New-York tribune., 1921-05-29
Burlill eton
Makes Good
In Bad Year
Earnings Ample to Have
Paid Interest Charges on
$3.50, 600, 600 Bond s
To Be Issued Soon
Sill Developing Railway
Maintenance Charges Are
Increased; Loading of
Trains Has Improved

4AS 1AAt tAAAE tO43 tdEueQ an GOulIi
above the $14.950 900 interest require
ments on the new Northern Pacific
Great Northern bonds, secured by it,
stock Of over So 500 ,0G0 in 1920.
The operation Of the 9,271 miles OF
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
resulted in . net railway operating in.
come, after taxes and rents of $t2.q7S.
600 interest charges called for S7,T83,
Q00, Incorporating income brought In
Sl9,1 5000, making a total available
for dividends on the $4,000 OOO n,
stock of $24.67t.00o. Nearly all Of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy stock is
/ depoSUed under the new Northern
+ Faclhc- Great Northern Joint Gl2 pel
cena bonds. The interest. on these
bonds calls for $14,950,000
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
/ comes as near being immune from ad
; verse railroad conditions as any larrf
road IN the United States, because II
/ mas one of the best organizations founc
. on American railroads, because its
+ geographical position gives it a great
/ 4o,lNer$lty of traffic and finally. because
the plant itself, as we'll as the orpani
zatlou, has been developed over 1ono
Series OF Years to permit Of scientific
4 raiiroad operation without mechanical
railroad operation.
/ The organization is extensive and
I WhlIe 1t covers more miles of railroad
than the Pennsylvania, unlike the Penn
SyIYama. 1t is quite flexible. This is
Oh great Importance when a sudden
change OF currents of traffic of work
ing conditions and of relations with
other roads takes place such as that
mat occurred in 1917.
The Burlington emerged from Fed
eraI operations in good physical shane
although its cars were widely Scatterod
( axe those of all other roads. and were
/ m e%traordlnary bad repair In 1920
the burlington spent $42. .367 600 for
malhtenance OF CQuipment. an increase
i Of $9,946 600 over 1919
ne burlington appropriated $40
-o5,u0o tor maintenance of way opG
structures in 1920 as compared wifi
~ '46S,Qoo. The Burlington had less
detefreo maintenance of way to take
up IMAM most roads, and considerable
less than the eastern roads. Annar-
emily, however, the management ~, b5s
been liberal in this respect In fact
there is no evidence in tn 1920 an
nual rport of window dressinc. for. tbe
9Z3OD0o.0O0 sale of Northern Pacifc-
Great Northern 6i2s, which are BEING
used to refund the joint bonds bore-
totore outstanding secured by n d.
post Of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
STOCK.
The total funded debt Of the Chi
cago, Burlington & Quincy is equaI "a
only $4,000 mile Of road owned.
/ ne par value OF the stock is equal
to an additional $4,000 per mile ONLY
1t is not entirely possible to ~
PLAIN the difference in showing be
tween such road as the BURLINGTON
ana such road as the Chicago. Rock
Island Pacific, except in quite gen
efla terms. Ih Burlington was oriri-
naIIy laid out through Granger coun-
Try win apparently no greater oppor-
tunltles for development than anv
other Granger road. Events so shaped
JhemseiVs, however, that the cities
through which the Burlington ran
became the chief industrial centers of
lne est west Of Chicago, and east
OF the Rocky Mountains. The Burling-
ton first got the advantages of the
growth of Iowa, then of Kansas. then
0l Nebraska and in recent years the
great development of Eastern Colorado.
In 1920 the total tonnage of all
classes Of freight carried was 47,233.-
600. OF this total 43 per cent was
tonnage of products of mines, of which
oy Tar the most important commodity
was bltuminous coal This alone fur
nlshed 34.59 per cent of the total tom
mage. Coal loads heavily, meaning
that 1t IS possible to get large tom
mage of revenue freight with mini
mum OF tonnage of equipment neces
sary to contain the freight. Thus. al
though the Burlington is ranked as a
Granger road, the average ton miles of
revenue freight per train were 655 in
1870, an increase Of nearly thirty-fOur
tons over the previous year. The aver
age loading OF revenue freight loaded
car was 24.86, as compared with 2260
IN 1919. The Burlington, Furthermore.
gets a long haul on its freight, an
average Of 299 miles in 1920. This
means a minimum Of terminal service
tor each ton of freight, and therefore
q maximum of profit.
Next in Importance to the tonnage Of
coal and ores is manufactures and mis-
cellaneous commodities. This class of
freight furnished 1922 per cent of the
total tonnage. Products of agriculture
are close third, with 1907 per cent
OF the total tonnage Another factor
IN the Burington's favor is the fact
that Of the total tonnage carried by the
road over 32,000,000 tons or more than
threequarters. is freight originating
on the road itself. This fact works
for better division Of through rates
to the Burlington than would be the
case were it merely bridge for traffic
originated by other roads or a dis
tributor Of traffic originated by other
roads.
The average revenue per ton per
mile in 1920 was 9.3 mills, an increase
over the previous year of 3.33 per cent,
The actual working out of increasing
train load is shown by the increase in
revenue per freight train mile With
an increase of only 3.33 per cent in
revenue per ton mile, there was an in
crease of 9.71 per cent in revenue per
freight train mile. The ton mile is
the measure Of revenue, but the
freight train mile is the measure of
expenses With heavier train load
there is a slight increase in the cost
of fuel perhaps. no increase in the
wages of train men, and no increase
IN the wages of engine men These
are the big items in transportation ex-
penses.
The Burlington is comparable to the
Lake Shore & Michiagn Southern be-
fore it was merged with the New York
Central, in the policy which the man
agement has consistently pursued of
proving the property from current in
come. The Northern Pacific and Great
Northern which Jointly control the
Burlington and which received divi- (
dehds declared by the Burlington have
instead Of transferring surplus earn
ings of the Burlington into their own
treasury put these earnings over and
above the dividends required 10 nav