The Washington herald., 1910-06-06

particular bushes interest or group of
| interests in the Ian1 that IS not 10 be al
| lowed to reeoup itself by means OF a small
/ advance in the price of freight transport
! tation for the enhanced cost OF conduct
/ ing its business. To the reasons for this
| enhanced cOst-increased wages to en-
/ ployes and a greater expense OF every
/ form Of railway opeTation-it is unneces-
/ sary TO more than advert. But IL must
/ be pointed cut in addition that railway
| freight rates now are much less than they
were decade ago, although the shipping
/ interests that have prohted from these
reduced rates have in no way given the
I advantage thereof TO the consuming pub
| lie
! In a recent article. B. F. Yoakum. chair
man Of the board Of directors of the St.
/ Louis and San Francisco Railway Com
| pany, showed that If the same freight
rates had been in effect last year as were
in effect in 1897 and 1895 and the railroads
had paid the same wages and The same
prices for supplies and equipment as for
merly. the railroads last year would have
! been SIS, 10000 better of than they were.
II is the middlemen OF the country 70
whom this s7SS. 100000 has gone. and there
are strong grounds for the statement that
who are now responsible for the current
disturbances and who are doing their ut
most TO bring about business depression
them, apparently, whether the railroad
companies are bankrupted or not.
semi-panic in Market.
The developments to which reference
has been made had the effect last week
Of turning what was otherwise slowly
advancing or. al least, a firm, even il
duh, security market into one of de-
moralization and semi-panic. and a fair
conclusion seems TO be that something
more than an ordinary stimulus will be
required to move stock market prices
particularly higher in the near future.
Routine occurrences last week were in
no way favorable. The news from the
crops is excellent. taken altogether. the
one notable exception TO favorable con-
ditions being that the weather thus far
has been rather too cold for the salts
factory growth Of corn. Still there is
plenty Of time yet in which whatever
disadvantages that have been suffered
in this regard can be repaired.
In the latter part Of the week the price
of wheat was a little stronger, owing to
a natural recovery from its great drop
in the week Immediately preceding. while
a pronounced decline took place in cotton,
caused by the liquidation of speculative
contracts for the rise there, which have
long held the price of the article, or at
least the options for the future delivery
of the article. at an abnormally high
figure.
Strong UndeFtone Checked.
A stronger undertone In the iron and
steel market was checked during the
week by the fall in the railway stocks
and by well-deflned rumors OF cancelIa- |
ton Of railway orders for iron and steel |
materials. II our railway companies are
not to be prosperous. it cannot be ex-
pected that any other business or occu-
patton in the country will be prosperous, |
and from now on possibly more atten- /
ton will be directed than has been in /
the past to the matter OF comparative /
gross and net railway earnings.
For several months gross earnings
have been keeping up pretty we'll, but |
net earnings have declined. It is I'M
questionable that in some instances this
ratio of net earnings to I
gross has been due to the fact that the /
railway companies have been d!verting /
to Improvement purposes, al
though, strictly speaking, this is a prac-
ice that IS not sanctioned by the new H
rules Of railway accounting enacted into H
aw and enforced by the Interstate Com
nerce Commission. In other Instances
here seems reason TO believe that the
-alling OF in railway net has been due TO
railway expense. pure and
simple; and one great question to be de.
,ided is the effect upon railway revenues
If the increase In the wages of railway
employees lately granted. and which now
ire not to be Offset by increased freight
ariffs.