The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-25
CONFORMS TO STANDARDS.
OF SOUTHERN RAIL
WAYS so CHARACTERIZED.

,,tI,x.x- Age Says the Single Excep-
t,on Is the Unique Way of Rate
making south of the OhiO-The
Central of Georgia Is Described ut
Lencth--Its Failure and Its Sue
.esscs DweIt Upon-Work That Is
NoNy in Progress.
The last issue of the Railway Age de-
votes considerable space to the Central of
Georgia In part, it says:
Some attention has been paid during
,ba last few months to the marked prog
rass of the principal roads of the South in
amount of business, in profits realized and
in operating efficiency. This has been par
ticularly noteworthy in the case of the
southern which, with 6,416 miles operated,
ranks with the great systems of the coun-
try Among the minor companies the Cen
rial of Georgia, now operating 1910 miles
Of road. is making an excellent record.
During the last illness of the late Presi-
dent Conner control of the property de-
voved upon Vice President John M. Egan,
and the recent election of Mr.. Egan to the
presidency commands the universal APP
proval of the customers of the company as
have done much TO increase still further
me popularity of an old favorite with the
people of Georgia. Speaking generally, the
railroads of the South have now in i'm
nortant places many men of varied expe-
renee in the West, and, with the single
exception of the unique system of rate
making that prevails below the Ohio the
management of the lines in that part of
the country conforms closely TO the accept
ed standards
The predecessor of the present Central
of Georgia Railway, the Central Railroad
and Banking Company of Georgia, was
one of the first railroad companies organ
lied in the United States, and for more
than fifty years was one of the most sue
cessful From l84} to 1881 its regular an
nual dividends averaged more than S15
per cent. per annum, and the receivership
Of 1892 resulted from no diminution of
earning power. The financial reorganiza-
lion that followed in 1895 was effected on
conservative lines, and the ability of the
company to earn a fair surplus above its
fixed charges is becoming better and bet
ter established from year to year.
Thus, the gross earnings of 1897,
amounting to S., $50, 900, increased to $780,
90 in 1898. and s., 767 900 in 1899. The re-
cefts of the eight months to Feb. o. 1900
aggregated $4,2S7000, as against A110,00o
tie previous year, and $3.50 900 in the first
elgnI months OF the present company )
operations The indications are that the
cure Mt fiscal year will show gross revenue
of some $6,050,000 or, say, $4,000 more
than in 1899.
IN point of diversity of traffic the Cen
trail of Georgia makes a favorable show
ing. Lumber, consisting of 231a per cent.
of the whole in 1899, is the largest item.
Coal amounts to 1921 per cent. of the to-
tall fertilizers to 10.4 per cent. and cot
ION q 81 Der cent. throughout the
South the lumber trade this spring is ex-
oeedingly active, while the high price of
cotton has resulted in exceptionally clean
picking of the last crop. The shipments
of fruit from the peach country south of
Macon, and of melons, is a spectacular
branch of the company's freight traffic,
though of no great moment in compare
tive volume of tonnage. In 1899, of the
total tonnage moved, fruits and vege-
tables constituted 136 per cent. and mel
ons 1.1S per cent In 1898 the company
handled 1925 carloads of peaches. The
peach crop last year was a failure. The
trees this spring have doomed prodigi-
ously, and shipments of al least 2,400 car
loads during the coming season are an
ticipated.
The company is now finishing the lay
ing of seventy miles of S0-pound steel
rails, charged partly to this years ex-
penses and partly to last years. These
rails are going GOWN on tll0 main line De-
tween Atlanta and Macon, and between
Savannah and Millen, and toward Bir-
mngham on the Columbus and Western
division The S0-pound rails have replac-
ed rails of pound section, removed
from the main line to the lines between
Fort Valley and Columbus and elsewhere
the still lighter rails taken up TO make
room for the 6S15-pound steel going to the
new branches with lesser traffic, in the
Southwest. In renewals of ties the COM
panys practice is up to the best stand
ards
Between Atlanta and Macon a consid-
cradle amount of stone ballast is going
in and ultimately this division will be
hallasted with stone throughout. The
plantations adjoining the line in this part
Of Georgia abound in flint rock, and Mr..
Egan is developing an important local
Industry by paying the boys for picking
up the stones from the fields and deliver
ing them in piles by the side of the
track. These stones, when broken, make
ballast fully equal to that derived from
quarry at Griffin, which has been much
used, while the gathering of them from
the fields benefits the farms. A singular
fact about this section of 1903 miles is that,
following the summit of ridge, it has not
d bridge nor a trestle."