The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1914-12-11

Thus it can be seen that on the basis
of the persent rates the railroads
pay back to the public in one way
and another practically every dollar
they receive for service.
Burning Candle ut Both Ends
AS a matter of fact, If every rail-
road in the country had charged off
proper percentage for depreciation
instead of having had a surplus of
$153, 100000 left in 1913 they would
have had an actual deficit running
into the millions. Some of the larger
systems have fixed yearly deprecia-
tion charge-but scores of the weak
er lines, in their frantic endeayor to
pay the interest on their debts and
maintain the standing of their Sc
curities, use every dollar of their in
come to this end, and hence one of
the most alarming phases of the
present railroad situation is that this
process of burning the candle at
both ends means deterioration Of
rolling stock and roadbeds which will
render the continuance of adequate
and safe service for the public I'M
possible, In recent article, James
J. Hill, the great Empire Builder
of the North" points out that Amer
| lean railroads should spend at least
$500, 100000 annually in improve
ments and betterments-and 1t is
| therefore no exaggeration to say
that rapidly dcteriorating, equipment
is one of the ghosts which hauMts
hundreds of railroad managers
throughout the country at the pres
ent hour.
AS was stated in last weeks ar
| ticle, the operating income of the
railroads for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1914. was 100000 less
| than for 1913, while expenses and
taxes were $76,0OO.0O0 greater. 1t
therefore can be seen at a glance that
unless the railroads are given some
increase In rates in the very near
future the time when many of them
| will 20 upon the rocks of financial
| ruin is not far off-and yet the slight
| increase necessary to save them is so
small that the average citizen would
| not be conscious OF it after it had
/ gone into effect In future article
this question will be more fully dis
| Cussed.
A Barometer of Prosperity
| 1t is an old saying that when the
| railroads are prosperous everybody
Is prosperous, and the manner in
which their income is disbursed, as
hove explained, tells the reason why,
In short, for years they have been
regarded as the great business bar
Ometer of the nation. No other in
dustry in the country employs so
many men as do the railroads, and,
furthermore, it is high grade of la
Dor employed upon as lucrative a
basis as obtains in any other large
industry When times are good
nearly two million people, first and
last. are employed by the railroads,
and when this vast army is working
full time and is Contented the mil
lions they pay out for merchandise
and for the living necessities pro-
duced on the farm cannot help but
have tremendous effect upon the
commerce and agriculture of the
country
But this is only half the story.
| Aside from the nearly two million
operatives directly employed by the
railroads in normal times, the hun
dreds of thousands of men who work
in the great steel mills, the coal
mines, the lumber industry and in
the big car and locomotive shops are
equally vitality affected, for when the
railroads are making extensive i'm
provements and buying heavily Of
| these supplies 1t means that these
| great industries are running full
shift, while when the railroads are
subsisting only upon the absolute ne
cessities 1t means that many of them
are only working half shift.
Farmer vitality Concerned
That the farmer has a very vital
and personal interest in this sltua-
ton should be apparent at glance.
| When the millions of laboring men
in the United States are profitably
employed and when all our great in
dustrial enterprises are running full
shift II means that he will have a
larger demand and receive higher
price for the things he produces on
his farm-for his corn, wheat, pork,
beef, mutton, cotton, wool and other
| farm products. In other words, so
Inter dependent have we become, and
so closely allied are the interests of
the farmer. the merchant, the manu-
facturer, the labor and every other
great national industry, that the
prosperity of one has become the
prosperity of all. (Paid ADV. To be
continued naYt weak