Show THE RELATION OF RAILROAD RATES TO GENERAL BUSINESS to the business man no matter te r how objectionable an advance in freight fi eight rates may be to us personally we must recognize that an improvement in general business is dependent ton on a betterment ot of operating and financial conditions of the railroads rall roada that the operating results are ara most moat unsatisfactory Is readily seen by the latest interstate INTER STATE COMMERCE commission reports which show that for or theline the nine months ended april let lat 1910 eleven railroad systems all west and north of a line drawn from chicago to st louis compared with the same roads roada tor for the same period in tho the previous year had their gross earnings increased about while their net earnings showed a decrease of and for the month of march on the same comparison son they show an increase of in gross and a decrease of in net earnings attention Is called to the tact fact that the wage increases except a small amount were not in force during this period and from now on these will greatly increase the operating cost these same railroads roads had their taxes increased over the previous year or 14 and have to pay higher rates of interest on their loans these roads covering the most prosperous part of the country roay may bo be considered representative of general railroad conditions during the past three years of poor business railroad expenditures for maintain ance were necessarily at the lowest point and in consequence their motive power equipment and tracks now riba demand a greater proportion of operating expense no provision has been or Is being made for the growing demands of the country and as transportation por tation Is the backbone of business its weakness or inefficiency cripples every other condition because all products are valuable in the ratio with which their accessibility to tha consuming market it la Is most important to the shipper that railroads at all times lire are fully equipped to tako take care of an increase of his business the first eight months of 1907 demonstrated that the railroads could not handle the business then offered with any degree of satisfaction the financial conditions since have not permitted them to even maintain their then position if the then volume koluma of business were to come back supplemented by the three years growth of the country in the interval transportation would be paralyzed and what that cost the shipper compared v uh a reasonable advance in freight artes anies now such stich in an advance would tho the means for avoiding this impending disaster the needs to be kept in good condition tor for tho the same reason as the living boree used for transportation the teamster knows that it if his bis horse is 13 not well ivell shod well groomed and well fed and his harness and wagon kept in good repair that all he will savo save on such economy will bo be many times wasted in the efficiency of his transportation por tation and also add great expense to the shipper it Is exactly the same with the railroads the shipper has a right to demand that transportation be ba ample and effic efficient tent the success of his business and the development of the country are aie dependent on it thi the investor to do this the railroad must show adequate returns to maintain proper borrowing credit and present a promising source of investment ment to procure the necessary funds to improve and develop the property as needed it la is neither the railroad president nor the shipper chipper that controls the situation it Is the investor alone who holds the key without his dollar the railroad cannot extend or improve no matter how great ane needs of the shipper or the country I 1 may be with all the increasing cost of operation era tion supplemented by ever increasing and burdensome legislative restrictions concerning their earnings in face of the fact that the average dividend rate on railroads was less than 3 per cent for the past six biars and the united states supreme court in the he case of the consolidated gas company stated that IT 6 per cent was waa a fair return on money invested in public utilities with the average freight rate in 1909 of three quarters of ia 1 a cent per ton per mile the lowest in nine years the average passenger rate per mile one and nine tenths cents the lowest ever reached Is it any wonder that the investor holds back and the bankers demand high interest rates from the railroads the Therall railroads roads need to put their lines in proper condition and to increase their terminal facilities at all points that are even now a necessity and more for modern new motive power and equipment to move their freight with promptness and econ omy where can they got the money T only by increased earnings froni from ad danced rates and by so BO doing better their credit by attracting the dollars that are now going to other more attractive but bilt less productive in vestments what will the advance cost tho the ultimate consumer poors manual says the average haul of all freight in laos was miles the average rate in 1909 1900 was three fourths of a cent per pei ton per mile the average total rate for the aver age total haul assuming it to be the same as 1908 would be LOG per ton an advance of 10 on this rate would increase the cost coat 10 cents per ton or 1200 1 JOO of a cent per pound an ad vanco vance of 10 on the present specific rates would Inc increase Fease the cost of I 1 pounds dressed beet beef in new york shipped from chicago 4 cents 1 pounds canned fish in st i louis shipped from maine blaine 1 8 10 cents pounds flour lit in new york from alin despoils nea polls 2 cents a suit ot of clothes in chicago from boston cent the same fora for tor a womans comans suit on a mans outfit coat trousers shoes and hat new england to mississippi valley not to exceed 1 cent th the ultimate consumer can multiply these illustrations ll indefinitely the manufacturer jobber and retailer could easily absorb this slight advance because if his business increased but one unit that would more than pay the increased cost coat on one hundred units railroad net earnings thus increased increase the railroads would have a ready mar ket for their securities and with the money thus obtained again start all the business and industries now corn com ively idle that are directly or in directly dependent on an their property pio perty the working men would be fully employ fid their families would again pur chase freely and that means good business for everyone there are railroad lall road em tt it takes 2500 men to supply up what the railroads need and a vast number of men are employed in supplying the personal needs of the above 4 men and their families rep resenting people every kind of business Is dependent in some measure on railroad prosperity high cost of living it if it had not been for the encouragement given railroad investors in the past where would we have been today tor for our food supply they opened up thousands of miles of undeveloped aud and unproductive land and yet our food la is high because of lack of supply our consumption Is in creasing faster than our food prodoc oon lion if the railroad investor stops as he now has there will be an advance in food rates soon that will be far greater than increased freight rates high food means high labor and high labor means high everything there fore fare the ultimate consumer and the state and national governments oh should duld be interested in developing land that will produce bountiful food products halt of at the country west of the mis alls sis sippi Is not used and will not be until covered with railroads who would want to build roads in five lands when those in cultivated country will barely pay the lowest rate of interest and the owners and man agers are being harassed and maligned as in no other business this condition will only improve when the business man realizes that the investor does not provide the source of his own investments he waits for you to do that in some de form by your individually let ting things drift ind and doing nothing your legislator with no business ex per lence hearing no advice and ing no direct information which he gladly would from you quite likely you do not even know his name lis tens to the only voices heard the aal or the aggressive shipper chipper whose views of the business world are ob bained by looking out of the small hole of at a funnel directed at his own plant unconscious of other conditions of far more importance to his own bit business siness than the freight rates such men as these bv their vociferous vigor have stirred ula uia popular antl and corpora tion agitation that has cowed all par ties and they nie are so seared scared of being charged as owned or bought that all questions of principle equity or the general good are ignored the flie rail road man draws hs his salary whether the road pays or not he be does not own it if he does say anything ho he Is sat upon the stockholders stock holders as a body are defenseless you are the sufferer arid and the only one who would be listened to will you not study your own later inter ests eats find out your legislators name and tell him the real situation other wise we must wait until grim feces sity starves out the present antl anti rall rail road fever june 6 1910 T A GRIFFIN advertisement |