Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1923-05-25
APPARENTLY
FIGURES DO LIE
SOMETIMES

The charter Of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company Mas granted April
Is, ls46.
As write these lines booklet per.
tanning 10 the first 20 years history
Of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com.
\ pany PRINTED FOR PRIVATE
II CIRCULATION By STRONG STIR.
4 GlS 4 COMPANY. OF NEW NoRk,"
lies before me.
Like other literature printed by
those in control of the highways Of
the United States. this booklet Is we'll
/ calculated to deceive. For instance
speaking of the transportation bust
ness In general. il declares that iii
/ private capital shall CONTINUE 90
| be attracted into railroad enterprise,
I the railroads must be PERMITTED
1 10 earn revenues which will pay a
satisfactory return. Otherwise eapi-
tai will 10 into other forms Of in.
vestment.
Considering THE lNnlSPuTARLE
FACT that capital has been per.
mitted" TO realize from the business
of steam transportation considerably
more than 100 per cent profit per
annum. II becomes pertinent 20 en-
quire what "other forms OF invest
ment' promise returns more "sa,is,
| factory"
| The booklet referred 10 Is dated
April Is, 1916. OF course IL is I'm
/ possible 10 learn from il exactly how
much the profit of the Pennsylvania
is at present, or has been In the past,
but abundant evidence is at hand that
! II has been so great, that IL should
| be at least, quite. satisfactory"
Just two quotations from the afore-
said remarkable booklet printed for
private circulation"
Pennsylvania stock Is not specu-
lation--it Ii an investment. A story
Is told to illustrate this point. A
wealthy old man lay dying and he
called his sons and divided among
them his various stocks and bonds.
II was noticed however that he tucked
bundle of Pennsylvania shares un-
der his pillow. and those gathered
about him asked what he meant TO
do with these shares. Keep them,
my boys he replied, "Pennsylvania
shares are negotiable everywhere
Speaking of the pqrofits for 1915
the booklet declares that Thus the
income for the year latter interest
d
604, ,93l in dividends, had been banked
by fthe ownersD was sufficient to
pay interest on the funded obligations
nearly three times over"
I'm the three calendar years 1914
1916, the Pennsylvania Railroad tax
ing into account every affiliated COM
| pany both east and west of Pitts
burgh, operated UPWARD Of Nine
| Million trains carrying both freight
and passengers; two-ffths Of which
were passenger trains and three-fifths
freight TRAINS and its ponderous
locomotives haul. not inffequently, 80
to 100 loaded cars to the train; cars
that carry 55 tons Of coal 1000 bush
els of grain or $4,000 pounds Of mer-
chapdise. In this period 5b3 800. .063
Passengers. equsl TO five and one-half
times the. population Of the United
States. we're carried total distance
of approximately FIFTEEN Bill
LION MILES or $50 times the dis
tance from the earth to the moon"
Since 1916 the increase Of traffic
over all the lines of the Pennsylvania
system has been enormous as usual
Recently the corporation has boasted
that NOW il requires 10000 trains
every 30 days to handle its ever in
creasing passenger traffic which In.
dicates that nearly or quite FOUR
MILLION TRAINS A YEAR are nee
essary at the present time TO handle
| the tremendous business carried on IN
the twelve states in which the tracks
Of the Pennsylvania lay and where
so million people are domiciled.
The writer has prepared for pub
lication safe and conservative cal
culation, too much in detail however
for space at command on this occa-
sion, Indicating that the profits Of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company from
ONLY ONE SOURCE OF REVE.
NUE., namely, the freight traffic. eX
ceeds 100 million dollars every 30
days, or more than ONE BILLION
AND TWO HUNDRED MILLION
dollars in twelve months.
Nevertheless. official reports tell
very different story.
In 1920, the latest year for which
complete reports are accessible 10 the
! public, the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company REPORTS A HEAVY LOSS
! from its rail operations"
With a net income In 1915 suifi-
cent to pay interest on It's funded
indebtedness nearly three times over"
| scores of millions Of profit; with
the natural neyer-failing increase In
the volume of traffic, the increase
| accrued in five years; with an increase
of fifty per cent in passenger rates IN
| 1918 and a very generous advance In
freight rates in 1920, which latter
year was "the peak year" Of railway
revenue up to that time (revenue
from rail operations) regardless OF all
this, the Pennsylvania REPORTS
| OFFICIALLY that its transportation
revenue FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
| IT'S n YEARS OF CORPORATE
EXISTENCE, was LESS in 1920 than
its taxes and expense Of operation
| and less by the very considerable sum
Of THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS.
| What can be the exclamation