Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-09-19
Railroads in the United States.

4 nual Statistical report recently made
| public by the Interstate Commerce
Commission presents some figures.
touching the business of the railroads
| in this country during the fiscal year
ending June 80, 1906. that will be Of
very general interest. At the close of
that fiscal year the par value of rail-
! way capital outstanding was S14,57O.-
Al AS, or $61,936 per mile of the rail-
ways in the United States Of this,
more than SO per cent paid no
dividends.
, OF the railway stock outstanding.
$2,251.ll3,'99 was owned by railway
corporations, and of railway bonds,
S6i1.3o5.o30 was reported so owned
The aggregate gross earnings from the
operated mileage of 222.3iO miles Of
lines were $2,325, 165, 167, being $243,-
2S2, 161 greater than i'll 1905 Opcrat-
ing expenses were $1,536, S77.271, or
$146,215,119 more than in 1905. The
net earnings aggregated S1SS,SS7, S96
an increase of $970O7642. The net
earnings per mile of line averaged
s3.54S. The income attributable to
other sources than operation reached
other charges, the report says $685.
1S6,32S is the net income for the year
available for dividends or surplus
There We're 7?9.5O7,S3S passengers
carried. an increase of more than Co.
100000, and 1881 .374,219 tons of freight
carried, an increase of over 202, 00n,-
900. The average revenue per
passenger per mile was 2.oo2 cents.
The earnings per train mile in
creased both for passenger and freight
trains. and the average cost of run
ming a train one mile Increased. The
ratio of operating expenses to earnings
was more than G6 per cent.
The report shows 1858 persons
killed and 97.7o6 injured. There was 4
total of 1,521, 1855 persons on the pay
rolls. The report also shows that l
passenger was killed for every 2,227,-
OIL carried. while in 1905 passenger
was killed for every 1.375,S56 carried
One person was injured for every
1f.216 passengers carried. as against I
injured in every 1855 passengers
carried in 1905
For each passenger killed 10,126,6s6
passenger miles We're accomplished.
against only 44,320,576 passenger miles
in 1905. One passenger was injured
for every 2.33S.S59 passenger miles
against 2,276.002 miles in 1905. The
ployes per 100 miles of line Thor"
was an increase of A. employees per 100
miles Of line over 1905. Wages and
salaries paid to employees aggregated
5000 sol .653. but it is stated that this
amount is deficient by more than s21.-
00o0o0 because of the loss of railway
records in the San Francisco earth
quak"
There We're 2,213 railway corpora
ti"nH for which mileage is included.
During the year railway companies
owning 4.0ai.iG miles of line were
rc"rganiZed, merged. or consolidated.
III" mileage of roads operated by
receivers was 3.911, or an Increase Of
Bio over 1908. The number of roads
in tn" hands Of receivers Was thirty
four
The number Of locomotives and cars
in 'the s"rvic" of the railways agsre-
gated 2.O1O,5S4, of which 1.s27.7S9 were
fitted with train brakes and 1,989.79G
with automatic couplcrS. Only Ia
per cent Of cars in the passenger
service were without automatic
couplers.
While these figures will serve to
bring home to US the magnitude Of the
railroad business the fact remains.
that the mileage already built
is inadequate to keep pace with
tn" growth of the country. There are
many trunk lines that are in urgent
need Of double tracking. and many
new roads are still wanted for IN
developed sections of the country that
are rich in natural resources.
This year the railroads Of the
country will come nearer to having a
sufficient supply of cars for crop NOV
ing purposes than during the past de- |
Cadc. This is due largely to the |
marked increase in the rolling stock
owned by most of the principal rail
roads, an increase in equipment that
has kept the big car building plants
working overtime for many months
past. and in part to the fact that this
years crops, while considerably larger
than the average for the decade. are
still considerably below the bumper
crops of last year.