The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-03-15
'LAFOLlETI'E.R||||A'|Is|jI.
.GYE0N'C0M!M|l17'E|:.E|::
.iyVestsrtisr Looms Ups as Factor Fac,
iti8 Fight III Congress for
lg3i5 Rate. Regulation.
GREAT TANGLE Of FIGURES !: 4 ! ] e;
Great Difficulty ii, Reaching ,s:"[ Rs; x-
act Tl-uth Concern ,o,nlce:etar'1i;l-.@ X
ing Subj ect.
t,ro,,, our Regular CONSEQUENTLY 4

III ts = Wy. .N.l ~
VII From Our Regular. Correspo dent
58. ii. lin GToN, d. c., March 14,'--lf
lie senate Committee Oh Commerce ne -
which, Under the terms Of! the h .,l
RESOLUTION, Is TO sit during the va tm...n
Of Congress- for the purpose OF ~
Ing the problems involved IN @ Ne
the railway rate making po w., - 1,ss
Y government, encounters as much ~ GILL ~
cnitvI 81 rca ching the exact truth concern
Il 3nr1tliis subject MS does the hunble N
4 x,nst igntor HI search of the truth on MS
4 nwr, nccourt. the honorable committee IS
going 10 be in about the most muddled
condition Sir1ag inable. #5 :.
2l$I lad lust read to-day a statement is Is
N sued by the Bureau Of Labor sof1e cum,
I ngo, ostensibly showing the increase !, ~
the price OF the chief Al ~, y.
4 railway rates from 1899 to 1 9O2. Ihese
tables showed that while the price 3 mad
q advanced on all commodities an average
Il Of X 1s} points, &nnd the prices Of metals,
{ f,,cl and lumber from % to IS points pas
u songer rates had advanced only,a'98 points
q from 1899 to 1902 and freight rates, in the
J. same period advanced 80 points. 5!5
What Coal Operator Said
s About the time i had dlgestcd these fig
,ires, Il ran across Il coal operator. one on
4 Of those OF the Flat Top field who IS
here In the interest Of the operators IN
2 the protest. the successful protest maze ma.
against the proposition to 1ncrea sc !.the
4, rate on coal from the Virginia and west .s
Virginia mines to Tdewat ter IN discussing
the subject, he mentioned that the II rate
on coal from his section to washington
IN 1886 was s. cents. and at the same
Il time was IS cents to lid ewnter.
rs THE present rate on coal from our
I mines to Washington, he said.3f"is $3.50
I e ION. and to Underwater the rate is *l.S5
4 q ion. There is "a profit in hauling the
coal at 40 cents a ton
55g The operator hurried away to catch a
train. and as Il sat down to ponder over
these conflicting statements. CHANGED
/: ID Cat Oh Isl CHI, OF. an article in the Phila-
Sde!phia Saturday Evening Post. by. Gov.
eriior- Senator I~afollette. OF Wisconsin on
5}.. air Railroad Regulation, He makes
the folio wing assertion: is55 X s5s
Il. he coal rats the iron schedules; the
rates upon grain and It's products; lum-
Der; live stoek, and It's products. are gen
orally higher than four years ago.
:5gs And then follows this remarkable state
Eisnt. gs "
me increase upon coal rates alone
amounts to more than SIS 90. 90 per year
Governor Lssfolistte asserts that the In
tes.stase Commerce Con,mis s!on reports
that the average rate per each ton Of
3 frsig,.t-not per tot, per Hlile-was about
Twelve and thres-tiuariers cents higher
h in the spring OF 1874 than in the spring
Eof ss4e. and that when the increase vas,
> applied to traffic In 1875 it meant an in.
4 crease in gross earnings. from this source
alone of over sls5 1l0. coo. The gross earn
iugs from freight were s.s4-2s2.s7l greater
{ in 1876 than in 1859. OF this amount Gov
4 ernor Iafollette asserts. slb5. D1o,Oo or
about Sc per cent, was derived from In
crease u n the rates. 3.55
n Notwithstanding the tremendous In
crease in volume of traffic from 1897 to
1868. and the great Improvement in IA
Fcilities for handling freight, BY which
fewer cars and locomotives could haul
many more tons, thereby cheapening the
cost of transportation. the rate increased
steadily. Improved tracks. and heavier
cars and locomotives were charged to
4 operating expenses, and the people who
y shipped goods did not get the benefit OF
the Increased earnings. The net earnings
per mile, in 1897, were equal to six per
cent on s33. coo; in 1902. they equaled SIX
per cent. on $50, 500 The average revc-.
nue per freight train mile was sL63 III
1897, and sl.70 in 1899, while in 1902 1t
{ amounted to S244
Lafollette's Table.
81 The plea of the railroads that very much
4 higher wages arc ps,d-i now than a few
years ago is admitted and denied by Gov.
j ernor Lafollette.8 He admits that the
higher class of officials. comparatively
&few6in number, have had their salaries
substantially advanced, but he denies that
other employees receive much better pay
\ than formerly, and presents the following
table showing the average per cent of
Increase in wages on all the railroads
In the United States from 1897 to 1902, in
elusive:
Per cent.
4 General cffcerG.........,...... ..lI.0S l