Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-12-14
ATTORNEY FOR SHIPPERS TELLS
WHY RAIL RATES SHOULD
NOT BE RAISED.
SECURITIES OF RAILROADS
SELL HIGHER THAN EVER
Credit Of Limos Not Menaeed BY Rsfus.
al to Permit Higher Tolls-Thorrs
Proves Fallaey Of Arguments Of Cor.
porations For Higher TeIIs-Nst
Earnings Of Roads Increasing.
specia, 10 rimes-Republican.

/ Des Moines. Dec. 14.-If the railroads
! OF an increase in freight rates there
| will be no chance for readjustment of
rates in Iowa Tor many years. Their
J claim that rates must go up that the
! sell in the market a fair price is
j without foundation.
! Clifford Thorne, the Iowa attorney
who is in the employment of the Iowa
i shippers, has fought almost single
/ handed and alone the fight against the
! increase Of freight rates all over the
I country, laid down these principles to-
( day, in an address before the Corn Belt
/ Meat Producers Association and state
| farm institute.
He stated that the average man in
Iowa has given little consideration TO
The issues a. stake and they are 20 be
determined largely as a matter Of pub
lie policy and therefore the public
t should study the facts seriously so that
il can express itself intelligent!y and
/ strongly
/ Bonds Sell Higher.
! Mr.. Thorne recired the results of an
| Investigation he had made as to the
claim OF the railroads that their securi-
| ties are no longer attractive to inves-
tors. He found that the market price
OF al! railroad bonds sold during Octo-
! Der We're higher than the average price
| of any other class Of securities of like
interest. He gave facts 20 show that as
matter of fact none Of the big indus
/ trial corporations sell per cent bonds
/ Ia
railways had net income amounting
20 over s7o,0oo.o0o greater than ever
before in their entire history The
/ net revenue per mile Of line in 1903
I was 25 per cent greater than in 1890
i From these and other facts developed
he reached the conclusion that
l. The credit OF railway companies
/ is as good or better than that OF any
other class of public service or indus
; trial companies in the United States
p Railway securities are more at
/ ,ractive to actual investors and have
/ increased in actual value more rapidly
/ during the past decade .han any other
/ class Of securities on the market at the
| present time.
3. The earnings Of our railroads
above all operating expenses and all
taxes, has been increasing steadily dur.
ing the past twenty years; and last
year was the most pros porous year in
the entire history OF American rail-
roads
Railroads Have Nerve.
MI Ihorne stated that in the face 0:
! tHis record he thought il takes great
zeal Of nerve for the railroads to ask
for more income.
Mr.. Tho-ne said:
-
little consideration to the issues at
stake in the present investigation rel,
ative TO advanced rates. Those issues
are to be determined largely as mat
ter OF public policy. that is why the
public should study the facts serious
~, so that it can express itself intel
| lisently and strongly Certain organs
are bringing tremendous pressure to
bear on one side Of the controversy
and unless there is a positive definite
statement from other sources, backed
up by absolute facts, an entirely one
sided and distorted public sentiment
will be built up within the next few
weeks that will necessarily have a
powerful effect upon the tribunal CALL
ed upon TO determine these questions
Of far reaching national import.
Il give Iowa fair warning that If the
|
possible to effect any substantial re-
, adjustment Of her interstate rates for
many years to come.
Knapp Echoes Railroad View.
The gist Of the claims advanced bH
the railroad companies has been we'll
summarized in the following brief sen
, tence recently stated by Commits
sioner Martin A. Knapp in New York
City: Must we not in the larger pub
lie interest, whatever may be thought
by this or that shipper, make the BUSH
ness OF furnishing railroad transporta-
ton so desirable to the investor that
the necessary funds for betterments
and extentions will be forthcoming ~
ut has been very widely asserted
during the past few months that rail-
way securities are no longer attrac-
tive to the investors Of the country.
Many shippers have tacitly assumed
that this is correct and have endeavor-
ed to devise some other means Of i'm
proving railway credit as a substitute
for advanced rates. It occurred to me
. that an exhaustive investigation
should be made upon the main propo-
sition before any such concession was
granted.
Securities in Demand.
where should a person go to find
out whether railroad securities are at
tractive investments and whether rail-
road credit is seriously impaired? I'm
questionab1y there is just one place
above all other where this information
can be obtained-that is the market
place for such securities. For the pur-
pose Of this investigation, I took a re-
cent month, that Of October, and Sc
cured the market prices of the bonds
of all the railroad companies making
an appearance in this case, and also
the bonds of all gas, electric light, tel
egraph, telephone, street railway, man
, ufacturting and industrial companies
whose bonds were sold on the New
York stock exchange during the month
OF October, 1910, according to the
. Chronicle, emitting the following class
es only, income and convertible bonds
and bonds maturing prior to 1881. my
effort being TO ma the market quota
tons for ordinary typical securities Of
a somewhat similar character, issued
. by representative list Of the various