American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-06-15
OUR RAILROAD BUSINESS.
Some Statistics That VIII Interest
the Public.

Jic iuDliI.
As a general thing figures are an
uninteresupg thing to read but
there are some figures in connection
with the railway business of the
country, which show the magnitude
of that business in its relation to
the public that ought to be read
and considered by every citizen not
Tor the purpose of burdening the
mind with the exact figures nor even
perhaps. with approximate figures,
but for the purpose of giving a gem
eral idea of the subject, says the
Capital News of recent date.
For instance is it not interesting
to know, and does not that knowl-
edge create an impression upon the
mind quite Independent of the dry
figures, that the total amount col
lected from the people of the United
states by the railroads for the
year ending June 30. 1909, for pas
senger and freight service, mail ex-
press and other like items, was $2,-
41S, S,677,53S?
Expressed in another way, does
it not create an impression upon you
to know that the railroads collect
annually for passenger. mail, ex-
press and other toll from each man,
woman and child in the entire Unit
ed States 1852 And when express
Is mentioned here it does not includ
the profits and charges of the var
ious express companies other than
the portion of that amount paid by
express companies to the railroad
companies for handling the express
company business.
The amount paid by the railroads
of the country the same year in divl.
dends was 1921 OH ,626, being an
average dividend rate OF 6.53 percent
upon the capital stock of the rail-
roads The average rate of dividend
payment since 1888 upto and includ-
ing 1909 has been 5.67 percent. In
addition to the dividends paid, inter
est to the amount of S'O3,f 46,' -
was paid on railroad Indebtedness in
the same year.
The total capital invested in rail-
roads OF the country is given for that
year at S17,4S7, ,S6S,935. which was
year of 1920, ,324,10S. This repre-
sents about 5000 for every man. wo-
man and child in America.
w uGn IL Is lldL lnN
total increase in investments in rail
roads for this one year was almost
equal to the entire national debt OF
the United States, a better idea oi
the immense amount so invested cal
be better understood. The actual in
yestment in railroads of the country
averaged S59259 per mile. The stool
Investment in this business represen
S4,92O, ,174.11S 1t will be noted tina
the total receipts from the people
per year for freight, passenger, mall
etc, paid to the railroads is more
than so percent of the total stocl
investment of such railroads. .
course, the the most of this is palt
out by way of expenses of operation
maintenance, etc
These railroads carried passenger
who paid fare to the number o
S91, ,472,425 the same year and car
ried 1856, 6,559,741 tons of freight u
en- which charges were paid. If a sii
gle passenger had represented al
these passengers and had gone th'
. same distance all of them did. b.
would have travelled %, lO9,322, 8
miles, and a single ton of trelgn
transported in a like manner wOul'
have gone nearly ten times as man,
miles as that. These figures, o
course. are unintelligible to all of u
because we have nothing with whicl
TO make comparison. 1t may serve
assist little in gaining comprehen
sion OF the tremendous transporta
ton business by saying that one ma
travelling the entire distanc etravele
by all passengers that year in tbi
country, could have been transporte
to the sun and back again about 16
times during the year and the tons
freight covering the freight distan
could have been transported to th
{ sun and back again something lik
a, 200 times, o. say four times a da
T during the year. The passenger cou
a have made the trip one day and r'
turning the next except Sunday, an
: even then he would have been con
/. PEELED to violate the Sunday rest la
+ b. few times during the year
keep mp the pace, And the sun
41 600 Ug0 miles away