The independent., 1903-07-02
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT

sengers reported as carried was 607,-
27S,121. Some of these passengers
rode from Boston or New York to
San Francisco or Los Angeles; more
did not go farther than Kansas City,
and a greater number stopped at Chi
cago But the vast majority got off
at the next station. For the long rides
and the short ones, .dded together
and divided by the number of persons.
we find the average ride to be about
2S.5 miles. So if there should be a
charge of only 10 cents to ride to the
next station or end of division, let
that be 100 or 200 or more miles. the
charge would really be on an average
ride of twenty-eight and one-half
miles. But il cur longest ride per
this estimate be 200 miles instead OF
from Portland, Me-, to Portland, Ore,
as per the first estimate, the average
ride might not be over twenty miles.
Let that be as it may, few miles
more or less on an average ride cuts
little figure wheI the train is going.
A large majority of our people had
to pay Scent fare per mile; many
only quarter to half cent per mile,
others l and 2 cents per mile to use
a public highway that should be
equally free to use at same cost to ev-
cry citizen without any discrimina
tion of any kind. But the average
fare paid was 2.013 cents per mile, or
57.5 cents per journey of 28.5 miles.
The number of passengers per train
was AZ, though there was room for
200 or 240, so the average passenger
fare per train for 28.5 miles equaled
SS4.16. This amount as shown above
il; at least one-third more than is
necessary to pay cost Of actual SER
vice. So ii we can cover SIG per the
2S.5 miles at 10 cents per journey or
trip we will have made a start in the
right direction.
Now that depends on how many
more people would ride if fares were
within their reach. On an average
there was room on the trains to haye
carried 200 or 240 instead Of the AZ
passengers. So Il it were possible to
lead every train to it's full capacity
there would be no trouble for that
would make gre SIS receipts S35 to $40
per car for every 200 miles. If four
times as many people took passenger
service there would be plenty of
funds to pay all cost and more, too.
Eut if only three times as many
ride on railways, there might be a
little shortage, which could be made
UP by a general tax on the increased
monopoly values that would naturally
arise if the government owned and
operated the steam railways.
For, what the present owners of
steam railways would cease to take
as monopolies of franchise values,
these values would ultimately accrue
to other monopolies of natural oppor-
tunities. So tax on these values
would not be a burden on labor or
capital. But 10-cent fares would not
produce a shortage. Let the ride be
to next station, cr 200, or end of di-
vision. If three times as many peo-
pie as now ride rode on same train,
there would be So per car per 2S-
mile journey. AS the passengers
would change on an average seven
times in that mileage, there would be
a gross income of $21 per passenger
car. Four passenger cars per train
would equal $s4. If the mail service
continued to pay the same mileage 8
now it would add $25 more for the 200
miles. Reduce express charges one
half and the cypress car would add
another $25 for the 200 miles One
baggage car would add $21 more So
here we have s155 gross income for
drawing seven cars 200 miles. Is
there competent civil engineer who
will say the Sf55 will not cover all
cost of whatsoever kind, except divi.
dends on $4,000 per mile of monopoly
values?
Let us look at this cost of service
en- steam railways from another point
of view Forty years ago it cost As
cents to carry bushel of wheat from
Chicago to New York-all rail. From
invention and higher utilization of
natural forces the cost has been re-
duced to less than 10 cents per bushel,
or reduction of 80 per cent, and yet
there is big none in the freighting of
wheat from Chicago to New York.
Sixty years ago the railway compa-
nies charged the government 91-2
cents per mile for mail cars. If like
x~rl1 81 f~l1