The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-09-23
INVESTMENT FOR DIVIDENDS

OlV LII 4Dd4N Do public and for the owners of railroad bonds and stocks has been the great surprise in an industry rich in sur prises.
 It will be recalled that when relations with Germany were broken off early this year a country wide breakdown had oc- cured in our transportation machinery Failing far behind in their annual addi- 1 tons to locomotives and freight cars since the freight-rate controversy began in 1910 the railroads were actually swamped with business when the war board took hold last April to create CO., operation between the railroads them selves, between the railroads and the government and between the railroads and shippers. That the war board has been successful is evident from the fig ures just published, showing that during the past five months, through intensive use of locomotives, freight cars, man power, terminals, etc, trouble making freight-car shortage had been reduced from 14S,6 ,627 cars to 33,776; that by taking off highly competitive trains and other needless service, 20 900 passengers r-train miles has been saved; by pooling coal and ore shipments the equivalent of 1S5,009 new freight cars has been added to serv- ice; that the average freight-car and freght-train load has been greatly in- creased; that the average daily mileage run by locomotives and freight cars had been increased beyond all expectations. AS result all of the railroads operating as whole have been able to show the following changes in monthly gross and net earnings:
 March, gross increase, s2724s.Oo0; per cent 9.3; net, decrease, $7,911,000; per cent, S.2.
 April, gross increase, sS7,s19,o ,oO0; per cent. T.. May, gross increase, $45, ,692 900; per cent, 14S; net increase, $3,524,000; per cent, 1.3. June, gross increase, $49, ,696, coo; per cent, 16.5; net increase, $10,474,000; per cent, 101. Thus, despite the steady increase in ex- penses, the railroads are again reporting increases in net earnings over the high , monthly records of a year ago. For the first six months of the calendar year the railroads show an increase of no less than $205, GOO, or 11.S per cent, in gross. Net for the first six months of 1917 de- creased $7.1o5,000; but that includes the heavy losses early in the year; moreover net for the first six months of 1917, com pared with the corresponding period of 1915 still shows an increase of $l59, ,000, GOO. For the entire year 1917 net is likely to show a substantial gain over 1916 as well as over 1915.
 As to the individual companies, Chesa- peake and Ohio, now paying per cent
 
 an income return of per cent, is now earning at the rate of 12 per cent per an mum on its stock. Illinois Central, pay Ing per cent and selling around par, is earning at the rate of 1oK per cent. Louisville is earning "A per cent, South ern Pacific, paying and offering an in come return of over 7a per cent, is earn ing 20 per cent. Union Pacific, offering an income return of 8 per cent, Is earn ing 19 per cent. Besides the regular an nual income return. these. and many other seasoned dividend-paying shares are offering handsome profits to investors who will buy them outright and hold for the rise that will certainly follow
 Celestial Visitors
 From the Peoples Home Journal
 It is estimated that 100000.0O0 shooting stars could tbe seen nightly if the sky were covered by telescopes having lenses of even ordinary strength. Some times these cratic visitors into our sky realm appear in thousands, seem- ing to radiate from single point. One such notable shower of stars corruscated and blazed from sky center in the con stellation Leo in 1S33, Tn 1882 this swarm of shooting stars will cross the earth's orbit again. A shooting star first ap- pears at height of about "A miles, dis appearing at an average height of 50 miles. It travels at a rate of 25 miles "a second.
 1 In addition to the meteors seen in the mass with the naked eye, estimated at not less than 14s. 100000 year, doubt less 10 times this number pass as mere streaks of light across the field of the observers telescope. A meteor Is usually not 'rrger than a pea or pebble. The friction caused by it's swift fall from space generates an intense heat, which often consumes it before it reaches the earth. Tn this process of disintegra- ton. dust Is produced, and this Is scat tered on the earth's surface or dis. tributed throughout space. Meteors add to the earth yearly an amount of matter amounting to 5000 tons.
 A connecting link between our planet and the universe Is the meteorite. This is metallic or stony mass of greater or less size which rushes into the earth's atmosphere with brilliant glow, due to heat caused by friction. In falling. It sometimes becomes embedded in the earth's surface It's descent is accom- panied with roar like a waterfall and very often by violent explosions. It Is a fragment of a much larger body which has been destroyed or from which 1t has become separated. A meteorite Is often spoken of as meteor. but this is incorrect.