Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-01-03

JULIET ItNtnut SADtHbtS VI GNoEy bldlSp
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 1858 42s,576 left out Of which to de-
clare dividends and to use as q surplus
fund for emergencies and improvements
OF one kind and another.
In other words, nfter the roilaroads got
through paying for their labor, steel.
lumber. coal interest and other necessary
expenses. the above little more than $15s.-
0OO,OOv was all the surplus they had left
for themselves out of an income OF more
than 5000, 900. 0O0-and this, too, upon
properties worth the gigantic sum of
so, .OOO, Co., or less than per cent upon
the total capital invested in the rail-
roads of the country. 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 practically every
dollar they receive for service.
Burning Candle at Both Ends.
AS a matter OF fact, IL every railroad
in the country had charged off a proper
percentage for depreciation. instead of
having had a surplus of $l53. 900 left in
1918. they would have had an actual de-
ficit running into the. millions Some of
the larger systems have a fixed yearly
depreciation charge-but scores OF the
weaker lines. in their frantic endeavor TO
pay the interest on their debts and main
tain tho standing of their securities, use
every dollar Of their income 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 a deteriora--
tion OF rolling stock and roadbeds which
will render the continuance OF adequate
and safe service for the public impossible
in the very near future. In a recent
article. James ]. Hin. the great Empire
Builder of the North" points out that
American railroads should spend at least
900 annually in improvements and
betterments-and II is therefore no exag-
geration to say that rapidly deteriorating
equipment is one Of the ghosts which
haunts hundreds of railroad managers
throughout the country at the present
hour
As was stated in last weeks article,
the operating income Of the railroads for
the fiscal year ending June 80, 1914 was
S12O.OOo,oOO less than for 1919 while ex-
penses and taxes were S76OoO,0oo greater.
1t can therefore be seen at a glance that
unless the railroads are given some In
crease in rates in the very near future the
time when many OF them win 80 upon
the rocks of financial ruin 10 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
1t had gone into effect,
A Barometer of Prosperit.
II is an old saying that when the rail-
roads are prosperous everybody is pros
porous. and the manner in which their
income is disbursed, as above explained.
tells the reason why In short, for years
they have been regarded as the great
business barometers of the nation. No
other industry in the country employs
so many men as do the railroads, and.
furthermore IL Is a high grade of labor
employed upon as lucrative a basis as
obtains in any other large industry
When times are good nearly 100000 peo-
pie, first and last, are employed by the
railroads. and when this vast army is
working full time and is contented the
millions they pay out for merchandise
and for the living necessities produced
on the farm cannot help but have a
tremendous effect upon the commerce ana
agriculture Of the country.
But this is only half the story Aside
from nearly 100000 operatives directly
employed by the railroads In normal
times, the hundreds OF thousands of men
who work in the great steel mills. the
coal mines, the lumber industry and IN
tho big car and locomotive shops are
equally vitality affected. tor when the
railroads are making extensive improve
ments and buying heavily OF these sup
plies II means that these great industries
are running furee shift. while when the
railroads are subslsting only upon abso-
lutte necessities II means that many OF
them are only working half shift while
scores are shut down altogether
That the GARNER has a very vital and
personal interest IN this situation should
be apparent at a glance When the mill
lions OF laboring men In the United States
are profitably employed . when all our
great Industrial enterprises are running
full shift Il sheans that he will have a
larger demand and receive a higher price
for the things he produces on his farm
for his corn. wheat pork. beef mutton,
cotton. wool ana other farm products In
other words. - closely allied Is the
transportatioD problem OF the nation that
the general rSelfars OF the railroads has
become un1amental concern of every
other interest.
advertisement. To be continued next
week)