TABLE No. 28.

CLASSIFICATION OF STOCKS AND BONDS ACCORDING TO RATE OF DIVIDEND OR INTEREST.

It would be impossible to explain why 61.67 per cent of railway stock paid no dividends, and 18.19 per cent of railway bonds paid no interest, were it not for the tendency here observed towards concentration of railway control. A large portion of these stocks and bonds, worthless so far as dividends or interest are concerned, represent property held for incidental advantages accruing to its owner, or else property representing the obligations of subsidiary corporations which are passing through a process of being solidified into large operating systems. A study of the contracts entered into between various railway corporations making up an operating system would throw much light upon the facts presented in the above table.

PUBLIC SERVICE OF RAILWAYS.

The number of passengers carried by the railways of the United States during the year ending June 30, 1889, was 472,171,343; the aggregate number of miles traveled was 11,553,820,445. This shows an average journey of 24.47 miles for each passenger. Passenger train mileage for the same period was 277,240,804, from which it appears that the average number of passengers in a train, on the basis of which passenger rates must ultimately be adjusted, was 42.

The number of tons of freight carried by the railways of the United States during the year ending June 30, 1889, was 539,639,583; the aggregate number of ton miles was 68,727,223,146. This shows an average haul of 127.36 miles for each ton of freight. The freight train mileage for the same period was 383,200,573, from which it appears that the average number of tons carried by a freight train, which is conceded to be an important factor in adjusting rates, was 179.35.

It is commonly said that the people of the United States make a greater use of railway facilities than those of any other country. From the above statements it is made to appear that if the total passenger mileage of the year were divided equally among the inhabitants of the

United States, each inhabitant would have traveled 175.58 miles. A similar estimate for the ton mileage for the year shows that the railways have carried what is equivalent to 1,041.32 tons one mile for each inhabitant. This shows a use of railway facilities in this country considerably in excess of that of most European countries.

EARNINGS AND EXPENSES.

The public service rendered by the railways for the year ending June 30, 1889, was the source of gross earnings to the amount of $964,816,129,* and of operating expenses to the amount of $644,706,701,* thus leaving a net income from operation of $320,109,428. These figures cover 153,385.37 miles of operated lines, of which 5,641.96 miles lie without the territory of the United States. They show average gross earnings per mile of line to have been $6,290, and average net earnings per mile of line to have been $2,087.

As compared with similar returns included in the report for the year ending June 30, 1888, the figures disclose an actual increase in earnings, but a decrease in earnings per mile of line. The details of this comparison appear in the following table:

Summaries of the facts exhibited in these tables, for the entire railway system of the United States, are presented in the two exhibits that follow; and, for purpose of comparison with the corresponding facts for the year ending June 30, 1888, the percentages are repeated from last year's report:

TABLE No. 30.

A. SUMMARY OF EARNINGS AND INCOME (153,385.37 MILES OF LINE REPRESENTED).

*Covers five roads making no classification of earnings under the several heads called for.

It is interesting to notice, as shown by exhibit "A," that the passenger earnings have increased from 30.46 per cent in 1888, to 31.10 per cent in 1889; while freight earnings have decreased from 67.35 per cent in 1888, to 66.82 in 1889. But it would not be safe to rest any important conclusion on this comparison, since statistics covering but two years' operations are not adequate for such a purpose. The same may be said of the relative increase in the proportion of operating expenses assigned to conducting transportation, as shown in exhibit "B;" that is to say, an increase in the cost of transportation from 50.26 per cent to 51.33 per cent. Such variations, however, suggest important questions that must be considered when a sufficient amount of uniformly classified data shall have been collected.

In this connection it may be interesting to draw up an income sheet for the railways of the United States considered as a consolidated system, and to apportion the items contained in it to the mile of operated line whose earnings and expenditures it exhibits:

TABLE No. 32.

INCOME ACCOUNT OF RAILWAYS IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1889.