The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1906-03-22
EARNINGS OF RAILROADS
Net Earnings of All Roads of $3,2t5
Per Mile for the Entire Mile
age of the United States

aye VI Lie OHttcO otdtcS
The. United States interstate com.
MERGE commission reports the earn.
ings and operating expenses of the
railways of the United States as fol
lows:
This report covers the statement of
income and expenditures of 752 Oper-
ating companies. 1t includes the re-
turns of all railways whose reports
were on file with the commission on
or before December 6, and represents
an operated mileage of 214,477.S2
miles, which is not far from SO per
cent of the mileage to be covered by
the final report for the year in ques-
ton.
The gross earnings of the railways
for the year ending June 80, 1905,
on the mileage already stated, were
$2,073, III, 1926. This total comprised
earnings from the passenger service
amounting to 81 ,449,1S2,702, or $3.50
per cent, and other miscellaneous
earnings amounting to $51,885,257, or
ESQ per cent. According to this pre-
liminary report, the gross earnings
from operation averaged 1866 per
mile of line. This average is consid-
erably larger than the like average
for any other year for which sta
tistical report has been published by
the commission. The final report for
the year ending June 80, 1904, showed
that the total gross earnings of the
railways, on 212,243.20 miles of line,
for that year were s1975,174,091, be-
ing equivalent to $9,306 per mile. Of
the gross earnings per mile of line the
passenger service contributed $2,667
and the freight service $6,757. In a
general way it may be said that the
several per mile averages shown in
connection with the preliminary re-
ports are likely to be somewhat larger
than similar averages in the CORES
ponding final reports, in consequence
of the fact that the latter include re-
turns for additional roads in which
the ratios of the items to the respec-
tive mileages are less than the gen.
eral averages.
The operating expenses of the rail-
ways embraced in the current prelim-
mary report amounted to $1,383,584,-
404, thus averaging $6,451 per mile
of line. For the year ending June 80,
1904, the operating expenses report
ed finally were 81, 1885, 1885, 1853, or $6,3O8
per mile. This advance report indi-
Gates that the ratio of operating ex-
penses to earnings for 1905 was 1914
per cent. The final report for the
year 1904 gave for this item 6779 per
cent. This preliminary report shows
that the net earnings of essentially
the same roads were, for the year end
ing June 30, 1905, $685., 592,921, and
for the year ending June 80, 1904,
The railway companies
for which returns are included in this
advance report also received $114,636,-
642 in the form of income from in
vestments in the stocks and bonds of
railway and other corporations, and
from other miscellaneous sources. The
net earnings, as stated above, must
be increased by this sum to obtain the
entire income which these operating
lines had at their disposal for cor
porate expenditures and for reserve
or surplus funds as we'll. The total
income, consequently, was $S04,229,-
569. The aggregate of all the deduc-
tons chargeable against such total in
come was $713,994,S00. The principal
items included in these deductions
were, interest ON funded debt, rents
(which were $5S,533,3S1), and divi-
dends. $196,0SO,237, as described be-
low. 1t thus appears that the surplus
for the year resulting from the oper-
ations of those roads which the pre-