The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-29

| railroads to put in a 2-cent fare it
| would be al step backward, ass they
| would have to cut off a great deal OF
1 pa sseHger service which WIS now-op-
i Grated as an accommodate ton to the
/ people along the lines, which is un-
i prcffta bic at the present time, but
which helped the road in obtaining the
I good will of the people and the
through business was sufficient to
make up the deficit.
Senator Quincy asked what effect
the abolishing of free passes would
have on the general passenger revenue
that only from 2 to- 3 per cent of the
people EauIed were hauled Free ex-
ciuGing employees and the employees Of
other lines frCm this list.
| 4 Perhaps the most comprehensive
argument on the question at issue was
presented by Jerry Black. All of the
other arguments were along the same
! line so Mr.. Black s. remarks cover the
| situation from the railroad standpoint
and were as follows:
NIr. Blacks Speech.
81 can not believe that the people of
Kansas want to cripple their railroads
and cripple them they will if pas
senger rates are reduced What the
people of Kansas needEiS better and
more frequent trains, especially on
branch lines and in rthe sparsely set
tied districts. Is; it not reasonable to
suppose improved train service, can be
expected much sooner with increased
earnings than it can if, rates are re-
duced- below the. cost of service? 49,
1.-THE statistics published by the rail-
road commissioners show that the
Santa sFe railroad carries more passen-
gers than any other. line in. Kansas. It
furnished by the Santa Fe will be
much more favora pie than figures
which other lines could produce. In
dealing with this question we must
111a, ~ hot n ~, tkas
will work a much greater hardship to
the weaker lines.
mo matter at What angle you look
at this question, every fairminded per-
son will admit that density of popula-
ton should govern the rate per mile.
Our figures show that Illinois has a
popula ton of Sc people per square
mile, Iowa 40. Missouri IS, while Kan
sas has but IS. As, Kansas has had
the same rate per mile as Illinois, Mis-
souri, and Iowa for years the people
of this state have nc. cause for com
plant. -'-'+'J,'a ~ 4-'' aT' -
IA fact which many people lose
sight of is that legal rate of three
cents per mile does not mean that rail-
roads earn that amount on large
portion of their traffic. 1t Is likewise
true that maximum rate of two cents
per mile will not yield an average of
two cents per mile. In order to OBJ
tain a proper share of business the
longer line must ofinecessity meet the
short line rate. Passenger rates are in
variably made on t-slfortest possible
the rate from Kansas City to Winfield
is made through Chanute and Long
ton, while passengers are carried via
Newton and Wichita :
In addition to this,;the railroads are
constantly making reduced rates for
excursion travel to state, county and
district fairs, Grand Army reunions, po-
htical gatherings, social secret, and re-
Hgious conventions, s1ikewise on mile
age tickets. designed particularly for
zhe commercial Traveller.
Z 'As the result of>these numerous re-
auctions the Santa FeA railroad earns on
tts.1ocaEtFaffic withiuthe- state-of Kan
Has but 2.5S cents per mile. We earn a
little less than two cents per mile
nameEy-@1sS7, ON interstate traffic, which
of course includes, excursions, interstate
as we'll as one-~ayf Interstate. In con-
Sc luehce the average earnings of the
Santa eFsa IA ilroadsGh Kansas on b 7all
classes Of passengsT fra1f1ftc state and in
terstate. is bit EOS. ~
= IT assume there is no f1isputfrg the
fact that 5passengert train service on
branch lines. and in thinly settled dis
tricts, is Improbable at. present rates.
Our statistics show that we earn about
"a cents per train mile on our principal
branches, such as Strong City to Su-
perioE. Florence to Ellinwood, Emporia |
mute to Emporiasa etc On the less i'm |
pQrtant branches we earn materially |
less. Our average, cost OF. opera ton. on |
branch lines is "a cents per train mile. |
When you consider that 80 per cent Of |
the earnings on such trains is purely |
local and in consequence would be re- |
duced 33 1-3 per cent you can readily |
the effect the reduction |
from to 2 cents per mile would have. |
another feature to keep in mind, is |
the fact that the Santa F'e company |
earns but 4215 cents per train mile on |
an average, fro.i local traffic in the |
state of Kansas. Our average expense |
for all 'passen ger trains Is $1.04 per train |
mile, which does not include any por- |
ton of taxes, rentals, fixed charges
vice, or anything for dividends 1t will |
therefore be noted that if it were not |
for our through business, which would |
Of course be proportionately affected by |
a reduction in Kansas rat ties, we could |
not maintain anything like our present
train service on main lines as well as
branches.
Calls Attention to Ohio. ns.-
t'Some people are of the g.. opinion
that reduced rates mean a material in
crease in earnings. Let us look a re-
suits in Ohio. In order to obtain ac-
curate information on the subject |
wrote some weeks ago to the various
lines on Ohio asking to be advised
what effect the reduction made last
March had on their earnings and re-
ceived a very carefully prepared state
ment from one of the important lines
whose mileage is almost VIII oily within
the state of Ohio, and which necessar-
lys handles a larger proportion. of To-
cai business than it does of interstate.
This statement shows, that. while earn
ngS increased every month during
1905, as we'll as in January and Febru-
Try, 1906, under the old law, decreases
the moment reduced rates
.ook effect, varying from 9 to 3 0 per
cent monthly from March to- October.
e such results obtain1.in Ohio where