Albuquerque morning journal., 1916-12-14
Santa Fe Passenger Agent J,
M, ConneII Shows Figures
of What Service Costs iQ
SparSeIy Settled State
PRESENT RATES FAIL
TO MEET EXPENSES
Hearing Before State Cor
poration Commission Brings
10 Light Facts Regarding
Tariffs Charged,

,.ssetaL coRREsPoNpEHcE TO MORNING JOURNAL
santa Fe. Dec. l3.--The state cor
poration commission today heard the
traffic representatives of New Mexico
railroads on the proposition to es-
fablish a three cent per mile passen-
ger rate on intrastate traffic. Argu-
ments were presented by General
Passenger Traffic Manager f. A.
Wadleigh of the Denver and Rio
Grande, General Passenger Agent j.
NJ. Connell of the Santa Fe, and the
other railroad representatives. all
tending to show that to enforce
three-cent rate would be confiscation
and would be asking the railroads to
haul passengers at less than cost.
The Santa Fe, the most prosperous
Of the transcontinental lines repre-
sented, showed by its figures that
even at the present passenger rates
the return is less than four per cent.
The density of intrastate travel in
New Mexico per year is only 1876
as against 1895 in Texas, 5l,75S in
Kansas, 55,S42 in Colorado, 1886 in
California During the year ending
June 30, the Santa Fe carried only
eight intrastate passengers to each
train, eight passengers in or outbound
and AZ through passengers. During
the same period it cost the Santa Fe
SLl5 per passenger train mile for
Passenger train service in New Mex
leo, without allowing anything for
taxes, rentals or returns upon invest
ment The actual revenue was only
2S cents per train mile from the in
trastate passengers. This, clearly il-
fasttateG the fact tnat wofo it not for
the enormous trans-state traffic, and
for the in and outbound traffic, the
cost of doing passenger business IN
New Mexico would be prohibitiNe.
S36,00O.000 in Wages.
It was shown that because of the
advance in the pay of employees, the
Santa Fe has paid out in wages
$S6, ,O00, 900 more in New Mexico from
1907 to the present, than as If the
1907 scale had remained into effect
until the present. The taxes paid in
New Mexico by the Santa Fe have
Increased from $269,000 in 1908 to
SG75 600 i'm 1915. The annual cost to
the company from federal and state
equations and orders affecting rail
Dad operations ran up to Sl,l26,3lO
n 1914, and is constantly increasing,
Demands for better and increased
passenger service must be met. The
number of passengers handled per
train or per ear has not increased,
and yet the cost per passenger and
mail train mile has increased from
80 cents in 1903 to s105 this year.
The number of passengers carried
per train mile was So in 1908, while
seven years later it was only 50. The
conclusion drawn is that the present
intrastate passenger rates are too low
viewed both from the cost and the
density standpoint, and that in all
fairness there should be an increase
in rates in common with increases in
other commodities and in either lc-ca-
tons where similar conditions are
found"
Statement by COnncll.
General Passenger Agent M. j. Con-
nell of the Santa Fe presented the
following statistics:
have made an analysis of our oper-
atoms in the state of New Mexico de-
yeloping the revenues, expenses and
assessed value assignable to the in
uastate passenger business. This
analysis for the year ending January
80 1915, shows the
revenues to be ..........SI .SI2l, ,lSi,to
Operating expenses-taXes. 626,S45.81
Net income. e..,.,..,....S g4,34l.Sf
Assessed value assignable, $4,29O,-
i4l44.
Per cent return, %.
For the year ending January 30,
1915, the following results were Sc
cured
revenues .,.....,....$79l,414.5S