Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1914-12-10
WHAT THE RAILROADS
DO WITH THEIR INCOME
WHY THEY ARE CONSIDERED
THE GREAT BUSINESS BARON
ETER OF THE NATION

| at washington SNOW lnhL Ino Ihh-
roads OF the United States had col
lected q gross income from all
branches of their service amounting
to t3,11S,s2s.31S. OF this sum, ST.
373,S30,689 was paid out for labor
or, to put It in another way, al
most so cents out Of every dollar
they took in was Immediately paid
out to the hundreds OF thousands
Of men and women whom they en-
ploy in the conduct Of their bust
ness. For maintenance Of way, equip
ment, depots, ETC., they disbursed
1929, 167,491-o almost another
thousand million dollars-and In
this vast item the reader can grasp
what railroad prosperity means to
the great steel mills, the lumber and
coal industry, the big car and loco
motive building concerns, and other
sources of railroad supplies. In taxes
they paid out the enormous sum Of
$129,O62, which helped to main
tain the public schools, public high
ways and other revenue expenses OF
every state, county and incorporated
town and city In the country. After
the interest had been paid on their
funded debt and all other characters
of expense had been met. they had
$153,426,676 left out Of which to
declare dividends and to use as q
surplus fund for emergencies Of one
kind and another.
In other words, after the railroads
got through paying for their labor,
steel, lumber, coal, interest and
other necessary expenses, the above
little more than $153,000,000 was
all the surplus they had left for
themselves out of an income of more
than three billion dollars-and this,
too, upon properties worth the 81
gantic sum of twenty billion dollars,
or less than l per cent on the total
investment. Thus 1t can be seen
that on the basis of the present
rates the railroads pay back to the
public in one way and another prac-
tically every dollar they receive for
service.
Burning Candle at Both Ends
As a matter of fact, If every rail-
road in the country had charged off
a proper percentage for depreciation,
instead of having had surplus Of
$3.50, 100000 left in 1918 they
would have had an actual deficit
running into the millions. Some of
the larger systems have fixed
yearly depreciation charge-but
scores of the weakers lines, in their
frantic endeavor to pay the interest
on their debts and maintain the
standing of their securities, use
every dollar of their income to this
end, and hence one of the most
alarming phases Of the present rail-
road situation is that this process
of burning the candle at both
ends means a deterioration of roll
ing stock and roadbeds which will
render the continuance of adequate
and safe service for the public inn
possible. In a recent article, James
]. Hill, the great Empire Builder
of the North" points out that
American railroads should spend at
least $500,O00,000 annually in i'm
provements and betterments-and 1t
is therefore no exaggeration to say
that rapidly deteriorating equip
ment is one of the ghosts which
haunts hundreds Of railroad man
ayers throughout the country at the
present hour.
AS was stated in last weeks ar
ticle, the operating income of the
railroads for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1914, was $4,000, 900
less than for 1918, while expenses
and taxes were $76.O00,O 900 great
er. 1t can therefore be seen at q |
glance that unless the railroads are
given some increase in rates in the
very near future the time when
many of them will go upon the
rocks OF financial ruin is not far off
and yet the slight increase neces-
sary to save them is SO small that |
the average citizen would not be
conscious of 1t after 1t had gone in
to effect. In a future article this
question will be more fully discuss
A Barometer Of Prosperity
It is an old saying that when the
railroads are prosperous everybody
Is prosDeroug. and the manner IN 4