THE DECLINE IN RAILWAY CHARGES. 



191 



of detail would be unnecessarily confusing, it is important to 

 endeavor to discover some means for measuring at least with 

 approximate accuracy the aggregate public saving by means of 

 reduced charges for railway transportation. Fortunately, we 

 have such a means which may be made highly satisfactory so far, 

 at least, as relates to the last decade. The entire transportation 

 performed by the railways of the United States during the ten 

 years ending on June 30, 1893, was equal to moving 113,170,723,- 

 026 passengers and 681,500,465,282 tons of freight one mile ; and 

 had the average rates of 1883 been maintained upon this aggre- 

 gate, the public would have paid $251,981,813 for passenger and 

 $1,797,078,221 for freight transportation more than was actually 

 received by the railways. The total sum gained by the public by 

 means of reduced charges was therefore $2,049,060,034, an amount 

 equal to one fifth of the present aggregate railway capital, and 

 almost exactly equal to the entire revenue the United States Gov- 

 ernment derived from customs duties during the same period. 



The effect of the decline in the amounts received for similar 

 railway service upon railway revenues can not be neglected by in- 

 telligent students of transportation. The following comparisons 

 between the years 1871, 1882, and 1893 are therefore presented : 



Capitalization stock and bonds 



Gross earnings 



Operating expeuses 



Net earnings 



Freight earnings 



Passenger earnings 



Dividends 



PER MILE OF LINE OPERATED. 



From the .foregoing it is seen that the average railway capi- 

 talization has changed but little. Gross earnings per mile de- 

 creased during the first half of the period, but have remained 

 without material change during the last ; or, in other words, the 

 increased traffic has so far balanced the decrease in charges that 

 the average gross revenue has not changed. Operating expenses 

 have increased during the last eleven years, though during the 

 period from 1871 to 1882 they showed a decline. The explanation 

 is, that during the first period increased density of traffic per- 

 mitted economies in conducting transportation which had the 

 effect of reducing the average cost to the carriers. It would 

 appear, however, that a point was reached beyond which the in- 

 stitution of new economies could not keep pace with increased 

 traffic at low rates, and that this had its natural effect in the sec- 

 ond period. This explanation gains force when the constant de- 

 crease in average net earnings per mile is noted. Average freight 



