Charlevoix county herald., 1917-04-06
As PRICES RISE
HIGH COST OF LIVING
HITS THE RAILROADS
Service viii Be Crippled I'm
less Relief Comes Soon
EXPENSES UP, RATES DOWN

Wastsfui and Conflicting Regulations
Hamper Railroad Credit, While Ad.
vance In Labor and MstsriaIs Out
strips Revenue, Chairman krutt-
sehnitt Tells Congress Committee.
Unified Federal Control Will Improve
Conditions.
Washington, April 2.-The condition
In which the railroads find themselves
as result OF constant increases In
wages, prices Of material, taxes and
other expenses, while their revenues
are restricted by legislation, was strik-
ingly described by julius Kruttschnitt,
Chairman OF the Executive Committee
OF the Southern Pacific Company, In
his testimony during the past few days
before the Joint Congressional Com
mittee on Interstate Commerce, which
II making a study Of the question OF
railroad regulation. Mr.. Kruttschnitt
urged the committee to recommend a
plan of regulation which will center
responsibility for regulation and Its
results In the federal government, 50
that conditions affecting both expenses
and revenues may be made subject to
q uniform policy instead Of the waste
full and often conflicting policies In
yolved In the system Of combined state
and federal regulation.
Why Roads Need More Money.
Mr. Kruttschnitt's testimony also had
q bearing on the reasons for the appli-
cation OF the roads to the Interstate
Commerce Commission for general
advance In freight rates. He showed
that while the price OF transportation
has declined In recent years, the cost
Of producing transportation, like the
cost OF almost everything else, has rap
Idly advanced. This he Illustrated by
showing that IL freight and passenger
rates had increased during the past
twenty years In the same proportion as
average commodity prices the railroads
Of the United States would have re-
ceived 1854 100000 more for trans
portation In 1915 than they did receive.
This saving to the public was effect
ed, In spite Of an increase OF SO per
cent In the cost OF operation OF trains,
by q reduction In the average passen-
gsr rate per mile from 2.04 cents In
1895 to 19S cents I'm 1915, a decrease
OF 3 per cent, and by q reduction In the
average freight rate per ton mile from
$50 mills In 1895 to 7.3 mills In 1918, or
1S per cent During the same period
the cost Of operation per train mile
rose from 81 cents to $l.7S, almost
doubling. At the same time the aver.
age price OF 346 commodities enumer-
sted In q bulletin OF the Department OF
Agriculture increased 115 per cent.
Transportation is practically the only
commodity In general use that has not
increased tremendously In price during
the past twenty years, freight and pas
senger charges being lower than they
we're twenty years ago.
Big Saving to Public.
IL rates had risen proportionately to
the increase In the cost Of other arti-
cles OF ordinary use, Mr.. Kruttschnitt
told the committee, the average pas
senger rate in 1915 would have been
2.95 cents q mile, or 80 per cent higher
than IL was, and the average freight
rate would have been 1.21 cents or SO
per cent higher than II was. The saw
Ing to the public In passenger fares
through this difference was $S14 .0Q0.-