The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-04-23
Big Increase in Tonnage Over
Former Periods.
Gain of rs Per Cent in 1910
Over Year 1900.
MORE POWERFUL ENGINES
Cars, Also, of Much Greater
Capacity Than 1900.
Other Items of General Interest
in Traffic World.

The bureau of railway economics al
Washington has compiled an elabor-
ate statistical table of the railroad
business of the United States for 1910
the latest year for which the figures
are aavilabIe. The table shows that
there were transported that year more
than 900, 100000 tons of freight, an in
crease of 80 per cent over the tonnage
of zSO0.
This increase in transportation neces-
sarily means a remarkable increase IN
production. Some of the gain can DC
accounted for and definitely locateu
without difficulty. 1t appears in the
recorded output of cereals, coal, iron,
cement, sugar, cotton and long list
of other commodities.
For instance, there was a gain OF
about $4,000, 900 tons in iron ore produC-
ton, and a large part of the re sup
ply is carried by rail for the whole OF
a part of the journey from mine 10
smelter. Other fractions of the ton
mage gain in transportation are to De
found in the carriage of pig iron from
snelter to foundry or to mill, and
from those establishments, as hnlsn-
ed or partly finished products, to other
points. The various destinations TO
final consumers account for other frac-
tons of the gain.
The increase in raw cotton was APP
proximately 100000 tons. Part of TINS
was carried by rail to ports for snip
raent abroad. The remainder was snip
ned to American mills, from winch IL
was again shipped by rail as a finish
ed product to centers of wholesale dis
tribution for dispatch in smaller par
GELS to retailers. Thus an original
million tons of a given commonly
may in its various movements repre-
sent several million tons of gain IN the
total of tonnage transportation.
mi. chs
ton one mile in 1900 was -729 of cent
and in 1910 1853; but this increase Gov
ers only a portion of the greater OPP
erative cost due to higher wages PAID
to employees, to greater cost OF ma
teriaIs and supplies and to heavier tax
alton
Economics of operation have been
effected nv the use of more powerful
locomotives and of cars of greater ca
pacity. The tractive power of loco
motives in 1900 is not reported out IN
1902 it was 76S, 502,779, as compared
with 1855, So, 4S0 in 1910. This means
both more and more powerful ma
chimes. The number employed was 3D.
663 in 1900, and 5s,e47 in 1910
In 1902 there were /, 546 101 freight cars
with an average capacity of % tons.
In 1910 there were 2,135,121 cars with
a capacity average of Sc tons. There
were in 1900 about seven freight cars
for every mile of line in the country,
and in 1910 nearly nine cars of nearly
80 per cent greater carrying capacity.
Passenger cars increased in number
from 34713 to 1905, but the figures
of average seating capacity are not
reported
The record shows that the Ameri
can people travel more frequently than
they did ten years ago and that they
make longer journeys. The number of
revenues passengers carried in 1900
was SIG, S31, 251 and in 1910 it was 971,-
6S3, 1879. This statement includes some
duplication, but probably not enough