Show THE COUNTRY'S RAILROADS Poors Poor's Manual for the tho year is out This is the fortieth Among its maze malC of r figures some palpable facts are made plain The passengers carried for the year car numbered a gain over oyer th the tho 1 preceding pre pre- preceding ceding year ear of 1103 74 the total tons of freight I moved mo aggregated 16 a gain over o the I preY previous year rear of tons The passenger fare averaged ce cents ts per mile the freight rate per ton averaged 76 6 cent During the past seven years reul'S th the mileage ha has increased by br or I per pcr cent and in the same time there was added 2 22 per cent to outstanding stocks ar and d per pcr cent to their funded debts Gro Gross s earnings increased 56 per cent Locomotives increased and other I cars increased eased There was as a gain of 45 7 21 n per pel cent in the interest t paid on the bonds and there was a gain of or per cent in dividends The figures ought to make the most ardent champion champion champion cham cham- pion of government ownership hip of railroads recoil for when a I single industry becomes in direct strength almost as great as the government itself it does docs does not require mulch much imagination to grasp what might happen were this power conferred upon an ant ambitious ambitions and unscrupulous man The life of the business busine 5 of the country rests in its railroads Wo Ye do not believe in government control control control con con- but do believe that the government should be bea a stockholder in all the great roads al and d be represented represented in their management |