The Portland daily press., 1901-02-13

~. The Board Of Trade COMMITTEES
thought that the eIectrio roads should
be treated both with sn eye to revenue
and TO tins development Of the state. The
bill increased tins rate of taxation on
electric roads one half IS ola the steam
railroad bill with the exception OF the
tax on the Boston a. Maine. The other
bill, said Mr.. Heath, was presented by
part OF the Grange committee and l
think it will be shown that &c was based
on a mathematician error. II Increases
the rate 20 per cent up to an earning ca
pacity OF IS. 900 mile and then It Intro
uoes feature new in Maine legislation.
Under IL few roads would pay taxes az
a greater rate than the others. These
are the Augusta, Halloweli & Gardiner,
the Biddeford ~ Saco, the Bangor, and
the Portland. MIR. Heath altar briefly
reviewing the building OF electric roads
in Maine, said that he was authorized TO
say In behalf of every elsetric road in
Maine, that they wanted 20 be treated in
the same way that the steam roads were
treated. in the same spirit of fairness,
with the same equity. the same fairness,
and the bill reported az to the steam
railroads increased the rate lust 80 per
cent with the exception OF the Boston Il
Maine In the case of which there was
good reason : for the exception made in
tbs bill.
MIR. Heath said he was not speaking as
the paid attorney OF any road, but he
had grown up with this electric roads
and he knew what they had done for
down steam railroad fares. Certainly
the electric roads which were doing so
much for the psonle were the last inter-
est which should be attacked by the State
Grange and attacked in manner In
which they had not attacked the power
full steam roads. Mr.. Heath presented
an elaborate tabulation of figures to
show now the Gardiner bill, II passed,
would compare in the taxes imposed on
the steam roads with the Board Of Trade
DILL on the eIectrics. Thus II was shown
that last year the Portland Railroad COM
pany ran Its cars 1,gO7,07l miles; the
Maine Central, 1917. ga, and the Lewis
ten. Brunswick a. Bath, ,239, 800 The
Portland road carried 7,729,072 persons,
the Lewiston, Brunswick 81 Bath. 3,4lb,-
l6l, and the Maine Central, 2,Ss7, s46.
Comparing the systems, the eleotrics In
Maine ran 5,y66, 00S miles, and carried
q. S45 s7a persons, while the steam roads,
not including the Boston Il Maine and
tirand Trunk, s.s42 46s miles and 8, 4ll,-
9sy persons The net earnings OF the cleo
tries " ere Ss49, 75l 81; OF the steam roads,
e, TeO, 4s3 50. line electrics ian twice as
many miles as the steam roads, carried
eight times as many people and received
one-eignth as much money.
Mir. Heath then took up the question
Of fares. When the Augusta, HsIlowelI
~ Gardiner road was built, the fare on
the steam road was 20 cents. The cleo
tries mads 1t 10 cents and the steam road
met the cut. The fare from Bangor TO
Oldtown was formerly 40 cents for IL
miles. The electrics made 1t 10 cents and
for the past two years the steam road has
charged only 10 cents. From Lewiston
to Bath IL 70 miles. The fare was form
erly 81, or 81 cents on a mileage book.
The fare is now SO cents on both electric
and steam roads.
The electric roads In Maine earn on
an average $4,000 mile; the steam,
81, 500. The net earnings Of the electric
roads ars sl,420 q mile; OF the steam
roads, $l,7Os. The profit per mile. de-
Quoting the fixed charges, is $40 for the
electric roads and $50 for tina steam. Un-
der the Gardner bill, the tax on the steam |
roads would be IL per cent of the net
earnings u nder the Board OF Trade bill, |
ON the electric roads, ii 20. Mr. Heath |
read many more figures to show that !
the Board of Trade bin bore more heavi- |
Iy ON the electric roads than the Gardner |
pill on the steam. Taking up the so.
called Orange bill, he showed that under |
IL the Portland road would pay "a ger |
cent, while under the Gardner bill tbs |
Maine Central would pay only Ia per |
cent MIR. Heath said In the course Of |
his remarks that he knew OF one elec- |
trio road that would not be built this |
year because of the populistio cry which |
had gone up in Maine in respact to the |
Of corporations. lie called the |
attention OF the committee to the fact |
that the electric roads cannot raise rates
anu 4 bucF saw - doINAN AA4ANnb Od lDIUeu
90 reduce the wages of their employees. |
sir. Heath predicted that the electric
reads would in the future do more for /
the state than the steam roads. and be-
smoke tor them the same treatment ac-
corded to other interests.
Hon. Charles +. Libby aketched for the
committee the history Of the Portland
road, showing that it did not for many
years pay u dividend and never paid more
than six per cent. Last year 10 paid a
dividend OF five per cent and had a sur
plus ON the books of 9l.000. Had the
dividend bean six DER cent, this surplus
would have been 81, 900. Tine rigors OF a
northern winter such as we sometimes
have would have wiped ont that surplus
in snow bills. And Jet this is called on
lf the wealthy roads, hut Ar. Libby did
not think thai six per cent would be re-
zarued as too large q dividend In view of
me history of the road. The surplus Of
The com pany has nsen put into Its equip
ment ard the extension OF its service I'M
III it Is one OF the best roads in New Eng
land. 1t pays Its employees more than any
Maths road and this rats of waQea WAS |