| Show Railroad Commissioner Taylors Deport WASHINGTON Oct 3The third annual report of Commissioner Taylor was handed to the secretary of the interior today The report says of the railroad situation hat for the past year there has been an i ncroaso in gross receipts but a falling off i n net earnings owing to increased compe titian The netearnings of roads indebted to the government show a slight decrease over last year the roads paying into the treasury each all that year the law re quires them to pay Full detailed statements state-ments are given showing tho financial con Ition of the companies cross and net earnings give requirements amounts paid in and total amount of the government debt These statements show the total gross receipts of the bonded roads for the year for which settlements were made were 23045000 net earnings 0059000 government requirement 1740000 paid in 1010000 The total debts of the bonded roads up to December 31 1SUO mounted to 112513000 The increase in the debts of the bonded roads is not owing to the failure of the companies to comply with the laws They pay yearly all the law requires them to The trouble is in pay the percentages required re-quired by law to bo paid They do not create a sum equal to the interest the government gov-ernment has to pay on subsidy bonds The commissioner endorses the policy of the Union Pacific in aiding the construction of branch lines which shall be tributary to the main line He says Were it not for hose feeders the Union Pacific would yield no net earnings whatever and the property would not be worth tho amount of its first mortgage bonds The commissioner urges very strongly ned at considerable length the great necessity neces-sity of some action being taken looking to settlement between the bonded roads and the government Regarding this be says I have little doubt of the ability of the principal bonded roads to eventually meet all their obligations to the government but the sum of these debts is apparently be yound the possibility of payment in money at their maturity Some plan of refunding must be devised in order to give them time The course of the government should be that which any practical business man would pursue with a private debtor in a similar s tuation The commissioner recommends the appointment ap-pointment of a commission of not over three members to be persons in the government gov-ernment employ to consider the situation confer with the railroad companies and report re-port their conclusions to Congress if such adjustment could be agreed upon as would secure to the government the moneys due it and not seriously affect the business and credit of the railroads or burden traffic and hinder the development of sections tributary tribu-tary to them and greater public good would be accomplished surely the magitudo of the interests involved in tbis controversy may well command the early attention of Congress |
