Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1922-10-20
RAILROADS COIN
BILLIONS AND
PLEAD POVERTY
B, LENI SrENENs I.KMls.

E 20ANN 1AAHAf II NAN AfANRt f-tA8AEA 4
+ lSass not once in % years, has tn
New York Central Railroad Cempan,
failed 20 earn" millions for is stoei
and hondholders.
+ Official recoras show that afte
paying taxes. operating expenses an,
all ether expenses, plus several mil
lions that are neither taxes or op
Grating expenses. the surplus remain
ing on hand for the stock and bond
( holders, that is 10 say rhE CLEAf
+ NIT PROFIT, during the four ealen
+ dar years lai6.iaig were SS2S. .a2e.
/ 99s.oo which averages just Ss2S,
+ 560.e7 for each DAY the sun rose ans
f set, Sa.a2a.Sa an hour night and day
! from December 81. 1918 10 December
81, 1919.
/ In total disregard Of this unim
peaehahle official record, the sum u
/ $is.aoo, 600 was advanced 10 th,
New York Central from the treasuf,
OF the United States early In 1918
which advances flour in numherl
were declared publicly TO be ''in com
penSation for operating losses
When the authorities In Washing
/ ton were asked to explain these re.
markahle advances land the false
petensel Mr.. Rrice Clagett, Assist.
ant General Director of the United
States Railroad Administration. after
one or two vain attempts TO explain
finally terminated the correspondence
with the admission that a satisfactory
explanation was impossible.
The figures, Mr. Clagett declared
were taken from the books of the
railroad administration and that
"every source Of Information hare
in Washington" had been exhausted
and that that WAS "the limit of his In.
formation" lie further suggested
that perhaps Senator Hitchcock could
possibly reflect some light on the
subject.
Senator Kellogg OF Minnesota pub.
licly declared on the floor of the
United States Senate that ut Is per.
feetly evident that unless their net
earnings are increased, a very large
percentage of the railroads, inelud-
ing some of the best, will be In the
hands of a receiver within few
months for inability TO pay their In,
temst and fixed ehrages." See Con
gressional Record December @, 1919.
page 2i7.
The same Senator sounded a SINH
lar alarm two months later. lie then
said; "rhe railroads are going back
into private ownership NOT EARN
ING ENOUGH NOW TO PAY
THEIR OPERATING EXPENSES
AND INTEREST ON THE BONDS,
LACKING 500, 100000 A YEAR"
See Congressional Record page 274g.
February IL, 1920.
Evidently the Senator hadn't taken
pains 10 get his information from
accurate and authentic sources. He
may possibly be surprised when he
learns the truth of the matter.
Here are the figures compiled from
ithe statistics Of railways in ths
United States, pabllshed by the In.
terstate Commerce Commission, the
highest railroad authority In the land
The total income from all sources
Of all American railways during the
four calendar years ioi6-tgiD, was
sufficient 10 pay "the operating ex-
penses and the fixed charges" and
''the interest on the bonds" and the
taxes, and dividends to stockholders"
plus hundreds of millions disposed
Of otherwise, and yet leave a surplus
on hand i'm excess Of TWO BILLION
DOLLARS which was carried for
ward as undivided profit" to be dis
posed of later on, perhaps not alto
gether with scruplous regard 10 the
moral and legal rights Of "the own
ers,' particularly the minority stock
holders.
In other words, according to the
highest railway authority In the land,
the total NET PROFIT during these
four years was not less than $685.
S4d,376. Note particularly the words
mot LESS" AS matter of fact
there appears to be ample grounds
tdata that stands unimpeached and
unimpeachable) for the suspicion that
the profits OF the railroads of the
United States appears TO be SEW
ERAL MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
every year greater than the official
reports indicate.
A careful compilation OF the sew
eral different tables; tables of diff
ferent classes and different sections,
the yearly net profits total up thus.
Profits Of 19f6------..--s1 ,222, 1923, ,b94
Profits of f9l7--------- f,lS7,713,s05
Profits Of i9iS--------- 1856, ,903,09f
Profits of DID 5S6,o03, ,7S0
Total profits 4 years----s5, ,6S2. .s44 ,376
These several billions of profits are
reported To have been distributed as
follows:
To the stockholders, 251a per cent,
namely the sum of 81 ,41S, ,742 ,45S.