The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1905-06-23
Government Ownership in Japan

A. Il good deal is being Sad
about government regulation and
government ownership of railroads,
the following IN reference to gov
rrumout ownership of railroads in
japan is of interest Y kinoShta
traffic passenger manager of the
Japanese government railroads,
speaking to Il correspondent of the
Chicago Examiner, said
The average passenger rate on
the railroads Of Japan is three
tourlhS of Il cent a mile. This is
the result of government ownership
and operation of sufficient mileage
to establish a just return upon the
actual capital invested in the con
structiun and maintenance of both
government and private roads, de-
void Of waicr"d stock.
Ouc-third of the railroads in ia
pan are owned and operated hy the
Japanese government. Pointing
ont this fact, kiuoshita said; The
passenger rates. which are the same
rs on the private roads, are based
upon the distance travelled, accord
ing to the following:
Eight-tcnths of cent Il mile,
under 80 miles.
Scvcu-tcuthS of a cent mile, 30
to 100 miles.
SiX.tenthS OF cent mile, 100
to POO miles.
One-half cent Il mile, 200 to roo
miles.
Above 300 miles the rate is four
tenihs of Il cent mile.
ndcr government ownership
and operation of railroads WE get
much cheaper service in both
freight aud passenger traffic than
Won get IN America, while in Japan
it costs much more to construct
railroads than in this country. The
actual construction and full equip.
mcnt, including rolling stock, is
about 100000 II mile in Japan,
while it is much less in this coun-
try. Yes, | know your roads are
capitalized for over SEQ, 600 mile
but more than half of that is what
YOU call watered stock which is
based upon the ability to demand
high rates, aud not on the actual
cost Of construction and operation.
Japan is mountainous country,
making the cost of railroad con.
structiOu much greater than here,
but with all our steep grades, cost
ly bridges, cuts and tunnels, our
roads, including equipment, cost
only about $40, 900 n mile. -
According to kin0shita, the
japanese also have cheaper freight
rates than prevail in America. He
explains that the average freight
rate in Japan, nearly all hauls be-
ing termed short hauls, is about
one cent mile for ton of mer-
chandiSe, and adds There is no
such thing as watered stock in
the railroads Of Japan. The gov
ernmcut would not permit it under
any circumstances. The passen.
ger and freight rates are fixed to
return a reasonable rate upon the
cost of construction and main
tenance, the government roads and
private roads MS well, earning from
seven to eight per cent. The gov
ernment issued four and five per
cent bonds which were sold on the
market at par. With this money
the government roads were con-
structed. AS the roads earn from
seven to eight per cent, they will
soon pay for themselves. After n
few more costly Investigations and
lawsuits by the United States gov
ernment, think you will conclude
to adopt government ownership,
which has been a success for thirty
years in Japan. The private roads
in Japan have the same rates as
those owned by the government.
The government roads act as a lev
erage, compelling the private roads
to adopt the same rates. We ex-
pect to remain in this country for
at least six months, studying the
railroads of this country. Your
railway coaches are superior to
ours, but we have the best road
l.I -