Page images
PDF
EPUB

the year was $221,941,049, being equivalent to 6.09 per cent on dividend-paying stock. For the year ending June 30, 1903, the amount of dividends declared was $196,728,176. Of the total amount of stock outstanding, 5.80 per cent paid from 1 to 4 per cent; 14.65 per cent from 4 to 5 per cent; 10.64 per cent from 5 to 6 per cent; 8.50 per cent from 6 to 7 per cent, and 9.80 per cent from 7 to 8 per cent. The amount of funded debt (omitting equipment trust obligations) that paid no interest was $300,894,215, or 4.49 per cent. Of mortgage bonds, $175,817,862, or 3.06 per cent; of miscellaneous obligations, $61,048,625, or 8.44 per cent; and of income bonds, $64,027,728, or 27.85 per cent, paid no interest.

Of the total amount of railway stock outstanding, railway corporations reported the ownership of $1,942,858,359. They also reported the ownership of $558,472,242 railway bonds.

PUBLIC SERVICE OF RAILWAYS.

The number of passengers reported as carried by the railways in the year ending June 30, 1904, was 715,419,682, or 20,528,147 more than in the year 1903. The passenger-mileage, or the number of passengers carried 1 mile, was 21,923,213,536, showing an increase of 1,007,449,655.

The number of tons of freight reported as carried (including freight received from connecting roads and other carriers) was 1,309,899,165, which exceeds the tonnage of the previous year by 5,504,842 tons. The ton-mileage, or the number of tons carried 1 mile, was 174,522,089,577, the increase being 1,300,810,584. The number of tons carried 1 mile per mile of line was 829,476, thus indicating a decrease in the density of freight traffic of 25,966 ton-miles per mile of line.

The average revenue per passenger per mile for the year ending June 20, 1904, was 2.006 cents, the average for the preceding year being the same. The average revenue per ton per mile was 0.780 cent. This average for the preceding year was 0.763 cent. Earnings per train-mile showed an increase for passenger, but a decrease for freight trains. The average cost of running a train 1 mile apparently increased between 4 and 5 cents. The ratio of operating expenses to earnings, 67.79 per cent, also increased somewhat in comparison with the preceding year, when it was 66.16 per cent.

The report includes a summary of freight traffic, classified on the basis of a commodity classification embracing some 38 items.

EARNINGS AND EXPENSES.

The gross earnings of the railways in the United States from their operation of 212,243.20 miles of line, for the year ending June 30, 1904, were $1,975,174,091, or $74,327,184 more than for the year 1903. Their operating expenses were $1,338,896,253, or $81,357,401 more.

In the following figures gross earnings are given in detail, with the increase of the several items as compared with the previous year: Passenger revenue, $444,326,991 (increase, $22,622,399); mail, $44,499,732 (increase, $2,790,336); express, $41,875,636 (increase, $3,543,672); other earnings from passenger service, $10,914,746 (increase, $1,093,469); freight revenue, $1,379,002,693 (increase, $40,982,667); other earnings from freight service, $4,568,282 (increase, $101,257); other earnings from operation, including unclassified items, $49,986,011 (increase, $3,193,384). Per mile of line, gross earnings from operation averaged $9,306, the increase in this average being $48.

The operating expenses of the railways were assigned to the four general divisions of such expenses, as follows: Maintenance of way and structures, $261,280,454; maintenance of equipment, $267,184,739; conducting transportation, $758,238,681; general expenses, $51,579,196; undistributed, $613,183. Operating expenses were $6,308 per mile of line, having increased $183 per mile in comparison with 1903. A further analysis of the operating expenses for the year according to the 53 accounts prescribed in the official classification of these expenses, with the percentage of each item of the expenses, as classified for the years 1898 to 1904, also appears in the report.

The income from operation, or, in other words, the net earnings, of the railways amounted to $636,277,838. This item upon comparison with the net earnings for the year 1903 shows a decrease of $7,030,217. Net earnings per mile for 1904 averaged $2,998; for 1903, $3,133, and for 1902, $3,048. The amount of income additional to that obtained from operation was $212,933,990. In this amount are included the following items: Income from lease of road, $109,694,361; dividends on stocks owned, $44,969,794; interest on bonds owned, $18,702,245, and miscellaneous income, $39,567,590. The total income of the railways, $849,211,828-that is, the income from operation increased by the income from other sources-is the amount from which fixed charges and similar items of expenditure are deducted to ascertain the sum available for dividends. Deductions of this sort aggregated $570,425,902, leaving $278,785,926 as the net income for the year available for dividends or surplus.

The amount of dividends declared during the year (including $115,546, other payments from net income) was $222,056,595, leaving as the surplus from the operations of the year ending June 30, 1904, $56,729,331, that of the previous year having been $99,227,469. The amount already given for deductions from income, $570,425,902, comprised the following items: Salaries and maintenance of organization, $453,341; interest accrued on funded debt, $297,674,738; interest on current liabilities, $13,945,009; rents paid for lease of

road, $110,857,803; taxes, $61,696,354; permanent improvements charged to income account, $38,522,548; other deductions, $47,276,109. The foregoing figures for the income and expenditures of the railways, being compiled from the annual returns both of leased roads and of operating roads, necessarily include duplications in certain items of income and also of expenditure, since, as a rule, the income of a leased road is substantially the rent paid by the company which operates it.

