706 



RAILWAY 8KB VICE IN Till-: UNITED 8TJI 



much more rapidly than the mileage, ami the tame 

 i< true <>f the cars assigned to the use of the com- 

 panies themselves; so that the total number of 

 cars per 100 miles of line has increased from 594 to 

 Tin- mmilier of freight caw prob- 



ably even greater than the figures in this tab: 



-. owing to the increased use of private cars, 

 which arv not reported. 



The income of the railways has inerca-ed much 

 less than the mileage. Th following table - 

 the earnings from each kind of traffic in the two 

 yean under comparison : 



i tal 



UNI 



17.891 



18.176 



480.448 



UN 



MM 



mjm 



8S.11S 

 1,196,119 



100 MII.K- 



1MB. 



667 

 9 



Expreas.. 



T.-t.-il 



Earning* per mil.- 



$141.1 



LtM, 





NlOBB 



mjOMtt 



IMMBO^M 



6.612 



urn 



196-7 



75-4 



NV.'i 



19 

 111 





Values. The railwavs of tin- country arc capi- 

 talized at about $11.000.000,000, a sum fourteen 

 times as large as the national debt, and more than 

 four times as large as the aggregate indebtedness of 

 our National. State, and local governments. Tin' 

 capitalization has increased more rapidly than mile- 

 age since 1880, the increase being chiefly in bonds, 

 as shown below : 



MI the fact that gross earning from trans- 



t. \\hile tln> amount 



of luisipess increased 1 r, 1 J..T oeot in the case of 



passenger tratlic ami 1 ':'. per cent, in t he case of 

 freight, it i- obvious that there must liav.- been 



during this period a marked reduction <>f charges. 



This conclusion is emi>hasi/ed by observing that, 

 the earning from freight and pMMDgtff traffic in- 

 creased only ?"> per rent., the lai gesof 

 iiicren-e being in the receipts from the <J.. \vrnnient 

 and the express companies, for transportation of 

 the mails and goods sent by 01 i 'in- rate ,,f 

 increase in freight earnings is less than half as 

 much, and in passenger earning only two thu 

 much, as in the volume of the corresponding traf- 

 fic. Both freight and pa-enger rates have fallen, 



There has been a diminution of $1,192 a mil. in 

 the relative amount of railway stock, and a relative 

 diminution also in the floating debt of the rail- 

 roads, but these are more than counterbalanced by 

 the increase of $8,793 a mile in the bonded indebt- 

 edness. This tendency is to soim extent explained 

 by the number of reorganizations in which new 

 bonds of higher par value, tun entitled to a lower 

 rate and aggregate of interest, have been exchanged 

 for those formerly outstanding. There have been 

 also numerous instances of railway consolidations 

 brought about by purchase of stock in one com- 

 pany by an issue 'of bonds in another, and of oon- 

 traction of branch lines wholly upon the proceeds 

 of bonds issued bv the parent company. 



and KarninifH. The increase in the 

 public service performed by the railways has great- 

 ly exceeded the increase in mileage, and in 1895 

 the service performed was equivalent to carrving 

 more than 12.000.000.000 passengers and 85,000.- 

 000.000 tons of freight a distance of one mile. 



the mileage has increased 106 per 

 there has been an increase of 112 per cent, in the 

 volume of th<- passenger business, and of 163 per 

 the freight traffic. This is shown in the 



cent in 



following ta 

 expressed in 



passenger miles and ton miles : 



but the decline has Ix-en much less marked in tin- 

 latter case, probably owing to the expense connect- 

 ed with increased spe.il ami otherwise improved 

 accommodations for travel. The aveniL 



passenger mile in 1880 was 2'51 cents; n 

 cents. The average rate per ton mile in 1880 was 

 1-286 cent; in 1895, 0'839 cent. The downward 

 tendency in rates on both classes of traffic has 

 broken by but few and slight temporary aii^n; 

 tions of the average charges. There was an in- 

 crease in the average passenger rate for 1895 over 

 that for 1894. which is fully explained, not by any 

 actual increase in regular passenger charges but. 

 by a diminished proportion of reduced-rate ti 

 the enormous excursion business occasioned by the 

 Columbian KxpoMtion at Chicago being almost, 

 wholly included in the official year imnie.i 



liiiL'. Notwithstanding this inn. 

 than half a mil 'Hge passenger n-ceip- 



mile were le.-s in I*!*.', than in any previous year 

 except 1894. 



The passenger rates in 1895 were a little more 

 than four fifths, and the freight rates a litt;. 

 than two thirds of t hargM fif- 



i.ef..r--. The yearly saving to the public 

 from'the reduced rates, on the basis of the bu 

 done in 1*!.~>. is $::{.PiT:{.21 in passenger fan - and 



AMOcnrr or TRAFFIC. 



1KKO. 



t esrrtod 



12.HSR.446.271 



112 

 163 



