New-York tribune., 1919-03-14
Director General Proposes
to Pay Sl83,68l,965 to
M a kers of Equipment
9O-Day Drafts Planned
Method of Clearing Up Sep.
arate Obligation of $l1O,-
100000 Not Decided
Neso Yorh Tribune
Wash inUt0,s Bureau

~ fuS'tTtgtO1I bureau
WASHINGTON, March 13.-Tenta
tive plans for the partial financing
Of the governments debt to the rail
road equipment companies were an
nounccd tonight by Director General
Hines following conference during
the day with representatives of these
concerns.
OF the s2s6,OOO,o0o debt contracted
in 1918 for cars and locomotives to he
delivered during 1919, $1s3, ,681 ,965 will
fall due by June 80, and it is this
amount which the arrangement an
nouneed tonight aims to meet.
According to this scheme, the Di
rector General would permit the equip
ment companies to draw drafts on him
for the amounts due, the drafts to be
accepted by the Director General. The
acceptances would run probably ninety
days. at the expiration Of which time
Congress would presumably be in ex-
tfa session and willing to appropriate
the cash needed to meet these drafts
Meanwhile tha equipment a6nibsRiss
eah discount the drafts 50 accepted,
ENTIRELY apart from this item Is tbt
sum Of s1tt,666,t66, which viii be ew
HFo ne equipment companies duflnf
WY FER locomotives and cars eYdafef
bs. The railroads themselves in 1917
's'vis we ,BvVpfhiHeut tHub HHssHssl 9i
of the rail lines How The railroads
WI hnanee tbs payment Of this obIi
gatlop has not bean announced,
IN announcing the fact that he wa.
considering the plan Of meeting The
railroad administration debt througs
drafts, Mr.. Hines made public a lette
from the Federal Reserve Board ex
pressing the opinion that such drafts
drawn and accepted under the circum
stances outlined above, will be eligible
for rediscount by Federal reserve
banks at the prevailing rates Of dis'
count for trade ncceptances.
Other developments Of the day in
connection with the railroad situation
were:
/. Mr.. Hines announced that while
The question Of meeting the rental OBJ
legations owing the railroads by the
Railroad Administration had not been
finally determined, q conclusion is ex-
pected to be reached within a few
days.
2. The Director General announced
another wage increase--this time tc
approximately 5000 railroad patrolmer
and lleutenants- under which men now
getting from $50 to $11O a month will
be paid from $S5 to $112 a month.
3. In an appeal to striking railroad
clerks in the Southeast to submit THEN
grievances to the Board of Wages and
Working Conditions, Mr.. Hines called
attention to the improvements" in the
wages and working conditions of rail.
road employees during the year of gov
ernment control. "These great improve.
ments," he said, "could not have beer
accomplished except through the estab
llshment of a unified management di-
rected by central administration.
q. The Interstate Commerce Com
mission made public figures of rail
road operating revenues and income
Tor January which confirmed the un-
official figures published in The
Tribune this morning.
Commissions Tabulation
These figures, as stated by the com
mission, follow:
Av.,,ss n,,,.5 s'lo liberated 1918 Amount. P C.
233. .0JJ 233 1873 sf2s sO2
Operating revenues
o s3so7se.5as 1886 $50 3ts Sill AT 1893 80 l
49,. $50, i05.sl5 III 5gi 500 ssoA.22s saS
Net operating revenue
3o.S2o.791 15sa775t a2 s2o7O 1895
Il .5s7 ,oio 17o94sss sso7,s4o .2g
Net operating income
comparable to stand
ard. return guarap
meat iis5sS7o3 '4oo7ii7 ss.sso.sio -
poso d1i5 saso 40
'itofnt
In presenting the above figures tbs
commissioners statement said:
I'm comparing the results shown