Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-30
A LITTLE NEARER THE TRUTH
some Facts About Railroad Rates and
Etste-Owned Roads in
Europe.

Louis n. Enrich returns from a tour of
Europe strongly impressed with the fail
ure OF government railways and the high
rates charged" Many years experience
have led me to very different conclusion,
both as to rates and quality of service.
What lies at the basis of so much con-
fusion on the subject is the comparison
between totally unlike conditions. MIR. A.
journeys first class on the Orient or Nord-
Sud express and finds the rates very high,
ignoring the fact that ninety-iiye per cent
of the people travel third class on slow
trains at fraction of the cost and have
no more use for the orient than for the
luna express,
For instance, the rate on the Austrian
Staatsbahn for 100 miles third class
slow, is krone so heller first class ex-
press lS krone, exactly four times as
much, yet this high rate, used by hardly
l per cent of the people, is invariably
taken as the basis of comparison with
American rates, and as showing the fall
ure OF state ownership. Then instead of
comparing state and private railways in
the same country or countries of similar
character, we have only to put the most
up-to-date part of hustling America be-
SIDE Spain, Sicily, or even Germany, and
write about our own superiority
Let us examine few of the rates from
schedules before me, using the third class
slow rate on which all European tariffs
are based. Innsbruck offers an oppor
tunity for fair comparison, the state Arl
burg running east and west and the Bren-
ner (Sudbahn), a private road, running
south, both mountain roads of expensive
construction, but the state railway much
the more expensive. For twenty-five.
nifty and 100 miles on each road from
Innsbruck the rates are in krone: State,
LILO, 2.So, 4.5O; private, 100, $50, $40. or
In our money about 23, 4s and "a cents
for the state road and SO. 70 and $40
for the private road, fully SO per cent
higher, Austria offers an excellent field
for study, as IL has many important roads
both under private and state ownership.
In our search for high rates we find I'm
Germany rates averaging u cents a mile
or trihe over, but We must remember
that there is a fourth class in northern
Germany that is to be extended to the
Whole country, where the poorest can ride
al an average rate of of a cent a mile
Norway offers a rate of less than lH
cents mile. About the same holds true
OF Sweden, Holland and Italy, Switzerland
slightly more and Belgium trifie less.
The private owned railways of England,
France and Spain offer the highest rates
In Europe. In England one train daily
must be run for cents a mile, but the
average rate is little higher. Equipment
and speed vary, but this is more matter
OF national character and nabit than a
question of state and private ownership.
All currents of life run slower in Euro
pean countries; time is considered of less
value; this affects all lines of business as
uyal rofI
and in about the same measure. Italy
might now be used az an example of the
failure of state ownership. yet a year or
two ago it would have convinced any i'm
partial observer of the hopeless incompe-
tence of private ownership. On the whole
government ownership shows a slightly
lower rate without determinations and
better service, but the difference under
similar conditions is not great enough to
prove the question one way or the other
+. w. ordway, in New York INES.