Perth Amboy evening news., 1903-12-30

A Nlerican Railways Divide Two.
Thirds of Earnings with PeO-
pie Directly Interested.

"In one way and another the PEOPLE of
the United States own the railways Of
the United States. and SOMETHING like
1000 persons, through wages, interest
and dividends, divide two-thirGs of theil
gross earnings of 81 ,726. $3.50, 267 Q901-02)
among them, and the other third goes
for fuel, taxes, supplies and equipment"
This statement, says the Railway World,
Slason Thompson, hSld CT ore of the bu-
reaus of the General Managers associa-
ton, with headquarters in Chicago, was
led to make as a result of replies to the
question: Are there ] 100000 ovn:rs
of railway securities in the UniteC
States?' received from 80 of the leac-ne
railway companies of the country.
These roads represent 107 GAO miles out
of the 202, Al of single-track mileage in
the United States. They gave the total
number of stockholders on their books
as 1871 1897.
This is pretty nearly equal to two
stockholders of every mile of railway.
says Mr.. Thompson. THE ratio on the
Illinois Central, a: given by Stuyvesart
Fish, is a little over two to one. On
some of the railroads the ratio rises to
three to one, and in two cases as high as
eight to one, while in one case the ratio
swung as far as one to six the other way.
Applying two to one as the ratio, approx
imated in the total, would give 400 600
stockholders in round numbers for the
| 200, 600 miles of railway in the United
States as owning $6,024 .201. 295 Of cap
ital stock, as reported June 30, 1902.
Assuming that tie Sc, 100 ,9S1 500 funded
debt is as widely distributed amonf
bondholders. the railway ownership
would appear to lie held in something
like 800 900 hands, But. large as these
figures are, and approaching the total OF
railway employees Il, 1S9,315), as they co,
they by no means represent the total of
| those interested in railway ownership.
The figures given are for registered
| stock, and, as the controller of n OF
the largest systems wrote: 1T is very
probable that the number of actual
stockholders is twice as great as the
number of registered stockholders.
Then there is the holding Of railway
| stock by insurance companies. savings
banks and trust companies, extending
their ownership among thousands. And
what is true of these institutions as to
stocks, is also true as to railway bonds
only more So"
President Stuyvesant Fish, of the Hi
nois Central railroad, at the recent an
nual meeting of that company. presented
statistics showing that one year ago thf
company had a total of 1928 ~stockhold-
ers, and among them were $3.50 persons
who owned less than 100 shares each
and who, combined, owned S13, 152, 900 oil
a total capital stock issued amounting tc
$95, OBS, 400. During the year the tota'
number of stockholders increased t.
S,647, out of whom 6,72S owned collec.
lively SIS, 947 600. This shows that The
increase of 1919 in the total number CT
stockholders came mainly from thu
small investor.
1t is a matter of considerable impor.
lance that the people residing along thu
lines of great railway systems are be.
coming more and more financially in.
terested in these companies, as evi
denced by the fact that 2.21S of the Hi
nois Central stockholders reside in thu
IL states in which the company has lines
and 1924 r residents of the state @
Illinois, the home of the company.