The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-07-06
Rich Railroad Earnings Ahead Be
cause of High Traffic Rates.

Rich Railroad Earnings Ahead Be-
cause of High Traffic Rates.
After years Of starvation Of the
American transportation system by
the Interstate Commerce Commission,
President WILSON took over the rail-
roads when storms, congestion at ter
minals, fuel shortage and labor read
justment had paralyzed them.
The Director General Of Railroads
raised the freight and passenger rates
when the carriers were still trying to
dig themselves out Of the mountains
Of trouble under which they had been
freshly buried.
All through the first four months OF
this year the public was condoling
with the Government upon the huge
sums which, under the system OF
Federal operation, would have to be
drained out Of the Treasury TO meet
the railway operating deficits. not to
mention the payment of dividends.
Nobody need waste much sympathy
now on the Treasury. Nobody who
follows the railway reports from week
to week and month to month will fear
that, through its control Of the roads,
the Government is going to lose any
thing. There is good reason to think
that the Government will clear on its
railway operation pretty penny.
- lin May numerous Western roads
were still tioundering in their mis-
cry Of the previous winter; but, i'm
portant as they are to the national
life, the Western carriers do not do
the business done by the great sys-
TENS here in the East. In fact the
May operating income Of the chief
Eastern roads was greater than the
operating incomes of the chief West
ern and Southern roads all put to-
gether. In the East richly prosper
Gus road like the Lackawanna had
come back by May, and more than
come back, to its old record of max
ing high earnings. A vast and pow
erful system like the Pennsylvania
South the few first class railroads
were booming again. Good, bad and
indifferent taken together, the May
operating income Of the chief South
ern roads showed an actual gain, GO
ing up from S9,O33, 054 in 1917 to Sl0,-
524,!46 in 1913. In the West the
majority of the roads were still run
ming behind, although great proper
ties like the Union Pacific and the
Atchison were once more bathed in
sunshine.
The combined record of 123 Of the
largest railroads, therefore, showed
net revenues from railway operation
of ST, 101,S 13, as against $S7,9S9,41
in 1917. With general and local gov
ernments taking $1,30O,000 more in
taxes than In May, 1917, all the East
ern roads were only s2,750,OOO behind
the previous year, the Southern roads.
as before mentioned, were 81, 100000
ahead, and all the roads, East, West
and South, were S11 100000 to the
bad.
But in May, of course the sensa-
tional % per cent. increase in traffic
rates had not gone into effect. The
new rates were not due to begin until
the middle of June. In the month
before the new rates were 10 become
effective nearly all the big and good
roads everywhere were generally do
ing pretty we'll already. Some of the
lesser roads were emerging onto COM
Portable circumstances.
When we think of what the June
freight and passenger increases mean,
we can picture the railroads of the
United States rolling in wealth. The
gross earnings of 123 Of the largest
roads were mounting In May to some
1914, 100000. This Is at an annual
rate of somewhere between $780,
100000 and $4.OOOOO0,OOO. II the
new rate increase Is going to average
anything like the 25 per cent. pre-
dicted for 1t by railway experts. 1t
looks as If the Railroad Administrator
had now before him, in the increased
revenues, a little matter Of some three
quarters of billion dollars year
more.
Unless the DlrectorIGeneral Ia 60
ing to slather more wage increases on
railway labor, there is n very good
chance that, with all the increased rev.
enue piling up during recent weeks
and the seven or eight hundred mill
ions n year still TO come in under the
new freight and passenger tariffs. the
mflroads of the United States could
now begin to equal the earning rec
ords OF steel trusts, coal industries,
mNnition plants-Just because as soon
es the Director-General OF Railroads
sees that more revenues are needed all
he needs to do, having himself the
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