New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-01-02
AFTER
5 PER CENT RAISE
Continued from first page.

! would be better were all freight shipped
! f. O. b. at the shipping point
/ 1t is certainty that when railroads
! are not prosperous the general public
is likewise affected. Lubricate the
railroads end the whole business fabric
! is stimulated Railroad moDey is never
/ boarded. IT stays in the treasury long
enough to be counted and out it goes
into general circulation. Give rail
roads their fair wage and good times
follow. -Curtail their income and gem
eral business Stacks up. Railroad dol
/ lars in circulation make good times. ~
1 BY President Thomas of the Lehigh
Valley.
THE situation Of the railroads, taken
as a whole, is not difficult to under
stand. We all operate on a compare
/ lively narrow margin OF profit and we
are always requiring new capital TO IN
crease our facilities. TO get this new
capital We must show a reasonable re-
7 turn on the money already invested.
For some railroads this has been en-
/ tremely difficult. and we have all fe'i
the need Of the slight increase asked.
Four ears ago We asked for this In
crease. and when it was denied we At
tempted to do without il. hoping 20
make the difference in some otncr way.
But during those four years wages
have continued 10 increase, the price
Of supplies used by railroads has also
increased and the cost Of modern
equipment has advanced in very not
able degree.
Are the railroads merely trying ~
keep their heads above water MI.
Thomas was asked.
NO" he replied. I'm spite Of the diff
dculty il getting capital to make
proper Improvements, the railroads
have gone ahead steadily keeping pace
with TIE times.
Their freight service is as good as
il has always been, their passenger
trains with their new steel equipment
give even better service than formerly,
they have better road beds, heavier
ties and rails ana arc in all ways be-
ter railroads than they used TO be, and
vet they are getting no more for their
services
rs the coal tonnage this year nor
mali"
The mild winter is naturally affect
ing the anthracite roads to some extent
and is measured in falling of in coal
tonnage. as compared with last year
However. this movement shows q sub
stantial advance over the same period
two years ago.
What will the - per cent increase ih
freight rates mean to the consumer?
Mr.. Thomas was asked.
Remarkably little ne replied. The
railroads are now the most poorly paid
of all the agencies of distribution !"
nav them a little more will make very
little difference i'm the cost of any aiti-
Gle. The Lehigh Valley Railroad has
gone extensively into this matter we
have examined the effect of frclSht
rates ON the cost of living ana nave
found that it is too small 10 bc CON
sidered. Under present rates the ram
roads get five cents at the most FROM
tbe dollar spent 10y the final consumer
Increase that by = per cent and the
difference is 50 small that it cannot DE
counted into the price. The cost OF IN
ing cannot be affected in either dircc-
ton by freight rates.
IF the railroads set the Increase
WAS the next question. how viii toe
they use the extra income
some of it, Mr. Thomas replied
will necessarily go toward meeting
the increased payroll. but a large pr
ton of il will be spent in betterments'
There are many directions IN when
the railroads should spend large sums
Of money. The chief Of these is steel
couipment. Every railroad in the coun-
try is replacing its wooden equipments
with steel as fast as it can have tue
money with which TO buy it,
Bv President Peters CT the Long Island.
ITO the question. What is my opn-
ion as TO the financial outlook for tie
new vear2 / would say that just no"
when 50 many important measures al
fecting business conditions throughout
the country are awaiting action by
Congress. by the Senate and the cher
Executive. and while the Interstate
Commerce Commission Is considering
the petition OF the Eastern railroads
for an Increase OF > per cent in ircight
rates--upon the granting or refusal 81
which SO much dcyends-it rs rather
difficult to forecast with any reason
able degree of certainty, exactly what
the wear 1914 has in store for the put
uc the industrial corporations and the
railroads.
81 can. however speak more rc'E
and more definitely rs far as the Long
Island Railroad and its territory are
concerned. Every available resource
o., ,he command Of the railroad COM
many has been utilized to develop the
ISLAND for agricultural manufactures