Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1905-08-10
employees. In 1908 the last rear

80 AlC
available, railroad employees re.
ceived in wages S775, 32l, AIS, or
exactly 4o,S per cent Of the gross
earnings amounting to 81, 900,-
$40, 907. This however, was not
all that was turned back into cir
culatior by the transportation
companies of the nation. In adj
dition there were millions of dol
lars expended for supplies neces-
Sary to the maintenance and OPP
Grafton of the great systems of
lines. For fuel for locomotives
alone the sum of Sl46, 500, 03l was
expended. This supported a
great army of miners. Then for
repairs and renewals of locomot-
ives, freight and passenger cars,
the erection OF bridges and build
ings, the purchase OF rails, ties,
ballast, train and station supplies,
stationery, printing and all other
necesSarieS to operation, the sum
of. more than $3.50, 900, 900 was
paid to merchants and manufac-
turers.
In this same year capital re-
ceived as its due in interest on
bonds and in dividends, aud the
roads themselves put aside for d
rainy day, a total sum of $443,-
39S, $50. This was exactly 23.4
per cent Of the gross earnings
| or the amount LAID aside bv ii t
railroads themselves, the greater
percentage is To be expended IN
further nprovenentS and in bet
teIing the lines ct the territories
through which they run.
AS matter of tact, the rail
roads are the greatest distribut-
ors of wealth in the country. In
the payment of taxes on right OF
way and equipment they support
thousands OF schools. In round
figures the total amount paid in
taxes in 1908 by the railroads Of
the nation was $57, $40, 500.
This question of taxation is a
,favorite argument with the aver
age agitator. He leads in the
wall of discomfort every time a
railroad company resorts to the
courts to question the equity Of
an assessment p aced upon it's
property. And yet the agitator
is protesting against right that
is granted under the constitution
to everyone, be it individual, firm
or corporation. Every thinking
man, l believe, will acknowledge
that the average community re-
CARDS corporations as Legitimate
prey to be hunted down and made
to stand for taxation Delinquent
cies on the part of others.
Still another argument made
! is that the railroads of the coun-
try are over capitalized and that
their stock is heavily watered.
The Interstate Commerce Com
mission summarized the capital
ization of the roads of the United
| States in 1908 as being in stock
and funded debt just SIP, 500, $780,.
25S. OF this 81, 3l8, 39l, 953 was
owned by the railroads tn emsel'
yes, leaving net capital OF So.
2Sl, 5SS, 505. The cost of the
roads and equipment, as shown
in the Commissions report, total
ed $40, 1913, 504, 9O5. Thus it will
be seen that the actual value OF
railroad property is in excess oI
it's net capitalization.
The Interstate Commerce Com
mission report scarcely could be
called light summer reading
1t contains, however, a vast
amount of information on this ex.
tremely live topic of rate legis
lation, and should be studied by
the thinking man. 1t shows
for instance, that freight rates il
: America are the lowest in The
world; that pay to labor is great
er, and the return to capital less
Instead of railroad stocks being
held in the hands of the few
there are 327.S5r stockholders
l and in this is included "a larg
number of insurance and invest
ment companies in which hun
dreds of thousands hold an inter
est