The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1907-02-07
SINCE 1898:

be illustrated as follows:
SINCE 1898:
Bridge timber has increased from
1896 to $2052 per thousand feet.
Cross ties from % cents to 34-5
cents per tie.
Steel rails from $1775 per ton to
$2800 per ton.
| SINCE 1898, PRICES OF EQUIP
MENT HAVE INCREASED AS
FOLLOWS:
Locomotives from $11 1892 to from
$4,000 to $4,000.
Passenger coaches from $6,315 20
$9,468.
Freight cars from $5OO43 to
| $7650O.
Coal cars from $368.OO to $1,135.00.
The cost of labor has increased per
mile of road from $1,621.67 in 1895
to $2,97471 in 1906; and from $2,
51364 per mile of road in 1905 to
| $2,S74.71 in 1906.
Taxes of the Company per mile of
road have, since 1895, increased 63.4l
per cent.
To this large increase Of expense
must be added the excessive verdicts
of juries in personal injury cases.
In addition to this there is mark
ed tendency on the part of many Of
the States to regard any failure of
service as willful, and to impose upon
the carrier a heavy penalty therefor.
Inasmuch as adequate facilities for
all are not in existence, the imposi-
ton Of a penalty for failure to fur
nish cars under the above mentioned
circumstances, if it has any effect 9th
er than merely to deplete the Treas
ury of the carrier and to deprive it
to that extent of the power to i'm
prove its transportation and service,
must result simply in the withdraw
al of the carriers facilities from the
service. in respect to which there is
no penalty. The logical result of this
would be a race between the State
to see which could infict the highest
penalty so as to obtain preference
for its own citizens.
The imposition Of penalties will not
build railroad tracks, supply equip
ment, or enlarge and simplify ter
minals, nor would it, under the cir
cumstances mentioned, benefit the
transportation service as a whole,
but on the contrary, would tend to
produce injustice and discrimination
between persons and localities Be-
sides, this naturally would develop
into a preference in favor of State
commerce over Interstate commerce.
But the larger interests of the ship
ping public of the South are in In
terstate commerce for the reason
that their principal markets are the
larger markets of the county, which
are in other States.
That this condition is appreciated
by the shippers will be apparent from
the following quotation from letter
just received from a large shipper:
practically all our shipments go
out of the State; there, we cannot
use Form Al Ga form used for the
purpose of availing of the penalty
laws of the Statej, consequently or
ders for shipments within the Stare
when shippers use Form Al are given
preference.
1t is not to be wondered at that
the large increase in the cost Of ma
terials, equipment and labor and 9th
er expenses above adverted to, and
the increased difficulties in transpor-
tation, are, as shown bysits publish
ed reports, reflected in large de-
crease of the net earnings of the
Company since July l, 1906, notwith-
standing its increased gross earnings.
With these greatly increased ex-
penses for material, for labor, for
taxes, for penalties and for damage
claims, and with the just demands OF
the public for better facilities and
greater safety of operation, it must
be apparent that i reduction OF rev.
enues must conflict with the public
interest in these larger questions OF
better facilities and greater safety.
I submit these Facts to the candid
consideration of those people who, IN
perfect good faith, desire reduction
Of our freight rates and passenger
fares. The public should be(advised
that, with decreased revenues, the
railroads of the country will be ut
terly unable to pursue successfully
their efforts to provide better facili-
ties and greater safety of transpor-
tation.
The point is near where it may be
absolutely necessary for the public ts
take the choice between better and
safer facilities, on the one hand, and
lowr rates on the other. In tn ma
ture of things, it is impossible to pro-
vide both.
In view of the difficulty Of meet
ing the just demands Of the public
fa,s