The Washington times., 1914-04-03
RAILROAD EARNINGS AT
VERY LOW EBB.

VERY LOW EBB.
While loose-geared tongues go Oil
talking about railroad conspiracies
to discharge wage-earners so as to
browbeat the Interstate Commerce
Commission, railway earnings go OIL
crashing down.
Official reports-sensatioral for
badness-show that the gross earn
ings for February on all New York
Central lines were S1S,923,27s. A
year ago they were S22.316, ,4S4.
Pennsylvania is not very different,
with gross falling from 1921 ,372
to s24,31O,2os.
1t has been charged that the rail
roads were deliberately increasing
their expenditures as warning,
while at the same time knocking men
off pay rolls as a threat. Were the
railroads also posting men with shot
guns at the freight yards to drive
away shippers who wanted to give
them traffic?
Was it by a deliberate plot that
the New York Central lines drove
away $500 900 of business for Feb
ruary alone? Did it refuse to re-
ceive passengers and freight so that
its gross earnings for January and
February, taken together, were IA
per cent less than for the corre-
spending period of last year? Did
the Pennsylvania pursue the same
business-killing tactics with similar
results? That much for the rubbish
talked about railroads committing
suicide so as to win a game.
Now for net earnings. With bust
ness falling, but the cost of doing
business rising, the net earnings Of
the New York Central lines FOR Feb
ruary sank from $4,1s8, ,140 last year
to S753, ,2Ss this year, decrease of
81 per cent. For January and Feb
ruary, as compared with the corre-
spending period of last yeaf. there
was decrease in net earnings Of 75
per cent. Pennsylvania's February
dropped from $3.355, 1896 to $s45, ,267.
According to the New York Cen
tral report, for every dollar Of gross
business done there was expended in
operating expenses during February
90 cents. Pennsylvania was worse,
with 96l2 cents.
Mr.. Daniel Willard, president Of
the Baltimore and Ohio, told the In
terstate Commission that American
railroads are facing a crisis. When
one of the two greatest railroad sys-
TENS in the United States has its net
earnings all but wiped cut in Febru-
ary, when it's present rate of earn
ings isn't sufficient to pay It's divi-
dends, when those greatest two rail-
roads have been compelled to clear
50, 600 men off their pay rolls, when
they aren't building single thing
they can put off building, when they
aren't repairing a single thing they
can put of repairing, when they
aren't buying single thing they can
put off buying. Mr.. Wizards descrip-
ton Of the situation as crisis will
not strike the average man that
knows the difference between SOL
vcncy and insol, ency as very eX-
treme language.
President Smith, Of the New York
Central, told the commission that
the roads were going to the devil as
fast as they could go. That's plain
talk, hut the figures of his company
show it is not unjustitied. Iester-
day President Rea, of the Pennsyl-
vania, told how the company's re-
sources were being undermined, with
danger of crippling its power to
serve the public. If such ? road is
straining, it is not loose talk 10 say
that other roads must be on the
verge of ruin.
So far as concerns the national
growth, it's a crisis for this country
when railroads don't and can't build
more and buy more, for railroads go
up and down as the country goes.
and nation that doesn't grow de-
Gays.
So far as concerns the railroads
themselves, when they are living
! from hand to mouth, making econo-
mics, some of them at least that
must be dangerous, they are facing
potential calamity.