The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-04-15
RAILROAD DEFICIT
NOW s276,0OO,OOO
Reported Railway Employees.
Expect Further Adcances
in Wages.
GOVERNMENT SHOULD
GIVE UP IT'S CONTROL

xF- - -
Immediate Return to Private Manage
ment Would Mean REIMBURSEMENT of
Operating Expenses Rates
No Relief While Politics Control.
NEW YORK <April 15,-In the
statements of railway earnings and ex-
penses now eomihe>to hand, Wall street
sees the deathknell of government
ownership, For the whole of the calen-
dar year 1918, the annual $9O4000,0 600
net income guaranteed the railroads !
by the government as rental was not |
earned by $2o2,000,o00 The statement
just published for this February,
which was a src1narkably favorable |
month, compared with February, 1918, |
which was the worst on record, shows a |
decrease in net income of $2,226 900 or
Is per cent compared with the wretch
ed showing made for February of 1918
For the IA months OF government OPP
GRAFTON, the deficit which the govern
ment must face is $276,000,000. This
week s preliminary statement by the
railroad administration for March in
dicates n still further increase in the
government deficit.
Why was it that instead of that es-
timated surplus there was q deficit of
; 1902 100000 for 1918, with the month
| ~ deficit for 1919 growing The
D trouble was not with gross. For 1918
| the railroads as whole earned ST.,
5 9l3 100000 or 1868 900 900 more than
I for 1917. That is practically the in
@ crease predicted by Director General
. Hines last May When it comes to ex-
c aiming expenses, however, different re-
G suits are found While gross earnings
n of the railroads increased last year
p 1868, 100000 or 81 per cents bare oper-
h ating expenses increased 81, Jas, 900, 900.
or 80 per cent. Where Director General
= Hines slipped up on his calculating was
r in labor. Immediately after the gen
i eral increase in wages was granted
: claims began to be made for readiust-
I ments. Those claims have continued,
{ with the result that last years in
crease in wages was Nearer $1,000, 600,
9 900 than S300,000000
= Further increases in the railway
y wage scale have been announced in dis
: patches from Washington and there
!
mands by railway employees for higher
= ray will stop there Already, despite
). he 10 per cent horizontal increase III
i Ireight rates granted by the interstate
=. commerce commission at the close OF
- 1917 and early in 1918, followed first by
the ID per cent increase in transeontin
a. entail rates enjoyed by all roads, anc
a. zlext by the general inerease of % pei
n, cent in freight and 80 per cent or NOR,
l. N passenger rates granted by Directo
of General McAdoo in June of list wear
al talk is now being heard Of another in
crease IN rates to stop the monthly
government deficits.
- Is there not some other way OF stop
ping these deficits besides working in ;
vicions circle of wage increases fol
lowed by rate inerease2 In Englan,
wages of railway employees have bee
raised to such high level since 19l
that private capital now absolutely re
fuses to take back the railroads Thu
government ownership is being force,
on an unwilling public. That our pub
lie is not in favor of permanent gov
eminent ownership has already bee
proved TO the satisfaction of all open
minded people Is there not some wa
for us to keep from unwilhngly stumt
ling into the pit that has been dug 70
the English railroads through excessiv
labor costs?
There is. President Wilson could al
nounee in The very near future that tn
railroads were to be returned to pr
yate operation Immediately with til
government guarantee of net income {
continue until, say January /, 1922
That would give congress a chance I
pass desired legislation, and it woul
also give railroad executives an oppo
tunity to get their business back int
regular channels SO long as govern
ment operation continues, politics wi
influence, first, wage increases, an
next, the amount of work which raj
way employees perform.
Under private ownership operatin
expenses would soon be adjusted to II
falling off in traffic For 1913 gro
earnings of the railroads under priva'
ownership dropped off $20S00o,0oo, I
65 per cen., whereas for the same We:
net decreased $75 1925 900 or 8.4 p,
cent. But for 1915, when the uptui
came, gross increased $l52 100000
ISL per cent. whereas net increase
sol1 ,653,000, or 25.5 per cent Ind
private ownership that is always II
way it works out. In times of fallIT
off in business, AZ first expenses declll
very slowly, but invariably the eco
omics which are affected outrun Il
falling off in gross.