Bisbee daily review., 1911-01-05


 representation of the west among tho giant corporations whose New Yeara dividend disbursements total es s227.ooO.0Os as against s20o.Ooo- so0 last year was a striking striking anomaly. for the increase Of dividends was due 10 the nine billion dollar crop. The
 Morganizinge of ne induaiTy after another has taken away from Chicaao the Headquarters of uany which neverthe ess center in Chicago. Tbe biz packing concerns, chronicallv uRdsr federal indictment. comprises the one big independent typically we7tern indu ry not rsmoved to Wal street. The annual reports Of sany companies explained tie reason fer the com binati ns which removed them from the west to the east under the fo erin~ care Of thigh finance. Bsrnings. not upon the new capitali- zstlon but upon the gross business of the year. are significent. The United States Steel Corporation. headed by an ex-Chicagoan. Judge Gary alone Nill nay dIvidends of s1o7772.c99 and 1910 Is net earnings were s131.4aI.- zf3 on a gross brsinsss f the year of sg4s .3s2 25t. this te,ng a margin Of profit of over 20 per cent on the business done. The International Harvester company. since the western harvester concerns were combined has done an annual gross business of less than s6e 100000 on which total she margn of profit has teer stea sily increasing fl n 10 per cent in 1915 10 40 per cent for the las ye.r The margin of 2.S3 per zen on a gross business of $25o. o.00o.0e' shown by the Armour & company an nual report is . deet5sd and perhars sienificant contrast to there fignres For 1909 the Swift Q company mar gin on turnover was less than 2 pe- cent. The immunity of the eastern companies from proseeut 2 as wei as the profits Of the big trusts sne- gest how great must have bsen the ure,-ure upon the packers to join the Wall street contingent For five years they have Eeeu upder fire D | the announcement at the banquet ii New York at which 95 per cent o' the steel output was rcpresente- thaE .prices would be ma ntainee have escaped federal attention. Th high prices of steel gre inclndef among reasons advanced f r an ir crease of freight rates upon commodi ties in general use. To maintain steel prices the mills are now generally shut down causing the idleness o' thousands of workmen ca | and west
 Toward reduction of the country's E waste of life and limb in railroad and industrial operati ns. which the League for Pubic safety in Chieae7 declares to be possible. more active attention by slate railroad connie sions is Icing given this winter than ever before. according to bulletins Of the Leasue. The recent report of the Interst te Commerce Commission for the last year sh wing an increase of deaths of passengers in train ac- cidents from 131 in 1909 to 227 in 1910 and of the total number of deaths on the railroads (passengers and enployees) from 2791 to 5S5s showed how imDer. I've is the need for action. In New York state the upstate pubic service commission has ca led a conference January 19 of interurban railway officials to discuss measures of safety in opera ton. In Indiana for two years the railroad commission has given un- usually earnest attention to the mat ter of safety, recent disasters being airfbuted to disobe1ience Of orders and the lack of safety signals and appliances. In Illinois the eommis- sion has investigated safety devices quite exhaustively. The law creating the Illinois Commission was enacted years Before electric roads were dreamed of and legislature will be urged during Iae next legislative session to give the commission more authority to pr tect the public by compelling roads to properly equiE themselves. For years the electric roads and the signal companies have diet ed what should be done in the way of safeguarding travel and both were disposed to ignore any con alterations other than their own wishes. The signal c@npanies have been especially arrogant and have fai'ed to rroyide safety stop appli znees notwith:landing they have Known that the problem in that re gard has been solved by inexpensive sirple equipment
 Insurance commissioners of man, states have been outspoken recently regarding the need for ensss rent o' the uniform fraternaI insurance bill adopted by the insurance commis sfoners' eonvention and endorsed bJ