New-York tribune., 1902-08-31
A YEAR OF RAILROAD PROGRESS.

The Interstate Commerce Commission re-
port for the year ending June 80 1901, bears
eioouent witness 10 the pressure Of that TIDE OF
,,rosnertv on which the nation has floated since
she advent of the first Mex! aey admlnistTa-
zion. Nowhere are the signs of good times or
Of hard times TO be read more clearly than III
the Increasing or diminishing business done IN
fhjs country by its far spreading railroads.
Railroad values may rise or fail through the
hazards of speculation: but railroad operations
themselves offer an unfailing index of national
activity and national growth The figures col
lected by the federal commission take an al
most bewildering range Yet every ta5ulatlon
contributes 10 the general deduction of enor-
nous and widespread national prosperity, in
which the carrying trade of the country has
had its necessary share. Like the statistical
abstracts Of the three or four years preceding
fhis latest report of the commission testfes not
only 10 the vastness Of our American railway
system but 10 its constant advancement in ex-
tent Of mileage IN earning power, in safety OF
eouiprnent and in efficiency and economy OF
operation
Earnings for the period covered by the report
show an advance highly satisfactory TO the
railroad investor The gross earnings of all the
roads were 81 .5SS. .526 037. a gain Of S10100OGoO
over the year 1s99-1900 Operating expenses
were s., ,030. 1920. an increase Of only SGS.-
96S. .759 The net earnngs-S55S 12S, ,16I-reg-
istered therefore. a gain over the year preced-
ing OF $50. 80. .463 Earnings have more than
kept pace with increase in mileage, for The
average returns per mile have grown from
s. 729 in 1S99-I900 TO 81 .S54 in 1900-01. Yet
nearly four thousand miles of new track were
laid in the period covered by the commissions
report Passenger traffic showed a relatively
greater increase than freight traffic. The num-
Der OF pasSengers carried was 6o1,2IS.12l,
gain Of 30oe00G0 on the record of the year pre-
ceding Freight tonnage fell off little. the
total .os9. .226.5 4o-being smaller by 12.eG0eo0
than that for 1Sg9-19o0. But the ten mileage
actually increased indicating greater density
OF traffic. and the total revenue from freight
service rose more than S69. 100000 above the
level OF the preceding year. Passenger reve-
nue. with a greater expansion of business made
gain of 81, ,6406 626. a little larger percentage
tsan that shown in the returns from freight
The enormous scale on which railroad opera
lions in this country are now conducted is sug-
sested by the census taken Of railway employees.
Nearly eleven hundred thousand men were on
the railroad payrolls in 19o0-01. the exact num-
Der being L07l.169. This was an increase of
5S.5l6 over the preceding year. and it is safe
% say that aR equal addition has been made TO
this vast army since tie commissions latest
enumeration WAS made.
An especial interest attaches 10 the tabua-
lions which deal with the average railroad iray-
ellerss liability 10 accident The list of casual
Ties for 19oo-01 mounted mp 10 81 794 Death
took an annual toll OF s.445-7s0 lives more
Fh5n were lost ia 1Ss491900 But OF the total
number killed only 2s2 were passengers. and
only 4.l2s passengers were injured out of
toisi injured list Of -I3-3;9s One passenger was
Killed for every Piss. 469 carried, and one Was