The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1909-09-16
PROSPEROUS TIMES FOR THE
C. & 0. RAILROAD SHOWN
In the Annual Report---Big Expansion of Earning
Power, Economy in Operation, Liberal Policy Of
Maintenance, and Prospect of Property in Div
,idend-Paying Basis. =
THURSDAY, SEPT. 10, 1909.

The annual report Of the Chesa-
peake & Ohio railroad system Is
most gratifying to the management
and ought to be to the stock
holders. 1t shows expansion OF
earning power, economy in opera
ton, liberal policy of maintenance
and manifest determination on
the part of the officials Of the COM
pany. to place the property on a divi-
dend paying basis.
Chesapeake & Ohio earned 6.39
per cent on it's $62,799,1OO stock,
compared with 4.45 per cent in the
preceding year. The 1909 figure Is
the highest In the company's history.
This Is only one of the many rec
ords set up during the last year.
Gross and net earnings eclipsed
all previous high marks. This in
spite OF the effects Of the business
depression during the early part Of
the fiscal year, which made every
months showing at that time COM
pare poorly with the results Of the
preceding prosperous year. The in
creases in gross and net were $751;
446 and $1,607,354, respectively.
Earnings Begin to Pick Up
AS soon as business conditions
throughout the country began to
right themselves the earnings Of
the Chesapeake e. Ohio began to
pick up at q remarkable rate. This
still continues. For the week ended
August 21 the record reports q gain
In gross Of over 100000, COM
pared with the corresponding week
year ago.
Operating expenses consumed 61.5
per cent OF gross earnings. A year
ago the ratio was 66.5 per cent, five
points higher. The importance Of
this saving may be easily figured. It
means more than per cent on the
stock. 1t was brought about by low
ering maintenance $464,729, and
other expenses $355,18O.
A study of the c. & O.'s mainten-
ance accounts establishes the fact
that. whatever decreases was made
IN the amounts applied to the up
keep Of the property was fully war
ranted. An average of $1,635 per
mile was spent to keep roadSed and
structures in order during 1909.
Maintenance Of locomotives averaged
1854 per unit, and maintenance of
passenger and freight cars 1851 and
SIT each, respectively. All Of the
foregoing figures are ample. Com
parison with the charges Of other
roads emphasizes this. For In
stance, the G. & o. spends about
$500 more per passenger car each
year than either the Boston and
Maine or the New Haven, which do
about as heavy a passenger business
as any in the country. The G.. & o.
passenger business Is light. This is
Wh &c
Ing transportation to gross earnings
Is extremely low.
Operating Expenses Moderate
Traffic and transportation ex-
penses absorbed only 29.2 per cent
Of the G. &c O.'s gross in 1909, q re-
duct1on from the 32.9 per cent Of a
year previous. A low transporta-
ton ratio means economical opera
ton. Few, if any roads operate
more cheaply than the G.. & O..
Much of this is due to the fact that
t"o-thirds of it's tonnage is bitumi-
nous coal, which may be cheaply
transported, and to it's small pas
senger business.
But not all the credit must be Civ
ell fortuttous circumstances for the
good showing; much Is due the oper-
atlng departments. EVERYWHERE.
among the traffic statistics, is better
efficiency brought to light. The
single fact Of saving in transport
tation costs when tonnage hauled in
creased by 100000 and traffic dem
sity Increased $4,000 ton miles per
mile OF road, is- evidence, and 1t is
backed up by such as 50 tons added
to the average train load.
The G. &c O.'s average rate for
freight transportation Is about the
lowest In the Countrywide miles
per ton mile last year. The average
rate for miscellaneous freight was
6.6I mills. but so m1oh nnnl ,,1nn