The San Francisco call., 1909-10-12
Gossip of RaiIWaymen

The interstate commerce commission
has prepared comprehensive report
on the revenue and expenses of steam
roads in the United States. The re-
port is compiled from monthly state
ments filed by the carriers for the
first nine months of the fiscal year
ended June so, 1909, and contains
tables showing railway systems and
the mileage operated by each system
at the end of each month 1t also
gives tables showing by months the
revenues and expenses of railway sys-
TENS operating 500 miles or more for
the nine months ended March 81, 1909
In the other table are found sum
maries of the monthly reports of reve-
nues and expenses of the SIS railway
systems mentioned in the index, oper-
ating 206,095.43 miles of line March
81. 1903. This table covers approxi-
mately 90 per cent of the mileage and
accounts for 94.65 per cent of the total
operating revenues and for 9453 per
cent of the total operating expenses of
steam roads in the United States filing
monthly reports with the commission.
The report also shows summaries
of all monthly reports filed by steam
roads for the first nine months of the
year ended June 30 1909, compared
with the returns applying to the same
nine months of the preceding fiscal
in totals, amounts per mile of line and
ratios of selected items to total operat-
ing revenues, all of which are self
explanatory.
Phil X Gordon. Pacific coast agent
of the Washington-Sunset route, re-
turned yesterday morning from Los
Angeles. where he has been for sew
eral days on business for his road.
Harry Isaacs, division baggage agent
of the Santa Fe. is in the city for
few days.
The general offices of the Southern
Pacific and other railroads will close
today on account of the legal holiday.
At the time the prices on wine were
cut by the dealers it was anticipated
that the rail transportation lines would
suffer severely from the desire of ship
pers to reduce costs by shipping by
water wherever possible The con-
trary has turned out to be the case.
however, as the rail lines generally
report an increase of about 25 per cent
over the shipments of September, 1908.
Trespassing on railroad property in
violation of the law has been respon-
sible for 47,416 deaths in the United
States during the last 10 years. ac-
by the Pennsylvania lines. In the same
period more than $4,000 trespassers
were injured 1t is in view of these
statistics that many of the important
railroads have determined to redouble
their efforts to secure in this country
that rigid enforcement of the law
against tr'espassing, which in England
has reduced the practice-and acci-
dents to trespassers-to a minimum.
The CO. operation of state and county
officials has been solicited. but actual
punishment of persons violating the
laws forbidding trespassing on a rail-
roads private property has been in
frequent. The cost of Imprisonment
has deferred the courts from holding
those arrested while trespassing on
railroad property. The practice of
walking on railroad tracks has been
growing constantly and the number of
people killed and injured increases
proportionately.
Every day the miles of track yet to |
be laid by the Western Pacific de-
crease Reports from the front yes
terday show that only 81 miles have |
yet to be laid-24 miles In one gap /
and 1S in another
The new railroad guide and blue
book for October is now being distrib-
uted by the publishers.
Captain w. H. Payson. president of |
the Northwestern Pacific, will leave |
for an inspection trip over the pro- |
posed extension of that road to Eureka /
n few davS