The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-12-11
RAILROAD NEWS
Rates in This Country Have De-
creased % Per Cent.
Gerrit Fort of Union Pacific
Gives Railway Side.
CAPITAL is ON The WANE
High Prices and Low Rates Dis
couraging to Many.
other Items of Interest in the
Traffic World.

| Measured by the standard Of prices
of commodities in general-and 1t is
what things cost that determine the
value of money-American railway
rates actually have decreased about
% per cent in the last ten years, said
/ Gerrit Fort, passenger traffic manager
/ of the Union Pacific recently.
To put it another way, the railroads
have to pay more for everything they
buy, including labor, and are COM
PEELED to accept less for the only thing
they have to sell-transportation. AS
prices rise the value of money falls
therefore. not only are railroads
estopped from meeting a general ele-
walton in prices with advanced rates,
but they are not able to buy as much
for their money as they once We're
In addition to the cost of equipment
material and labor, taxes for A rail-
roads enumerated in a recent report
from the White House, advanced in
the last year or two more than IL per
cent. These AZ roads in August, so
this report shows, earned total of
S7O,1SO,152 net earnings, the taxes for
the month being $7,5S0,233. In ten
years their taxes have increased from
$251 to $431 per mile. In those same
ten years prices increased so that a
given quantity of farm products today
will buy SO per cent more railroad
transportation than ten years ago; OF
cloths and clothing IS per cent more,
of building materials 20 per cent more
of meats "a per cent and of dairy ana
garden products 50 per cent more, in
railroad transportation than ten years
ago
In this same ten-year period the re-
duction in freight rates far outweighed
the advances.
This is time of unprecedented pros
perity and production, the great rail-
roads of the country are not sharing
in the abundance upon anything like
the same basis as other industries.
It has been pointed out that these
Al railroads showed net operating rev.
enues for the month of August, 1872,
of ST, SOS, Alb, as against $71,S61692 for
August. 1911, and $50, O05,1S7 for Aug
ust 1910, and the assertion is made
that there is gradual increase in net
earnings But that takes no account
of the increased cost of materials ana
labor and higher taxes, which largely |
wipe out the margin of profit or gain. |
High Cost Wipes Out Profits.
This showing will serve to illustrate
in a general way: From 1900 to I9IO
the total operating revenues of Amer |
lean railways increased from $1,487,- |
O44,S 14 to $2,750, 667, 435, or IS per cent |
apparently a healthful gain But the |
percentage of net returns on the cost |
of road and equipment increased from |
AS to 81 per cent: Higher prices |
wages, taxes, interests and lower rates |
combine to wipe out almost if not en- |
tireiy the margin gained from gross |
earnings.
In that same decade, however, the |
capital value of manufactures increas-
ed 1925 per cent; the gross value of |
the products of manufactures S1.2 per
cent.
Now for some specific increases:
The railways in the territory east of |
Chicago and ST. Louis and north of the /
Ohio and Potomac rivers were obliged
to pay their enginemen $4,000, 900 |
more than they would have paid them |
had the 1900 scale remained in effect; |
to their firemen more than 100000
more, to their conductors the same
and to their other trainmen over $1S,-
100000 more. These amounts would
be doubled for the trainmen of all the
American railways. This does not
mean that more wages were paid be-
cause of more employees, but it is fig
ured on the basis of the same num-
Der of employees in 1900 and 1911.
But the railroads must go on ex-
tending old and building new lines,
buying new equipment and modern
safety appliances, keeping abreast of |
the procession of the ver-multiplying
of the public. This requires
capital. 1t is evident that the capital
is not forthcoming from the revenues
under existing conditions. And it GER
tainly ought to be equally apparent
that these conditions are not inviting
to capital from any source.
These facts surely must command
most serious attention. If this tend
ency of rising prices and lowering
rates is to continue, then some other
provisions than are now at hand must
be made for the future, for the en-
largement of traffic, as experience has
shown, is not sufficient of itself to