The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-10-19
SOUTHERN RAILWAY
HAD A GOOD YEAR
MANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE sYs-
TEN IN PAST TWELVE
MONTHS
BUSINESS BETTER, TOO
IMPORTANT EXTENSIONS AND noU-
BLE-TRACKING COMPLETED
AND NEW STATIONS BUILT.
ERA or PROGRESS
BUSINESS BETTER, TOO

A number Of additions and better
ments TO it's system are described n
the nineteenth annual report of the
Southern Railway Co.. whose fiscal
year ended June 80, 1913, the figures
for which are now made pubic. Tho
operations show only a fair advance,
the increase in gross being only IN
per cent. and in net but ISL per cent,
the later small figure being the result
of increased cost of operating. Never
thelesS, after all charges were allowed
and dividends paid there was left
balance to credit of profit and loss Of
$4.029964 which was an increase over
last year.
The property has been benefited
considerably by the completion since
1912 OF the double track north Of At
lanta between eros Keys and Gaines
VILE Ga; the additional main line
track between Constitution and Rose
land. Ga: the Knoxville, (Tenn,) river
front extension; the belt line at High
Point y c.; the ZAP sldings between
Macon and Jesup, Ga: the new gravity
yard ut Macon; new passenger sta
ton at Lynchburg, Va; new iins
from near Forbes, Va, TO ore lands;
an electric automatic signal system be-
tween Denim and Charlotte, SO miles.
and by the delivery OF new equipment
consisting Of 3 locomotives, 20 steel
frame passenger cars, 10 steel bag
gage mall and express cars, steel
frame dining cars. 2T5 steel UNDER
frame ventilated box cars. so steel
underframe automobile cars, lo4 steel
fiat cars and 4 pieces of road service
equipment. There were 551 coal cars
converted into steel underframe VEN
tilated box cars and 49 more of them
are to he converted. Since the end
of the fiscal year contracts have been
-fer for e5 locomotives, steef-tet'ft4
cars Of so tons capacity, and l5o steer
anderframe Cotton stock cars.
During the year construction OF
more double tracking was started be-
tween Amherst and Monroe, Va; New
Holland and Gainesville, Ga: cross
Keys and Armour. Ga, and at Btrrn-
/ ingham, Ala. from Twentieth street to
the eastern end OF the North Birming-
ham yard. After the completion or
this new mileage in Georgia and Vir-
ginia the company will have in opera
ton on it's main line between Wash
ington and Atlanta practically 5Vz
miles of double track, or about 40
per cent OF the total mileage between
those terminals. All of this will be
done by early in 1914, and some OF IT
sooner Automatic electric block
signals are also being installed be-
tween Cameron Run and Orange. Va.
and a revision of the main line for
31-3 miles near PARIS Shoals. S, G.. Is
also in progress, but the expense or the
latter is being borne by power COM
pany which is erecting a dam over
Broad river
There were 523 new industrial
plants completed during the year at
points on the companys lines. IN
Guiding q3 lumber mills 46 wood
working plants. A stone quarries, coal
and other mines, 81 textile mills. 81
brick works, 26 flour and feed mills,
"a iron Industries, 90 cottonseed- oil
mills, IA furniture factories, ~ fertil-
izer works and 2 tanneries, besides
fsa miscellaneous enterprises. Be-
sides. there were additions made to
222 existing industrial plants and at
the close of the year so plants were
under construction.
Concerning the advances in agri-
cultural methods in consequence OF
efforts made by the railroad COM
pauy's department OF farm improves
fnent work, IL is stated that on farms
where its advice has been followed the
crop yields per acre have been SUBJ
stantially larger than on similar lands
in the same localities where its adj
vice has not been accepted. A case
ii point is that of a farmer who fol-
lowed the advice on part Of a field and
obtained 35 bushels of wheat. while
on the rest of the same field he OBJ
tanned only 10 IL bushels under his
old method. A preliminary report OF
the manager of the department says
that it's field agents are actively CO.
operating with 2,375 farmers. and that
62,090 acres were being cultivated
under their personal instructions. In
addition to these farmers. there are
many others who have accepted the
departments advice, and, besides
adopting II themselves. are describing
it's advantages to others. The depart
ment is conducting a missionary work
along these lines
Tonnage statistics display the
growth Of production and of the con-
Stunning energy of the territory served
by the system, the figures for the past
ten years showing that the tonnage of
agricultural products Increased over
AZ per cent, products of animals near
ly 20 per cent, products of mines over
AZ IA per cent. forest products very
nearly ~ | b per cent. manufactures
and miscellaneous products II 1-S per
cent. the total tonnage increase being
10, 252, los tons, or almost SO IL per
cent.
The income statement OF the South
ern Railway displays gross operating
revenues S6S $50, 400, increase s4.93a,-
1911; total operating expenses $4S.2T3,-
923, increase s4,57Ts6S7: net operating
revenue 20,255,5 SIS, increase SASH
474: net revenue after adding income
from. auxiliary operations $50, 1886. 10e,
increase s377255: operating income
after taxes slT,S55.T15, increase S349,-
196; total gross income s2l,.21. 6S5,
increase s134,725; total available in
come after deductions s1s,i17,599, in
crease S21o.77S: balance OF income
over charges ST,07S,625, Increase
S315,50s balance over dividends on
preferred stock s4.07s.625, increase
st5.50s.
Freight revenue was s44a43.7i7 an
tncSease of s3.4sa.447. or ' s-2s Per
cent, over 1919. and passenger revenue
was sfs,32o,4s9. an Increase Of sl.-