The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-06-22

ever in most parts of the country.
The financial papers are talking gloom
lily of the business depression that has
set in, presaging another period Of
hard times. In an article on the gener-
al reduction of operating expenses by
the railroads the Wall Street Journal
says:
The net result of it within the pres
ent fiscal year will be the laying off Of
over 100000 men, who have earned on
an average about $165.OOO a day. The
| saving to the railroads and the loss to
| the laboring classes will therefore
reach the aggregate of about $50,00O,-
900 per annum.
The classes Of labor most nearly
affected by the movement are the
classes that draw pay of from 1925
to s1.75 per day. They are the men
that work on the lines, ballasting, lay
ing gravel, building fences, stations,
remaking roadbeds, etc. They are the
most widely affected are the day la
borers with pick and shovel.
The immediate reason of the
change in policy of the big roads is the
fact, now no longer denied, that gross
earnings are falling off on all lines east
and west. The volume of tonnage
moving is light, and no man can say
how far this decline will go. Most of
the railroad community say they ex-
pect it to stop with the marketing of
the corn crop.
They are clearly hoping against
hope. They are saying the thing they
desire, namely, that there will be a
bumper crop to redeem the earnings
of the west. Meantime they are pro-
viding against absolute failure by cut
ting off the drains on their revenue.
The western railroads will econo-
mize. The edict has gone out from
headquarters of Rock Island, Great
Northern, Milwaukee, Northern Pacific
Southern Pacific and the Union Paci-
fic that expenses in all departments
shall be cut down. More strongly has
it been enjoined upon the executive
committees of the same roads that the
capital expenditures of the systems
must be curtailed
In the six months ending June l.
1904, the amount of stocks and bonds
sold for cash in the Wall street market
an example. Perhaps s10O,OO0OOO or
less of that amount has gone to pay
for improvements, actual labor on the
lines or in the shops. The rest has
paid for lands, sites, rails cars, en-
gines, etc. and has, therefore, in part
at least found its way into the pockets
of the laborers at ST. Louis in the great
car works-at Pittsburg in the steel
works and at Dunkirk in the locomotive
works.
People ask, what can the railroads
cut off? How can they cut down their
expenses without running their service,
and thereby destroying themselves?
The answers to these questions are to
be found in the records of expenses of
the railroads. Perhaps the best exam
pie Of cutting down of capital expenses
the kind that Wall Street pays for
is to be found in Rock Island. The
kind the railroad pays out of it's earn
ings-are to be found in Southern Pa
cific, Milwaukee and Northern Pacific.
There are three distinct kinds of
expenses on a railroad in it's operating
department. One is in conducting
transportation. The second is in MAIN
tanning the ROAD ana It's equipment.
The third is in general expenses.
In the first there is not going to
be much economy. There cannot be
without injuring the service. Switch
men, signalmen, engineers, train crews
must be retained, no matter how hard
up the railroad may be. In this item
Northern Pacific spent on salaries in
1903 nearly 100000. Southern Pa
cific spent over 100000. The Mil
waukee spent over 100000. If traffic
gets very bad the number of men
drawing pay is cut down, but general
| ly these men are the last to lose their
jobs. They are Indispensable.
Other great items under this head
are fuel and station expenses. They
| cannot be greatly cut down.
The great economy is in mainte-
nance. Southern Pacific spent on it's
property in 1902 over s24OOOOO or