Show THE RELATION OF RAILROAD RATES TO GENERAL BUSINESS T to 0 the business man no matter how objectionable an advance in freight rates may be to us personally we must recognize that an improvement in general business is dependent on a betterment of operating and financial conditions of the railroads that the operating results are most unsatisfactory is readily seen uy by the latest interstate INTER STATE COMMERCE commission reports which show that for the nine months ended april 1910 eleven railroad systems all west and north of a line drawn f from rom chicago to st louis compared with the same roads for the same period in the previous year had their gross earnings increased about while their not net earnings earning s showed a decrease creasa of and for the month or of march on the same comparison they show an increase of in gross and a decrease of in not net earnings attention is c called to the fact that the wage increases except a small amount were ivere not in force during this period and from now on these will greatly increase the operating cost these same railroads 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 may he be considered representative of general railroad conditions 4 during the past three years of poor business railroad expenditures for if maintain ance were necessarily at the lowest point and in consequence their motive power equipment and tracks now demand a greater proportion of operating expense no to 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 condit condition top because all prod 1 acts are v valuable in the ratio with which their accessibility to the con f suming market it Is most important to the shipper v that railroads at all times are fully f equipped to take care of an increase of his business the first eleb 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 bermit permitted ted them to even maintain their then position if the then volume of business were to come back supple stipple dented by the three years growth of the country in the interval transports tion would be para paralyzed ayad and what would that cost the shipper compared with a reasonable advance in freight rates now such an advance would provide the means for avoiding this impending disaster the iron horse needs to be kept in good condition for the same reason as the living horse used for transportation the teamster knows that if his horse is not well shod well groomed and well fed and his harness and wagon kept in good repair that all he will save on such economy will 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 saine with the railroads the Ei shipper hipper has a right to demand that transportation be ample and efficient the success of his business and the development of the country are dependent on it the investor to do this the railroad must show adequate returns to maintain proper borrowing credit and present a promising source of investment to procure the necessary funds to improve and develop the property as needed it is neither the railroad president nor the shipper 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 the needs ol of the shipper or the country may bo be with fill all the increasing cost of operation era bra tion tinn sul plemontee plemon ted by ever in e creasing and burdensome legislative restrictions restrict iona concerning their earnings in face of the fact that the average dividend rate on railroads was lesu leso than per cent for the past six years and the united states supreme court in the case of the consolidated G gas as company stated that 16 6 per cent was a fair return on money invested in public utilities with the average freight rate in 1909 of three quarters of a cent per ton per mile the lowest in nine years the il average passenger gei rate por per mile one and nine tenths cents the lowest ever reached is it any wonder that the investor holds hack back and the bankers demand high interest rates from the railroads the railroads need to put their lines in proper condition and to increase their terminal facilities at all points that are aae even now a necessity and more for modern new motive power and equipment to move their freight with promptness and economy where can they get the money only by increased earnings from advanced va n c ed rates and by so doing better their credit by attracting the dollars that are now going to other more attractive but less productive investments what will the advance cost the ultimate consumer poors biays the average haul of all freight in 1908 was miles the average rate in 1909 was three fou fourths of a cent per ton per mile the average total rate for the average total haul assuming it to be the same as 1908 would be per ton an advance of 10 on this rate would increase the cost TO 10 cents per ton or 1200 1 of a cent per pound an advance of 10 on the present specific rates would increase the cost of pounds dressed beef in now new york shipped from chicago cents pounds canned fish in st louis shipped from maine 1 8 10 cents pounds hour flour in new york from minneapolis 2 cents a suit of clothes in chicago from boston 12 cent tho the 1 same for a womans comans suit on a mans outfit coat trousers shoes and hat now new england to mississippi valley not to exceed 1 cent the ultimate consumer can multiply these illustrations indefinitely the manufacturer jobber and retailer could easily absorb this slight advance because if his bis business increased but one unit that would more than pay the increased cost on one hundred units railroad not net earnings thus increased the railroads would have a ready market for their securities and with the money thus obtained again start all the business and industries now comparatively ively idle that are directly or indirectly dependent on their property the working men would be fully employed their families would again purchase freely and that means good business for everyone there are railroad employees plo it t takes akes men to supply what the railroads need and a vast number of men are employed in sup plying the personal needs of the above men and their families representing people every kind of business is dependent in some measure on railroad prosperity high cost of living if it had not been for the encourage encouragement ment given railroad investors in the past where would we have been today to day for our food supply they opened up thousands of miles of undeveloped and unproductive land and yet our food is high because of lack of supply our consumption is increasing faster than our food production if the railroad investor stops as ho 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 therefore the ultimate consumer and the state and national governments should be interested in developing land that will produce bountiful food products half of the country west of the mississippi sis sippi is not used and will not be until covered with railroads who would want to build roads in unproductive lands when those in cultivated country will barely pay the lowest rate of interest and the owners and managers are being harassed and maligned as in no other business this condition will only improve when the business s man realizes that the investor does not provide the source of his own investments he waits for you to do that in some do desirable form by your individually letting things drift and doing nothing your out legislator with no business experience peri ence once hearing no advice and receiving rio no direct information which he gladly would from you quite likely you do not even know his name listens to the only voices heard the agitator or the aggressive shipper whose views of thea tha business world are obtained by looking out of the small hole of a funnel directed at his own i plant unconscious of othor other conditions condition s of far more importance to his own bustness business than the freight rates such stich men as these by their vociferous vigor have stirred up a popular anti corpora tion agitation that has cowed all 1 parties at and they are so seared scared of being charged as owne owned d or bought that alt all questions of principle equity or the general good are ignored the rail road man draws his salary whether the road pays or not ho he does not own it if he does say anything he is sat upon the stockholders stock holders as a body ar are e defenseless you are the sufferer and the only one who would be listened to will you not study your own interests find out your legislators name and tell him the real situation otherwise we must wait until grim necessity starves out the present anti ra rail road fever june 6 1910 T A GRIFFIN advertise Adv advertisement ortise merti |