There now follows a summary from which duplications of income or of expenditure resulting from incorporate payments are practically eliminated.

Comparative income account of the railways in the United States, considered as a system, for the years ending June 30, 1904 and 1903.

[blocks in formation]

a Decrease.

327,445, 666
183,754, 236

b 143, 691, 430

357,033,579
166, 176, 586

a 29,587, 913 17,577, 650

b 190,856, 993

a 47, 165, 563

b This amount includes permanent improvements charged to income account, miscellaneous deductions, and surplus.

A summary showing the taxes and assessments of the railways, by States and Territories and per mile of line, and also an analysis of taxes showing the basis of payments, according to the various laws under which railways are taxed, are repeated for the year under review.

RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.

The railway casualties returned by the carriers in their annual reports to the Commission cover casualties sustained by passengers, employees, trespasssers, and other persons. These returns are not comparable with figures given in the quarterly accident bulletins that

are based on monthly reports, which are mainly confined to casualties to passengers and to employees actually on duty on or about trains.

The total number of casualties to persons reported for the year ending June 30, 1904, was 94,201, of which 10,046 represented the number of persons killed and 84,155 the number injured. Among three general classes of railway employees casualties occurred as follows: Trainmen, 2,114 killed and 29,275 injured; switch tenders, crossing tenders, and watchmen, 229 killed, 2,070 injured; other employees, 1,289 killed, 35,722 injured. The casualties to employees coupling and uncoupling cars were: Employees killed, 307; injured, 4,019. The casualties of this class were distributed as follows: Trainmen killed, 269; injured, 3,506; switch tenders, crossing tenders, and watchmen killed, 23; injured, 420; other employees killed, 15; injured, 93.

The casualties due to falling from trains, locomotives, or cars in motion were: Trainmen killed, 457; injured, 4,757; switch tenders, crossing tenders, and watchmen killed, 25; injured, 301; other employees killed, 75; injured, 570. The casualties due to jumping on or off trains, locomotives, or cars in motion were: Trainmen killed, 116; injured, 3,926; switch tenders, crossing tenders, and watchmen killed, 14; injured, 278; other employees killed, 61; injured, 506. The casualties to the same three classes of employees in consequence of collisions and derailments were: Trainmen killed, 613; injured, 4,337; switch tenders, crossing tenders, and watchmen killed, 20; injured, 138; other employees killed, 90; injured, 854.

The number of passengers killed in the course of the year 1904 was 441 and the number injured 9,111. In the previous year 355 passengers were killed and 8,231 injured. There were 262 passengers killed and 4,978 injured because of collisions and derailments. The total number of persons other than employees and passengers killed was 5,973; injured, 7,977. These figures include the casualties to persons classed as trespassers, of whom 5,105 were killed and 5,194 were injured. The total number of casualties to persons other than employees from being struck by trains, locomotives, or cars was 4,749 killed and 4,179 injured. These casualties in detail were as follows: At highway crossings, passengers killed, 4; injured, 10; other persons killed, 804; injured, 1,453; at stations, passengers killed, 28; injured, 108; other persons killed, 458; injured, 525; at other points along track, passengers killed, 9; injured, 38; other persons killed, 3,446; injured, 2,045. The ratios of casualties indicate that 1 employee in every 357 was killed and 1 employee in every 19 was injured. With regard to trainmen—that is, enginemen, firemen, conductors, and other trainmen-it appears that 1 trainman was killed for every 120 employed and 1 was injured for every 9 employed.

In 1904 1 passenger was killed for every 1,622,267 carried and 1 injured for every 78,523 carried. For 1903 the figures show that 1,957,441 passengers were carried for 1 killed and 84,424 passengers were carried for 1 injured. For 1895 1 passenger was killed for every 2,984,832 carried and 1 injured for every 213,651 carried. With respect to the number of miles traveled the figures for 1904 show that 49,712,502 passenger-miles were accomplished for each passenger killed and 2,406,236 passenger-miles for each passenger injured. For 1903 the figures were 58,917,645 passenger-miles for each passenger killed and 2,541,096 passenger-miles for each passenger injured. The figures for 1895 show that 71,696,743 passenger-miles were accomplished for each passenger killed and 5,131,977 passenger-miles for each passenger injured.

COMMERCIAL VALUATION OF RAILWAY OPERATING PROPERTY.

In the seventeenth annual report of the Commission reference was made to the importance of a careful valuation of railway property. Occasion presented itself during the past year for cooperating with the Bureau of the Census in making such a valuation, and it may be proper to insert at this point the results attained.

The purpose of this census computation was to obtain the commercial valuation and not the physical valuation or the estimated cost of reproduction. The commercial valuation of railway property in the United States, computed for the year 1904, was $11,244,852,000. The mileage was 213,932.13 miles, giving an average value per mile of line of $52,600. In the following table will be found a distribution of this valuation by States and Territories:

Commercial value of railway property devoted to transportation in the several States and Territories as of June 30, 1904.

[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][merged small]

a Exclusive of Jersey City ferries of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. erry property is $5,698,000.

The value of this

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »