The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-11

 before the master and were seyerallY considered and correctly ruled on IS
 shown in his report.
 1 Contrasting the ratio of total in-
 come from entire business with the
 ratio of intrastate income for the
 same periods we have for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad company: For the year ending June 30, 1sc6'
 entire business, 4.94 per cent; intra-
 state business. .3s per cent
 1 For the year ending June 30, 1907,
 entire business, 3.99 per cent; intra-
 state business, 95 per cent loss. For the year ending June 90, 19OS' entire business, LES per cent; intra-
 state business doss). s.97 per cent For the year ending June 30, 1909,
 entire business, s.45 per cent; intra-
 state business Coss), 1.91 per cent.
 For the year ending June 30. 1910,
 entire business, 5.20 per cent; intra-
 state business Qoss). s2 per cent. And for the South and North Ala
 bama railroad:
 For the year ending June 90. 1906,
 entire business, 574 per cent; intrastate business Qossl. .53 per cent
 For the year ending June 90, 1907,
 entire business, 5.I9 per cent; intra-
 state business Qossl. .46 per cent.
 For the year ending June 30, 1908.
 entire business, 2.67 per cent; intra- l state business loss), .95 per cent.
 
 entire business, , 5.45 per cent; intra- l state business Qoss) .04 per cent.
 For the year ending June 30, 1910, entire business. 5.S6 per cent; intra- state business Qoss), 1925 per cent. l The above tables are from the report
 of the master under inquiry 2S and are
 on basis of income after deducting
 statutory losses, that is. what the in-
 come was under the rate statutes after
 it went into effect. The year ending June 30 1906, was before the statute,
 and most of the year 1907. It is evi- l dent that the most radical errors Tn val lulations if made, would not, on correc- ton, show fair return to compliments
 on the property invested
 It is shown that the statutory rates effect a loss of from 10 per cent to 3O 1 per cent reduction on the rates prevail ling before the statutes were passed, on
 the same commodities. and that the to- 1 tai losses to the Louisville and Nash lville. per annum on account of the statutory rates is s263259 52 on the | basis of losses for the six months from
 June 30 to November 30, 1909. Masters
 Report, l.. and N. case. p. 2O5 and Rec
 ord there cited. That tho South and North losses are on the same basis. per iannum, s210,2S6 46 Masters Report ;.
 and N. A. R. R., 124 anc record cited 1 These losses do not comprehend In
 either case the much greater losses
 
 1 all business if, and when, interstate rates are adjusted to the forced statu- 1 tory rates, which is an inevitable re- 1 suit both from commercial necessity | and to avoid unjus. discrimination against interstate commerce, as re-
 cently decided by the interstate con- merce commission.
 1 The schedule of rates prevailing
 prior to March ?, 190., when the 1Irst
 rate statute was passed had been in
 force for a long time. in fact there
 has been a general tendency to reduce
 rates since the opening of the roads as 1 to that date, The rates were reason-
 able; under them the state had flour l ished and been greatly developed espc-
 cially along complainants' lines, and there was no connection of commerce.
 on account of excessive rates. The in- | trastate rates in Alabama on the cont lplainants' lines were, -n the average, materially lower prfo- to March .,
 1907. when the first rate statute was enacted than in any ether southern state and are now materially lower on
 an average, than in any in the United
 States. Record cited in Masters Re- 1 port in South and North case, D. TO l It is plain that the rate statutes were
 not the result of any unreasonable ex-
 actions by complainants' rates prior Q l their passage and ii IS demonstrable
 that the reduction in rates produced by | the statutes, while causing immense losses to the complainants directly as well as in it's interstate income, does
 not stimulate trade and does not cheap
 en in any degree the selling price of
 commodities to the people. Commerce
 or traffic is nothing more than the in- l Interchangeable flow of surplus commo- l dities from one community or country to
 another. There must be population to produce and consume at each end of and along the transit and this is limited bY
 nature and is only the subject of slow development. There is little margin n life of aggregate surplus products over laggregate consumption demands so that l there can be no great variation in the volume of trade year by year
 1 A variation of 10 per cent or 20 per cent either by addition or by substrac- l ton in freight rates on articles con stunned by the people and the subject of
 transportation is so infnitesmal com pared to the selling price of the eonsain- CT that no account whatever of it is talk en in his favor Yet such reductions l in the aggregate will bankrupt the carrier It is commonly known that it | is the last 10 per cent of the freight and passenger charges that furnishes all the profit to the business. This may | he illustrated both ways to show the benehcence and bad effects of the statu- tory reductions.
 The proof shows that garment sell | ing at retail in Alabama at 50 cents and weighing half pound has freight rate of 26 cents per hundred pounds from Mobile: the freight on the garment is 13-100 of one cent, or 1880 of the 1 price. Cotton overall, selling at $l, weight one pound, have a freight rate of 26 cents per hundred pounds, and the total freight Is 26-100 of one cens on the garment. This view is applied in the proof to long schedules of the commo- affected ta L.. and N. Record 3635, ard demonstrates that the 10 per cent or 20 per cent re- does not make the goods any cheaper to the ultimate consumer or purchaser. The people buy from necessity and their demands are not enlarged nor their ability to buy increased by freight being reduced on a tin cup 1 1000 or 1-50 of one cent or 25c on d $50 suit of clothes, or 21s cents on s10 blow A man does nor eat two dinners because they can be had at 49 cents Instead of 30 cents and a farmer does not buy two mules when he does not need but one. because the freight is reduced s1 on a s20O mule; nor in any such case would he get the benefit of the re- duction: nor in suchs cases is commerce. stimulated when there was free flow ing current before these infinitesimai reductions.
 The gross earnings of the Louisville and Nashville railroad in Alabama for the year 1910 amounted to SS,434, ,OeO Oy and on intrastate business S3,615,102 61. Take 10 per cent or 20 per cent or 10 would be left in the case of 20 per cent. .,,.Iv e17O TT of net ipcorna f.r