The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-02-25
RAILWAY RATES
EASILY EVADED.
Expert Says That Hepburn Bill
Has Many Flaws in
NO GENERAL LAW WILL ACT
Western States Will Probably
Adopt Two Cent Fare
Law.

A practical maker OF railway rates says.
Government regulation OF railway
rates as It is expected to pass the Sen
ate. is going TO have come peculiar and
unexpected results. If you could analyze
the motives that havo made President
Cassatt, OF the Pennsylvania, one OF tho
warnest advocates of rate regulation. you
would hayo the key of these results.
First, 1t is going TO put out of bus
mess the small railroads that have made
living out OF their scraps with the big
lines wliou Mr.. sdckncy so vigorously
attacks the rate regulators, he Is pleading
for the Great Western.
Most OF the rebates paid by the trunk
lines TO shippers AFRO made TO meet the
tactics OF the smaller lines. like the Clo-
yer Leaf. for instance This is not so.
OF course. with regard to the alleged re-
bates paid TO Standard OIL. the Armours,
etc. These concessions will go on, In
one form or another, Just about the same.
/ can see dozen methods BY which the
Hepburn bill, even as framed, could be
evaded. within the letter of the law.
You can't frame a general law to
NEE; specific cases in our business. There
arc almost as many punches of tricks in
tho trade as there are traffic managers.
II don't mind going on record as say
Ing that the most striking result of the
rate regulation is going to be that tho
earnings OF tho big lines will increase
and tho earnings of the small lines de-
crease.
You know, the traffic department of
tue biz railroad the Pennsylvania. for
instance. knows Just what the small line
is doing-but the small line does not
know what the big line is doing. The
small line won't dare to do anything
irregular because it's managers will know
that the Pennsylvania can deliver 1t into
the hands OF the law, but the Pennsyl-
vania for instance, VIII have all the adj
vantage over the smaller line.
Rate regulation is good thing. There
are all sorts of abuses. and they should
he remedied. sThc i1lkins law was good.
but did not 20 far enough. That was
because there was no one to put 1T in
force. Tile present machinery of govern
ncnt is Just about as efficient to en-
force the Elkins law. or the Hepburn law
either. for that matter as the average
railroad NAVY would be to be President
OF The United States.
..Iflyou put Joseph Ramsey, Ir., ut the
jon of catching Wabash breaking the
law he might be able to deliver the
goods: but the average Interstate Com
merce Commission has about as much
Chance in this game az the average par
son in q game of poker"
For the SIN months ended wlth De
cernber. gross earnings OF the Chesapeake
and Ohio showed an increase of 13 per
cent. aud the net an increase of practi-
cally ~ per cent. Compared with the
sauie months of 1902, a year when tile
strike Of anthracite miners produced an
earnings for the second half of 1906 had
practically doubled. having been si.7g5,37S
against s2,51s.562.
Allowing an increase In net during the
second half of the fiscal year at the same
iate-as WAS maintained in the first half
and adding for other income only what
WAS made last year, the company's total
income for the year should be approXi-
iuatcly t91i5o00 Last years charges
We're A,I9g,o0D, Allowing 100000 on that
head this year. the income account would
sun show Sc per cent earned on the
stock. Such, at least, was the rate of
earnings from July LIST 10 December 3lst.
Whether the threatened strike in the
coal fields comes or not, ii is question
able whether the same ratio of increase
can be maintained IN the second half
OF the fiscal year. In the one case, at
least n PART. OF the territory along the
duction. and in the other the incentive
10 stock the country heavily with coal,
which has kept the earnings of nearly
all the coal roads expanding for months.
despite halIny winter, viii be lacking
On the other hand every industry which
depends for motive power upon coal ana
Industrial activity of every sort will feel
WIKI varying intensity the new impulse
70 progressive effort which the removal
Of the strike menace would undenably
cause.
The Pennsylvania Railroad annual
stockholders meeting on March 18th
Will be Of special interest because of
tllc prosperous year the company has
tAl'eEiensed Producing the largest earn
itgs on record, The advance sheets of
ihe pamphlet report will probably be
made public The first week In March
Western lines expect the two cent fare
Law OF Ohio 70 be adopted in many states
With the result that an impetus will be
rivcu TO experiments looking to more
economical power than steam locomo-
tivcs.
The gasoline experiment has reached
tai advanced stage on Hartman branch
lines aud elsewhere 1t is reported that
Mr.. Hartman Will undertake this week
10 break all records Of passenger trains
lntwccn New York ntd San Fr7,nclsco
by means of Il gasoline car
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