher IL the Impe-
rial Postoffice Department had paid the
full value for services rendered. The total
receipts from all sources from 1S9S-99 /
were $500 500 coo. an excess of $17 SOC, 900. |
or 6.3 per cent, over 1928.
The total expenditures. however had |
10 1864 per cent over the pre- |
vious year, or from S156. .410, 900 t. S170,- !
Gao, 600. The excess of receipts over ex- !
peDses is shown to be 1927 40. .000-s1 $780, |
OG0 larger than in the previous year and |
s.. $40 .0C0 more than had been estimated. |
The net profits are equal 10 7.07 per cent |
on the total capital invested against ia |
per cent the previous year and I.l5 per /
cent two years ago