The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-11-08
SOUTHERN RAILWAY
WONDERFUL GROWTH OF THIS
GREAT TRUNK LINE.
What 1t Is Doing for the South Gen.
orally and the Towns Along Its
Lines Specially.

The financial and Commercial
Chronicle, reviewing the annual
statement Of the Southern Railway
Company, issued this month, COM
meets the showing made in that re-
port directly with the recent mark
ed Development and commercial and
industrial advancement Of the South,
and characterizes the report itself as
"a record of marvellous growth ana
Development Either is interesting
comment to the Southerner; both
are more so, in view of the fact that
gross revenues, net revenues, trade
and traffic statistics are the best in
the company's history.
The lengh of road operated in
1900 was 6,306 miles, which earned
2 gross operating revenue of $751;
200,S70. In 1911 the total mileage
was 7,042 and the gross operating
revenue s6l,696,lS1. Thus, with on.
ly 10 per cent additional mileage
there has been an expansion accord
ing to quotation from the annual re-
port of over s30,000,00O in gross re-
ceipts, the ratio of gain being almost
100 per cent. In 1900 the gross rev.
enues per mile Of road were s4,94S;
for 1911 they were sS,761 per mile.
The net earnings per mile (after the
deduction of taxes) in the same in
terval increased from S1,4S6 to ST.
437.
AS a result of this great growth,
the income account for the year un-
der review is Of highly gratifying
character The balance over and a.
bove all expenses and fixed charges
for the - months is s6,670,003.
This is more than twice the full
per cent dividend to which the $780,
100000 of preferred stock is en-
titled. Dividends were :,esumed on
these shares during the year, but ac-
ton was very cautious and conser-
vative, per cent having been pad
last April and another 1 per cent
the present October, the two togeth-
er calling for only s1,20O,00O where
as the surplus above the fixed charg-
es, as We have seen was sG,670,003
Of the remainder of the surplus a
round 100000 has been chargeu
off to represent the discount on Sc.
curities sold, which at the end of the
previous year lad stood at s4,S53,.
l54 and which now Year later (af'
ter allowing for some slight altera.
tons during the II r1onths) has beer
reduced to s1,6ss,O29; s66,045 was
also appropriated for additions anG
betterments. Even after these variou:
deductions and allowances, an undis
tributed surplus of s2,403,957 re
mains on the operations of the /:
months over and above the 2 per cen
paid out in dividends. Commenting
on this showing. the Financial ant
Commercial Chronicle says:
The results here recorded coult
not have been achieved except TO!
the advance in operating efcienc.
and the broad and liberal policy pur
sued in the management and conduc
of the property. Of course the Soutl
itself has enjoyed wonderful growth
but this growth has followed in larg,
measure from the building up of th1
lines embraced in the Southern Rail
way system and the development o
their efficiency as public carriers
Some figures regarding growth il
population which we find in the re
port bear out this statement in i;
Sriking manner.
These show that the population O
the stations on the lines Of tht
Southern Railway-or at least thu
stations of sufficient importance t.
be returned separately-in the II
years from 1900 to 1910 increased
34.2 per cent, and in the 20 year
from 1890 to 1910 1873 per cent. Blu
the fact to which We wish to direc
especial attention is that the growth
at these Southern Railway stations
has in every state been larger pro
portionately than the growth il
population of the state as a whole, in
dicating what the building up Of thi
system of roads has done for thu
communities served.
!! In Virginia the growth in popu
lation for the entire state during the
last decade was 11.2 per cent, bu
that of the Southern Railway sta
tons was no less than 42.2 per cent
in North Carolina the growth TO;
the entire state was 16.5 per cent
that for Southern Railway station:
COS per cent; in South Carolina 49,
for the entire state and 25.4 for The
stations; in Georgia III for the STATE
and S3.2 for the stations; in Missis