OCR Text |
Show Railroads Must Make a Profit Railroads, if they are to continue to function as an essential national business, must be permitted to make a reasonable profit and to make a profit it is necessary that freight rates be raised, according to officials of all local lines. As a result of the depression period per-iod the railroads now find Prices of the things which railroads rail-roads buy have gone up, approximately approxi-mately 40 per cent; Taxes have increased, approximately approxi-mately 25 per cent; Wages have risen, approximately 18 per cent; While the level of freight rates has gone down about 10 per cent and passenger fares about 18 per cent. Today they find the margin between be-tween income and outgo is so thin as to create a railroad crisis a crisis which is of vital concern to agriculture, agricul-ture, industry, every business, all of us. The proposed 15 per cent raise on freight rates and the 2 and 3 cent per mile passenger rate seems only just and equitable if our railroads are to continue to give us the present pres-ent service. |