Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1907-09-12
Railroad PASSENGER Earnings.

When one is looking from the
window of a Lehfgh passenger train
and watching the mile posts fit past,
one each minute, it is probable they
don't think that the Lehigh has
probably earned $l.06, for that is
what the road receives on an av-
erage for running a passenger train
mile. If the train happens to be
carrying mail and express the Valley
earns more than Sl.06 for these fig
ures only include the fares of pas
sengers. This is according to an es-
innate made for the fiscal years re
port Of 1907 which further says that
trains carried on an average only 6l.
80 passengers and that the average
number Of persons in car on Valley
trains during the fiscal year was H..
SO. But in spite o.. the fact that 81
o6 does not seem much for running
a passenger train mile and about
61 ,l-2 passengers does not seem to
be many, still the Lehigh's receipts
for the fiscal year from passengers
was 81 ,363, 452, II. During the year
the Lehigh carried 5,lSl, ,533 pas
sengers, so that the average revenue
from each passenger by the railroad
company was S4.21 cents. The av-
erage receipts of the Lehigh for car
rying one passenger one mile was
about Il cent and three-quarters.
The average distance travelled by the
different passengers was Asa miles. =
Tunk hammock Democrat.
A publication just issued by the
department of agriculture, entitled
"National Forests and the Lumber
Supply" defines the important part
which the national forests are destin-
ed to play in the economic develop
ment of the country. Abuses have
grown up under the laws which pro-
vide for the disposition of public
lands, notably the segregation Of
large holdings of timber lands for
speculative purposes. Timber from
the national forests is now purchased
by the thousand board feet and pay
ment is made upon the actual sc 1 le
of the logs when cut. Two dollars
and half per thousand feet is com
paratively low as present charges go,
but since the cut ranges from 5000
to 10000 feet per acre, the govern
ment receives from five to twenty
times as much for the timber as it
did under the timber and stone act
Public opinion now demands, not
that the government should dispose
of its remaining tinberlands as rap
idly as possible and leave it to pri-
vate enterprise to exploit the forest
hastily, but that what remains of the
national forests should be more con-
servatively use. The government
has been forced into the lumber bus
mess solely in order that supply of
forest products may be guaranteed
to future generations. Probably 65
per cent of the total stand of mer-
chantable timber within the forests
is located on the Pacific coast, where
for long time the enormous supply
of privately owned timber will salts
fy most of the demand. This more
accessible private timber surrounded
the forests as the meat of an apple
surrounds the core. 1t has been en-
tirely eaten away in many places,
while in others it is locked up by
spectators. The thing to remem-
her, then, is that this immense body
of public timber Is there as great
reserve against the time when pri-
vate timberands will be depleted,
and for use as "A weapon against mo-
noply.
| Announcement of the discovery