The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-11-25
Earnings Not Comnlen-
surate With Greater
Cost Of Operation.
STATISTICS SHOW
LOWER PROFITS
Presidents Of Baltimore and Ohio
and Wabash Systems Give Pre-
liminary Outline of Situation
and Urge Justice of Re-
quest-Protests Also
Formally Filed.

| Washington. November e4.-That
railroad earnings are not conmcusur-
ato with tile increased cost Of opera
! ton. higher taxes and wages and adj
ditions 10 equipment necessary To meet
commercial demands OF the country.
was submitted to-day 10 the Interstate
commerce Commission by representa- :
ives Of the railroads, arguing for a
general Increase OF per cent in
freight rates
! The claim fled BY railroads oprrat
ins in tho territory east OF tho Mis-
+ sissippi and north Of the ohio and 10
toniac rivers MAS upheld iii prc
!ininary outline of the railroad situ,
ton by Daniel Willard, president or
! the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. rep
reScnt!ug, Tor the occasion. tho East
! ern roads. and Frederick 4 Delano.
president OF the Wabash Railroad. ol,
oehali OF the Central Traffic Aseocia
/ noih statistics tending 10 show the
lEuFtailincHt Of earnings as compur.d
I . ihcrcas"d costs. were Submitteu by
I an accounting committee composed or
i - ~ Bunting comptroller of the Penn
I SNlrania Railroad: We. Wishart sta
tistician OF tho New York Central Hines:
/ W. H. Williams. third v!ce-prcsiden. ~
/ the Delaware and Hudson Company.
I q I. Crawford, comptroller or tha Eric
Railroad, and George Nj Shr!yer. second
vice president az tho Baltimore ana
Ohio Railroad.
Great Decline In Earnings.
president Willard. IN an opcning
statement, asserted ,hat railroads in
the territory concerned had expended
! ~ property investments in the last
thrce Years $500. o0e. 900 and that in III.
year 1913, the earnings were slG3ll i
| 81 less than for the year 1910. IL
argued Tint the . per cent increase
apphed ior was not as much a. tho
,.hlfoads were entitled t. and in this
"@ "AS supported ~ President pclano.
/ who argued for the railroads in cen
! trail territory. and urged that in fv
ing rates III" commission should -.
gard no particular territory Figures
Tor The frst twu months or tll,. rres
ent Year, Mr.. Dclano said. war. lrsc
eheouraginS ovcn than tho results since
i.lV. Whca an appeal foi. a 10 nor
CENT increase III rates was denied
Figures submitted by AIr Stlriy.r for
iorty-n!ne railroads IN the territory
involved showed that tho net opcrat-
inS incomes Tor 1919 had actualiv d..
creased more than $4,000. 900. while
operating expenses and taxes haa In :
creased 500! .o0o,oo0 since 1910. An
/ oiher table, combining the Interests j
Oh the New York Central PENNSYLVANIA
! ana baltimore and Ohio Svs,ons
showed that tho not operating income
mad decreased SS,3So..lo since 1910. /,
"its also shown that in this period the
2FopertN investment for these Ihre.
( -oads had increased II so per caut.
gross earnings, 63.3j per cent while
| no net operating income had Increased
,nly easn per cent
Decrease Is Steady
= VI Huni!n2 OF the Pennsylvania.
.esi'fed that the return on property
Investment Of that system Had shown
declining tendency since iaeS. ana ;.
steady decline since 1910
Iictwccn the years 1910 ana 1914
sad he. there was an increase OF
f2o7.lS6.9l9 in I'll. property invest :
hcnt and = decrease i'll The net opera :
| ing income of Sll.4s5.6ll. In other
words the Pennsylvania system was
il,fSo.3ll short Of even receiving ono
cent additional return on Its enlarged
Investment The percentage Of return
on property Investment in 1903 was
90 per cent. while In 1913 II had fallen
10 5.iS per cent.
The amount Of wages paid" contin-
ued Mr.. Bunting, has increased about
s3t. .ooo during the period 1910 TO
/ 1879. approximately $4,000. .Gon Of
which s due TO Increased rates of pay.
III addition. large expenditures had To
oe made Tor more substantial and heav-
Ter equipment. higher standard OF road
oed and more modern interloc king
! Taxes have Increased si07a77e, as he.
tween 1910 ana 1918.
Summing up tile operations, We
nave, comparing 1913 with 1910. an in
crease in tonnage, but a decrease in
the average revenue per ton per mile:
an increase ia operating revenue OF
lio@ per cent. and increase of 23l3
per cent in operating eNcpnscs. IN in
crease Of 3G.03 per cent i'll taxes, and
p decrease of 1918 per cent in net
operating income, with an Increase Of
10" per cent il the property invest
mcnt account.
Even IL the total freight revenues
OF the PENNSYLVANIA system in 1913 had
been greater by > per cent. the return
from operations upon the property in
Vestmcnt would have been 6.4e per cent
or only about per cent greater
than tue percentage actually realized :
Adds to Property.
w. c. WiShart. OF the New York Cen
trail said that system, since June 20
1910 had added SlJ?.000. goo To the
property, which Il dcvo,es to public
use
The whole system" he added had
IN the year just closed S3.2S4130 less
net corporate income than in 1910
Since June 80. 1910, there has been
added to the property Investment about
Sl,0oo,O00 ~ week. while the net cor
poratc income in 1913 was less by
about $4,000 u week than 1910.
The year 1913 shows Il largo IN
crease in operating revenues. 1856 pcr'
cent over 1910; but operating expenses
Increased 23.5? per cent and taxes 3o2S
Per cent. leaving the operating income
only AL per cent greater than it was
III 1910. This latter Increase was more
than absorbed by the largo cXrendi-
lures classcd as other deductions from
incoinc and by higher fixed charges. so
that the net corporate income was 7.52
per cent less than 1910"
NJ. Shrivcr, examined by Hugh l..