New Britain herald., 1917-05-07
Indicated 1917
 Expenses $1e2.000.00o
 77O,0O0.00o 3OO.OOO,000
31,o1I.eoo.ooo s1.ss2, ,ooo, ,oe

Totals $1,O1B.eoo.ooo $1.282. .0o0. 900 A quarter of all the coal mined in the country is purchased by the rail> roads for locomotive fuel, and every ten-cent-a-ton advance adds about $16. 100000 to their coal bill. The eastern roads have been forced in recent months to pay war prices in |competition with, industrial plants to supply coal for their daily needs The New England roads have neen CT pacaa1ly hard hit, &ha New Haven f0r eSln npie facinr n 1ntTsaaA fl 1ts fual 6ill that win mor0 than Ahsorb . 1S DOT cent advance in all freight f&tes' iN h claimed. With . total consump- lion of e9, 9,0oo, 900 tons on the eastern lines. and an average advance or S4 cents .. ton. these carriers must take an additional $58. 100000 out of their aa rnineY this year to meet their IueA axpenae. Their coal bill last year was s1o4. .ooo. 900; this year it will pc $1s7. 100000.
 9ee, ,Ooo. 900 Advance in Wages. wA~a. the commission was in- formAd are being advanced through aIIi ranks to meet the general rise Tn wage. in neighboring industries. Only hv suf,n advances had the roads been ahle to prevent large numbers of their employees from going to more pros perous industries bidding for lapor. The increased wages granted train l man under the Adamson eight-hour act add $8e,00o.0oo to the eastern payroll. while advances to other em-
 nloves amount to $33,o00.ooO more. 8 total increase of $69.000.0O0. or an l average of nearly 10 per cent. over the 370O, ,000 eastern payroll or | 1918.
 l Railroad materials of all kinds I (raila ties, ballast, structural steel Tor l bridges and stations. manufactures or iron. steel and copper. building ma terials, equipment, parts oil. etc.l have advanced in price by leaps ana l bounds-the average advance running above 40 per cent. Materials paid for out of earnings amounted to $21O,- 900, ,Q0O last year. At current market 1 prhces they would cost $3O0.O00. 900. I If the eastern roads continued to pur- a chase these necessities in the same volume as heretofore. to matntain their properties in Q condition fit to perform their public serviee, the great advance n the market for supplies ating expenses.
 These determinable additions to operating enpenses 100000 for wages, @5s,ooo,0 900 for fuel. and $s0.-
 100000 for materials-aggregate
 $217,O0O.000, or an amount of $40,-
 ooo. .0o0 in excess of the entire surplus
 above dividends (the margin of
 safety'') earned by the eastern car
 riers in 1916. the year of record in-
 come.
 In addition to these definitely deter
 minable increases in expenses. the
 carriers cited the unprecedented ad-
 vances in the market prices for loco-
 motives and cars. running as high as
 50 to 100 per cent. Big freight loco-
 motives purchased for $33.000 in
 1914. and $46.000 in 1916, were now : costing $65 5000: freight cars that sold for $s25 in 1914, and .$1.675 in 1916.
 had advanced to $1,s00. It was inn.
 perative, the roads argued, that many millions be spent on equipment to ! provide for the traffic requirements of the eastern territory.
 InCreasee Exceed Proposed Relief. Detailed reports were presented from the individual systems, showing the estimated increases in expenses as compared with the increased revenues
 that would accrue from the rate ad-
 (Continued on Sixth Page.)
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