Arizona republican., 1917-06-28
WHY THE ROADS WAN I INCREASED.
 FREIGHT RATES

The following is a statement by Gen
 eral Manager w. A. Drake of the Santa | F'e Prescott & Phoenix railroad and allied lines. on the pending applicat | by the railroads of the country to the 1 interstate commerce commission for an 1 increase of fifteen per cent of freight l rates:
 1 l ask that you give me little space, 1 m your valued paper, to write a few
 words on subject that is now under
 discussion in many parts of these | United states: viz. the fifteen G55) increase in freight tariffs
 This means a proposal to increase
 all freight rates by fifteen per cent for
 temporary time. which is now nde- l terminate. It is termed a horizontal l fifteen per cent increase, because it | applies equally. or in same ratio to all 1 tariffs.
 Many will ask why equally to all, | why may not some things escape. The
 answer is, that railroad tariffs have | eer hammered and lowered by state 1 and federal commissions and courts 1 until they are supposed to be equitable for all peoples in all places at all times 1 and, therefore, any change should ap- | ply to all in the same ratio
 Of course. we all know that every 1 businessman, be he consumer. pro-
 ducer, or the middleman. thinks that | his particular affairs should be passed 1 over; that each wants to be let alone, | but the times when that can be done legally. or otherwise, have passed It | therefore, seems to me that the correct i or logical question is why should rates
 be raised at this time and that ques- ] tion is easily answered
 We do not at this time need to go 1 much into details Every man is more | or less familiar with the fact that the 1 costs of product of transportation have | greatly increased You can readily ap- l preCiate that transportation is nothing more or less than a product It is 1 thing for sale and that it costs money | to produce 1t, and that consequently | II must have a selling value. and that | the more it costs, so much greater
 should be it's selling rate or value. The cost Of transportation is made mp of three principal items. First: TPavment of labor of employees and off ceTS. Seo~~4: Cost of all fuel and l stores, materials that are used as tools and appliances necessary for it's use | Third: Inteerst at a fair rate, upon all the money which was paid out in original cost of construction, plus that
 paid out for additions and betterments | as time goes on.
 Now we know that nothing on earth | that is utilized in commerce can re- main in it's original condition. All ma
 terial requires frequent repairs More i or less of these things become obsolete
 and useless, and go into scrap heap 1 Many are worn out and must likewise l he replaced. It is obvious. therefore to any thinking person that the success 1 full operation of any railroad depends 1 equally uron each of these three prin- 1 "ipal features before mentioned The l president of the United States has said l that the railroads are the arteries of 1 the nation. We believe that the nation l cannot endure without them and we l know the must he maintained in an 1 efficient condition or retrogression will l quickly follow We know that the pub l lie demands efficiency and q continual ! increase of it in a geOmetrical ratio Now concerning the cost of labor. | Everyone knows. or if they don't take l it from me as a fact, that wages of the
 employees have heen materially in
 creased during the last year Some of
 the forced increases are unreasona ble and astounding. We have not the time 1 here, or space to give the details, but l theV are real and ~reat
 The cost of fuel and supplies has. in
 many cases, more than doubled You have only to read the market reports l of fuel. lubricating oil. waste etc | The cost of locomotives, of box cars. of stock cars. of coal cars. of tank cars
 in fact cars of all kinds has greatly | increased. In suhstantiation thereof l quote just q few figures from reliab ble 1 sources: The cost of locomotives in i two years has increased seventy five | per cent highest price locomotive now l (
 senger cars, chair. coach steel bag rage. etc, has increased fifty per cent. 1 the cost of these cars now running 1 from $1l 800 the cheancst. to s33. coo for | the most expensive. The cost of freight | cars has increased from sixty to ] eighty-five per cent. Track spikes have ! increased 130 per cent. boiler steel 30f
 Fer cent. fire-hox steel 231 per cent. | touiral bearings 121 per cent, bar brass 165 per cent axles 227 per cent. cast iron pipe 173 per cent. switch points
 I5 per cert rivets 200 per cent. steel | tires 133 peI cent cast iron wheels
 79 per cent couplers 112 per cent and
 so on. I will not continue this list It | IS long and includes every article used 1 id the Construc tion and maintenance 1 and operation of railway line It : practically impossible to keep mp with l the depreciation and wear and tear
 to say nothing of the demands because | of greatly increased volume Of traffic
 without making purchases of all of the l articles herein before mentioned.
 The cost of tools, in addition to that
 material just mentioned. used in re- l pairs, has increased beyond what seems
 to the nonce as unreasonable
 | It is true, of course. that some oi
 the railways are earning more money | than ever before, and someone says
 they do not need an increase in reve-
 nue. Briefly, let me say that I have | before me revenue and expense
 statement of the steam roads of the
 United States, made up by the bureal
 Of railway economies at Washington 1 D. c. This statement indicates that
 for the month of March, 1917. on the
 eastern railways the gross revenue
 increased 9.4 per cent over that o1
 March, 1916 but the operating ex-
 penses increased 20.4 per cent ant
 the ouerating revenue decreased 6.4
 per cent. For the railways of the
 southern district revenue increa sec
 9,1 per "ent; operating expenses in
 reased 12.4 per cent; net operating
 revenue increased 3.2 per cent. Fol
 the western railways, operating revc-
 nue increased S.6 per cent: operating
 expenses increased 15.9 per cent; ne
 operating revenue decreased 4.7 pei
 cent. For the first three months O
 the calendar year. as compared witt
 the first three months of the preced
 ing year, operating expenses increased
 lo.5 per cent; net, operating revenU,
 decreased S.3 per cent. I said earlie
 in this writing that interest on cos
 of construction must be paid. It i!
 just as necessary to successful ant
 satisfactory and efficient operation l as the items of Ia hor Sunnlies ani