Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-01

Melancholy significance is given the stock
joke that the undertaken walks in the
shadow Of the doctor by the efforts Of en-
terprising practitioners of New York to
combine in a corporation the three bust
nesses OF hospital care, medical attendance
and funeral directing. The papers filed at
Albany by the World Medical company"
Of New York states the object:
For the entering into contracts with per
sons and their families to furnish medical
and surgical treatment and the furnishing
Of such treatment and for the manufac-
ture. buying, selling and dealing in drugs
and medical and surgical appliances.
For the entering into contracts with I'M
dertakers for the purpose Of burying the
dead and supplying the necessaries there
for, and for the purpose Of entering into
contracts with persons and their famili, .
for the burial Of such persons and their
families and the furnishing of the neccs-
saries therefor"
The secretary of state refused to grant a
certificate Of Incorporation and made these
remarks on the side: 1T is said that cor.
poratiohs have no soul, but this one GER
tainly rs long on brains: the man who
thought it out is a genius. II allowed to do
business In New York state the company
would earn the gratitude Of all those whom
It freed from ailments and at the same
time earn their money. If the company's
medicine would not help the sick and they
were to die the company would lose the
gratitude Of the patients, but they would
double on the money, for it would yet re-
main for the concern to bury them. Surely
we are living in an age of wonderful
progress.
i am compelled to deny the company's
application for the reason that a corpora
ton cannot practice medicine in this state"
The Interborough company, operating
the subway and the elevated ALWAYS Of
New York county, reports earnings for
the year ended June 30 Of S26,5 24, s94 from
all sources. Its operating cost was no.
FL'44S, which is only a little over 30 per
cent. Excluding other sources of revenue.
save the actual nickels of passengers, the
operation percentage is not quite AZ.
NO steam railroad in the country. re-
marks the World, has anything approach
ing such a record. The operation cost of
the Pennsylvania in 1908 was rs per cent of
all operation earnings and not quite 70
per cent of all income. The correspond
NAS 1 NtlllIal were
f261 per cent and a little less than 6s per
cent The Lackawanna, the richest road
OF It's size in the country, paid for opera
ton 81 per cent of all income and 5s per
cent OF operation earnings. To take an
example geographically far removed, the
Great Northern railway, built up most
economically by the genius and energy of
J. ]. Hill and fortunate in a noncompeti-
tive territory, paid in 1908 66.4s per cent
for operation.
True, last year was not a favorable one
The New York CentraIs operating ex-
pense in 1905 was nearly four points lower
thah In 1905, but the average operation
cost OF all American railroads for a term
OF years is well above two-thirds.
What does the Interborough do with all
It's money? That part which it pays to the
city on subway bonds Is relatively small.
No railroad in the country pays so low n
rate OF Interest on its debentures, nor are
there many railroads whose interest nav
ments are so small in proportion to traffic
income. Such roads as the Great North
ern, which has no bonds, and the Lacka-
wanna, which has relatively few, are n
marked exception.
The marlborough pays a 7 per cent
guaranteed dividend on the watered stock
OF the elevated lines. It pays 9 per cent
on its own stock, whose volume is a tri-
of corporate bookkeeping over an
tecedent probabilities, and It has lust car
ried to surplus account a sum equal ia. 3
per cent on $4,000 900.