Evening journal., 1919-10-22
Wide Railway Wreckage Unless the
Government Saves the Roads
tho nNeru YnrkS Sunl
lFrom The New York SUM-

/ Northern PaelAc's 100000 against
si,i7O,OOO.
II you want TO take a railroad cele-
brated for its trouble, Erie, with more
] than s66,OO0OO0 Of gross in 1915. aver
aged net earnings close TO 100000 a
month. With S5s,0OO0OO of gross in
the first eight months this year Erie's
net has averaged $4,000
/ II YOU want TO take another. once q
child Of fortune. now in poverty, New
| Haven, with S76.0OOOOO Of gross IN 1916.
averaged more than S2OO0O0O a month
net. With sG6,0O0000 Of gross in the
/ 0rst eight months of 1919, The average
net is S6jOO00 o month
II you want 10 take q great trans
continental system gone behind sud-
den cloud. Chicago. Milwaukee and St.
Paul, with SiU6,OO0000 Of gross in 1916
averaged net Of more than s3O00.OOG
month. For the first eight months
this year -. Paul with S95,000OOO Of
gross, has averaged net Of Si5O,0OO a
month.
If YOU want TO take two marvellous
earncrs in recent history, Union Pacific,
with SlOjO00,O00 Of gross in 1916, had
a net Of Si60OOOOO-a monthly average
Of nearly S39O0O0O. With a gross OF
s690OOOOO in the first eight months OF
1919. the Union Pacific has averaged a
net of S26OO0O0 a month Southern
Pacific. with a gross Of Sl52, 2,69i22S in
1916. have an average net Of some
SI.5S00OO a month. Southern Paclc's
gross Of SiO5,OO0OOO for the first eight
months Of 1919 has given an average
net Of S2,03j000 a month.
Then take the giants Of American
Of all transportation. New York Cen
tral did a gross Of 5000, 100000 i'm 1916,
with a net Of S76,000,000, averaging
about s6.36j,00O a month. With $500
100000 gross for the first eight months
Of this year, the. net is $4,000 0,000-an
average a month Of about S3,S00,00O.
Pennsylvania in 1916 had a gross Of
220,000000, a net Of about S6j000,O00
and a monthly average Of about $500
600. This year, with a gross for the
eight months Of S2i6,0OO0O0, the net is
sll,953OOO-an average Of about si,s70.-
900. In round numbers. quarter Of
a billion Of dollars Of business done i'm
two-thrds Of a year. A business Of
81 100000 a day. And a net at the rate
OF a little more than S22OOO0OO a year
to pay everything after operating eX-
penses-tO pay interest on and cut
down the principal Of hundreds Of mil
lions Of dollars Of debt, to pay diyi-
dends on SJOO,0O0,00O Of stock. to keep
up, to protect, TO provide for the future
of a railway property which has in il
more than a billion Of dollars of in
vestment, with more than 100000 direct
and hundreds Of thousands
Of indirect security holders through
savings bank depositOrs and life insur-
ance policy holders.
II between now and December 1 the
United states Government turns the
railroads back to their owners with no
relief from the stupendous plight into
which they have been dragged by Gov
ernment operation. the crash Of bank
ruptcy will resound around the globe;
for down with the American railway
system will go American industry.
American business and American bread
and butter. Without the American
railway system at its very best, inc
place of its worst Of today this nation
cannot stand up in the world arena OF
production and distribution. In the
battle for economic supremacy the
American people cannot hold their
own. The American people. in truth
as civilization has known them in the
last half century cannot survive.