The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-08-28
WAGES INCREASED
OVER ONE MILLION
Southern Railway Comp
troller Shows Record
for Past year.
SHARP TILT
WIT II LAWYER
/ Witness Appealed to Master for
ProtectionNp Carolina
Rate Hearing Turns on
Difference i'll Re
ports as to
Earnings.

WASHINGTON. y. c.. Agust g27.--The
direct testimony OF Comptroller Plant,
of the Southern Railway, in the North
Carolina rate hearing was completed
to-day. and considerable progress was
made IN the cross examination, which
was conducted by former Congress-
man WOodard for the State OF North
Carolina. Most of the afternoon ses-.
sion was taken up with questions by
the North Carolina State counsel put
to Mr.. Plant concerning the reports
made by him to the North Carolina
Corporation Commission of the opera
tions of the Southern Railway in that
State. MIR. Woodward pressed his
the latter said he felt called upon to
ask the protection OF the master in
chancery against the States leading
counsel Mr.. Plant asserted that Mr..
Woodward asked lin questions for the
evident purpose OF drawing erroneous
conclusions, which he said he did not
propose to answer.
sworn To by Plant.
Mr.. Woodard asked Mr.. Plant
whether, upon any of the quarterly
reports made to the North Carolina
Railroad Commission for ahe four
quarters ending with June 3o 1906.
Grating expenses of intrastate business
were approximations. The reports
were not made by me. replied Mr.,
Plant. ''They We're attested by me-" +
"Are they not sworn to byFyou. Mr..
Plant?" he was asked. That is true
lsreplied the witness.
When asked If it was not his duty
to make these reports to the Cor,
| pora tion Commission, Mr.. Plant said
1t was his duty to see that they were
iprepared and filed.
.srhes were sworn to by me as cor
| rect to the best OF my knowledge and
belief Mr.. Plant added;
1 EiEssrsx Nof ;;.As,pro1In.,tt1.s. 1.s. d.
Revertiifg again to his first aues-
ton as TO- the reports to the North
asked Mr.. Plant If there was anything
In the report of the operations of the
North Carolina Railroad made by the
lcomptroller4 for the year ending Sep
tembcr 80, 1905. indicating that his
statement OF the operating expenses
incident to intrastate business was an
approximation. Upon examining the
report Mr., Plant said the report did not
/ ures were approxima ted. He added
I that it was a physical impossibility to
determine with mathematical accuracy
trastate traffic as distinguished from
3lall ira fflc.
ExpInlnE the Difference.
Mr. Plant discussed an alleged diff
| ference Of S165, 465 In the earnings OF
the Southern Railway in North Caro-
as contained in the report of the North
! Carolina Corporation Commission and
as stated in Mr. Plants Testimony yes
terday. Mr.. Plant explained that the
to the fact that the commissions re-
port made no mention of the intra.
4 state business on the Atlantic and
Danyille nor OF the traffic hauls of the
4 North Carolina Railroad, and thai
i therefore the tabulation did not In.
clude all earnings for which the South
ern Ralroad has made reports t2 the
commended that the price of labor or
the Southern has Increased very ma
terially during the last five or ss
been made since June 80. 1906, to the
4 employees Of that system.
:. Mr.. Plant presented a tabulatet
statement giving an estimate OF tn,
4 Increase In wages to employees In 1905
as compared with the previous year
which aggregated s1,o44.000. The in
! creases were for the entire system. bu
they applied equally to North Caro-
Il lima.
IIad to Cut Dividend.
!. Mr.. Plant detailed the earnings anc
operating expenses of the Souther,
Railway for the year ended June 80
u the net earnings as compared with ! 9O6
|, was s1,90a,5S7, or 13.7 per cent. Th.
balance overfixed charges for 1907 wa
$2,290,321. compared with s5,229,066, II
Il 1905, a decrease of 56.2 per cent. In re
ply to question, witness said tina
there was not enough balance owe
! fixed charges to declare a five PEI
cent. dividend on the preferred stool
OF the Southern, and that that rate o
! dividend had not been declared during
the present year.