The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-06-03
7'N/O-CENT RATE CUTS
DEEPL Y INTO REVENUE

and in nowise OF any interest to the
Virginia citizen or derived from traffic
which the Virginia Corporation Com
mission considered in fixing the p
cent rate, this small sum also repre-
senting the Virginia intrastate in
creased earnings during the Jamestown
Exposition period, a period affording
exceptional. opportunities for large
earnings, and to even the casual Ricl,-
nond observer it must be apparent thai
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway must
necessarily have earned several timea
$4,000 from Its Virginia Jamestown
Exposition business, and no logic
should be necessary to demonstrate
that If the Jamestown Exposition traf-
fc earned several times $4,000. which
it unquestionably did, there must have
been a serious loss somewhere, and
no great discerning powers are neces-
sary to locate the loss in the differ
ence between the three and two-cent
per mile maximum rates, especially
when 1t is borne in mind that the
Chesapeake and Oho's gross receipts
from the sale of jamestown ENposi-
ton tickets in the city of Richmond
alone during the above period Was
S74,3S5.25, practically as much money
as the Chesapeake and Ohio Increased
on purely Virginia interstate travel
during the entire period from July l.,
1907, to February 49,. 1908.
Eearnngs subsequent to February.
% 1908:
1905. 1907. 1906.
March. s29O.451,7 $342.777.49 sSO9.7O4.26
April. a9l.117.?2 397,476.72 3H,7O4.015
March-Decrease under 1907, $oc,-
3o5.75: decrease under 1906. slo,952.52
April-Decreasc under 1907 $1O0.
$3.50; decrease under 1906, s4s,5s6.15.
| May-Decrease for the first three
| weeks. $4,000 (estmated).
Loss VIII Stendlly Increase.
| 1t would seem that comment as 10
! the heavy decrease in earnings subse-
gent TO February is unnecessary, at
/ least beyond recalling to mind the
| fact that a serious loss prevails even
as compared with 1906 earnings, and
! that from present indications this loss
/ will steadily increase, due to the gem
/ eral use Of the 2-cent rate for inter-
state as Well as intrastate travel. 1t
being Impossible to contlne the appli-
cation Of the 2-cent intrastate rate to
purely intrastate travel.
.As clearly illustrative of the loss in
Virginia intrastate revenue, due to the
I 2-cent maximum rate, the following
4 instances are cited
4 .In March, 1908, the Richmond de-
4 pot ticket agents report showed an
4 increase of 4,a76 tickets, with de-
i crease of s2,S66.9S in revenue as com-
pared with same month of the pre-
vious year.
..Report of stanton, Va. ticket
} agent for the month of April, 1905
showed total Of 1000 tickets solo
this year as against 3,7s2 the CORE
spending month Of the previous year
, an increase of almost 100 per cent. il
| the total number of tickets sold, ant
: yet the revenue this year showed a de-
crease of sS21.72 under 1907.
y Short-IInul increase.
"Report Of the Norfolk and Ports
: mouth ticket agent for the month Of
!, i cbrnary. 1908, showed an increase O.
, 275 Richmond tickets with a decrease
of revenue under corresponding mont
> OF 1907 OF $780, and for the month
of March an increase of 1877 tickets
and a decrease in revenue of sl71.s5.
This increase In tho number O.
tickets sold is really abnormal, TIL
: business being considerably. stilnu
: lated this year by the fact that tn
! Virginia Legislature was in session
! otherwise the decrease In revenu
: would have been still greater. Th
n fact that tho revenue shows decreas
!, while the tickets sales an Increase |
: accounted for by the fact that short
II haul travel alone Is stimulated by tn
nj two-cent rate"