The Detroit times., 1911-02-15
ROAD EARNS ONLY
$1,000 PER MILE
Three Cent Rate Would Be a Hard
ship, Pleads Agent of
u. P. Line.

LANSING, Mich, Feb. 15.-Al
though he admitted that the pas
senger earnings of his road were owe
81 800 a mile last year, +. w. Mac
Pherran, land commissioner of tht
Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic rail
road, told the members of the railroad
committees OF the house and senate
at the public hearing on railroad
legislation in the senate chambers
last night, that IL the state forced The
road to reduce its fares to fiat two
cent rate, the earning Of the railroaC
would be reduced one-third.
The railroad which MacPherrar
represented is one OF the three run
ming through the upper peniEsuls
which will be affected by the propos
ed law to force railroads in the uppel
peninsula where passeger earning are
not less than $1,000 mile, to carry
passengers at two cents a mile, as tho
roads In the lower Michigan do.
Our road is the only one which
will suffer by this legislation, IL IL II
passed" said MacPherran. You must
remember that We have never paid 9
cent in dividends. All the earnings
of the road are paid out as interest
on bonds and for improvements. Be
sides we are up against great difficult
ties in Observation-Disclosures which
the lower peninsula roads do not ex
perience. Six months of the year
our trains can not run without snow
plows. We must literally dig ouI
traffic out of the ice. In the upper
peninsula We have 100000 people
while in the lower there are Ave
times that many. Our average rate OF
expense per mile is 80 cents, while
over average earning 1t 1927. This
away one-third of that, and where do
We get off at?
MacPherran's recitation followed a
speech by Rep. Symonds, who had an
exhaustive compilation of figures
tending to show that the upper PENN
sula lines earned more than those op-
Grating in the lower peninsula.
"For instance" said Symonds, "the
Northwestern, an upper peninsula
road, according to figures compiled in
the railroad commissions Office. had
net earnings of $2,274.62 per mile last
year, while the Pere Marquette, op-
Grating in the lower peninsula, had
uCt Cdfhih6b VI. Pl,uuosou.. Il lie ol.
Paul's net earnings per mile in the
upper peninsula were $2,9S9.74, and
the net earnings OF the Grand Rapids
and Indiana were $1,e95.77. These
roads operate In Minntseta sand via.
consin at two cents a mile and as
soon as they cross the boundary into
into Michigan they charge three
cents"
Representative oppenborn, declared
that similar conditions existed in the
upper part Of the lower peninsula. III.
r. Harris, representing the Lake
Superior & Ispheming, and the Mum
ising roads, and c. 8. Fales, rep
resenting the Cooper Range railroad.
protested vigorously against the bill
forcing railroads to equip all trains
with full crews. The roads represent
ed are below the class earning $1,000
per mile, and Harris and Fales de-
clared that expense Of carrying extra
crews, when in most cases they were
would be so great that 1t
would wreck the roads.
Senator Guy Miller, did some more
of his original cross examining, this
time selecting MacPherran as his vic
tim. He asked of two and a half
cents would be acceptible. Where
upon MacPherran replied.
Wed take that without saying a
word. We wouldn't grumble bit. No
sir, we wouldn't complain" A final
hearing on all proposed railroad legi5-
lation will take place on Feb. %.