Evening star., 1933-04-02
Travel in Hard Times
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

generation and that same restlesSneSs
may, later, when times improve anu
people once again have surplus money,
be translated into increased railway
travel. The urge to move about nKey
will endure and, after this hiatus, ran
way travel will be greater than ever;
Now, aSsuredly. it is at low epo. Inc
reports of the railroads themselves snow
how greatly passenger travel mas IalIen
of but, as the Pullman Co. operates on
all railroads, it furnishes the best pic
ture covering the entire Nation.
The year 1928 was the last year Oh
full prosperity. In that period $500
920 individuals bought either seats or
berths in Pullman cars. This is almost
exactly one-fourth of the entire popuIa-
ton. There is a fraction over four per-
sons in the average American family
So according to these figures, in 1873
one member of every family travelled in
Pullman car. In 1892 this NUMBER
was halved. Only 15,749,5O7 Pullman
passengers were carried.
Those who bought Pullman sleeping
berths in 1928 numbered 21, 1,3lO.89l,
while in 1882 only 1o,l85,4 ,444 were
counted. In 1928 there were l2,6l3,OZS
Pullman seats occupied for dayhght
rides, but in 1882 this number mad
dwindled to only 5,564.063 1t Will De
in the number Of Pullman seats than
in Pullman berths. This indicates that
| travellers, normally accustomed TO rlde
in chair cars or other Pullman accom-
modations, contented themselves with
railroad day coaches last year.
Great Investment in Service.
In this situation, the Pullman Co.
| lost money for the first time in some 65
years. 1t is interesting to note that
the average revenue received per pas
senger rose during the depressed years.
In 1928 the average paid by the MIL
| lions who rode on PullmanS was 81 AZ.
In 1882 it was S281. This was not
due to any increase in rates; there nad
actually been a decrease. 1t was due
to the fact that passengers did not take
Pullmans except for long trips where
sleeping accommodations had to be pro-
vided. When these increased collec-
tions from each person are Translated
into net revenue per passenger or the
amount made by the company, 1t ap-
pears that all profit disappeared. While
in 1928 the company had earned
profit of 80 cents on every passenger
carried, in 1882 it lost cents, and
cents multiplied by millions counts up.
The railroad business and its various
branches operate on fairly narrow
margin in the best of times. When one
4 sees Pullman palace car about block
long, sees its rich appointments, It's
careful service, and the ponderouS steel
construction of the steel frame, the
wheel trucks, the vestibules, the compli-
Gated air-brakes, and realizes that it is
hauled over hill and dale, marshland
and river and by night becomes ho-
tel, where two or three dozen people
sleep, the idea is likely to be engendered
that great deal of money must ac-
crue to the operators AS a matter of
fact, in the most prosperous times,
Pullman car pays profit Of only from
$3.50 to $3.50 a day.
A Pullman car travels an average Of
365 miles a day in prosperous time;
last year the cars Travelled 384 miles
as it was necessary to get the utmost
out of them, but the number operated
q, dropped from 1851 in 1928, to 5,693,
and those were often more than half
empty
Quite a number of stories are still
told in Pullman smoking compartments
and not few relate to this aspect OF
the times.