Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-01-03
WHAT THE RAILROADS
DO WITH THEIR INCOME
WHY THEY ARE CONSIDERED THE
GREAT BUSINESS BAROMETER
OF THE NATION

fronts the railroads at the present time,
and which, was briefly explained In last
weeks article. It Is important for the
reader TO realize that the railroads and
the public face each other under radically
changed conditions today from those
which prevailed q few years ago. The
abuses and scandals which have been
aired before the Interstate Commerce
commission during recent months were
perpetrated for the most part under the
old regime OF a dozen or 90 years ago,
and can never be repeated under the
conditions which now prevail. on the
one hand. the Interstate Commerce COM
mission and the different states. e.,her
through their public utility commissions
or legislatures, say what rates the rail-
roads shall charge for service. In addl-
tion to this, proposal Is now pending
in congress to give the government the
right to investigate all new interstate
securities before they can be placed upon
the market. while similar authority Is al
ready being exercised within the states
by the different public utility commits
sions. That means that the last vestige
OF control over ,heir finances will have
been taken away from the railroads and
that henceforth their fate will lie abso-
lutely In the hollow OF the peoples hands.
In this connection, we wish TO again re-
mind ths reader that hundreds OF honest
railroad officials throughout the country
men who have managed their properties
without q breath of scandal or public
criticism-should not be condemned be-
cause OF the misdeeds of the few. With
an aroused public conscience on the one
hand and scores of railroad officials
throughout the country sincerely and
actively cooperating with the different
public authorities on the other, we can
safely let bygones be bygones-wipe the
slate, and, with a square deal for the
people, the investor and the railroads
alike, start over again"
The Presidents Anxiety.
In last weeks article we quoted a por-
ton OF President Wilson's recent reply
t. a group OF eastern railroad executi, IS.
That the president has become profoundly
concerned over the present crisis which
eonfronts the transportation companies
Is once moro made strikingly apparent in
his letter concerning the inauguration of
the new banking system 10 Secretary
McAdoo a few days ago, in which he
said;
'Ths railroads OF the country are al
most as much affected (by the war;, not
80 much because their business is cur
tailed as because their credit is called
In question by doubt as to their earning
capacity. There is no other interest so
central to the business welfare OF the
country as this. No doubt. In the light
o. the new day, with Its new understand
ings, the problem OF the railroads will
also be met and dealt with In a spirit OF
| candor and Justice"
Like utterances have come from scores
Of other prominent public men and finan-
ciers during the last few weeks-men who
are above making selfish plea for any
private or corporate interest and whose
sole desire Is that American business
shall emerge from the present precarious
situation without disaster. Under these
circumstances It is the merest folly for
any citizen 20 treat the present crisis
! lightly or fippantly. for we are passing
| through a period in which the financial
resources OF every nation In the world
win bo tested as never before.
where. Railroad Receipts GO.
In order that the reader may realize
what a tremendous factor the railroads
are in the every day business life OF the
Il u0AAoA Auh NN0t thtg mean 10 It's HlOH-
peritya We wish to analyze briefly what
becomes OF an average years railroad
income. Just as the idea has prevailed
In the minds of many that the railroads
are owned by a few rich men. so the
thought has also found deep root that
they collect millions OF dollars from the
public which so into the Golfers OF a
handful OF millionaires. and which are
permanently Withdrawn from the thrift
and Industry OF the people
/ At the close OF the fiscal year ending
June 80. 1919. the records at Washington
show that the railroads OF the United
states had collected a gross income from
all branches OF their service amounting TO
S5.1iS. s2s.slS or this sum, s, S7S $50 $50
was paid out Tor iaboF-or. to put Il IN
another way. almost 50 cents out OF
ever dollar they took In was Immediately
paid out 10 the hundreds OF thousands OF
men and women whom they employ IN
the conduct of their business. For main
tenahee OF way equipment. depotS, etc,
they disbursed es.iS7 .ssl--or almost an
other ti.ooedoo .Ooo-and IN this vast item
the reader can grasp what railroad pros
perty means 10 the great steel mills. the
lumber and coal industry. the big car
and locomotive building concerns, and
other sources OF railroad supplies. In
taxes they paid out the enormous sum Of
k21 us. which helped 10 maintain the