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RAILROAD RIAN TO
GET RATES DOWN
Priptst Ti Relict Wtfts hd Return
Mi Tki Saviigs By Reltctfu
* In Chirps
FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
Statement By Themaa DeWltt Cuyler,
Chairman of th« Asaoclatlon <Vf
Railway Executive*, On
The Situation
New York, October 18. —Following a
meeting In Chicago, October 14, 1921,
«f the president# of nearly all the lead
ing railroads lit the country, Mr. Thom
as DeWltt Cuyler, chairman of the As
sociation of Railway Executives, made
the following statement:
At a meeting of the Aasoctatlon of
Railway Executives today. It was de
termined by the railroads of the Unit
ed States, to seek to bring about a re
duction In rates, and as a means to
that end to seek a reduction In pres
ent railroad wages, which have com
pelled maintenance of the present
rates.
An application will be made Immedi
ately to the United States railroad la
bor board for a reduction In wages of
train service employes sufficient to
remove the remainder of the Increase
made by the labor board's decision of
July 30, 1910 (which would Involve a
further reduction of approximately ten
per cent), and for a reduction In the
wages of all ether daaeeu of railroad
labor to the going fata for ouch labor
In several territories where the car
riers operate.
T# ftedwee Rates Ac Wages be Dawn
The foregoing action Is open the un
derstanding that concurrently with
each reduction In wages, (be benefit
of the reductlen thus itlshrt shell.
With the concurrence ef (he kaleietate
gommeree cemaleefen, be passed ea to
tbs public in the reduction ef sedat
ing railroad rales, except In so far
as this reduction shall have been made
h the meantime. The management
have decided upon this course ta view
ef their realisation of tha fact that the
wheels of Industrial activity bava been
dosed down to a point which brings
depression and distress to the entire
public and that something most be
done to start them again h opera
tion.
The situation which confronts the
railroads is extremely critical. The
railroads In 1920 realised a net rail
way operating income of about $62,-
000.000 upon a property investment of
over 119,000,000,000 and even this
amount of $92,000,000 included back
mall pay for prior years received from
the government of approximately $94.-
000,000, thus showing, when the op
erations of that year alone are con
sidered. an actual deficit before mak
ing any allowance for cither Interest
er dividends.
The year ended In serious depres
sion In all branches of industry, and
h marked reduction ef the market de
mand tor and the price# of basic com
■KXtltle*. resulting ta a very serious
Suing off In the volume ef traffic
Reads Forced Te Defer Maintenance
In this situation, a policy of tho most
rigid economy and of postponing and
cutting to the bene tbs upkeep of the
properties was adopted by tha raU
renda. This was at the price of nag
jesting and. for the time, deferring
Work which must hereafter and. ta
the near future, be done and paid for.
This ta Illustrated by the fact that,
sc of September It, 1911, ever 19 per
cant, or $74.4*1 In asm bet. ef tho
Dwight cars of the carriers were In
led order and needing repairs, as
against a normal ef bed order ears of
got more then 190.9 CC, as Is further j
Illustrated by the deferred and inade
quate maintenance ef ether equipment
end of roadway and structures.
Even under those ceadjtleaa. and
With this large bfli charges up against ,
As future —which moat soon be pro- :
elded lor end paid M the carrier* are
|e perform successfully, the transpor
tation duties—the result ef operations
lor the first eight mouths of this year,
the latest available figures, has been
at a rate ef net railway operating in
come, before providing tor Interest or
dividends amounting te only LI per
Cut per annum on the valuation of j
e carrier properties made by the In- 1
tt re late commerce commission In tha !
•scent rate ease, an amount net sum
dent to pay the interest en their out
standing bonds.
Reads' Earnings Far Re tew Reasonable
Returns.
It ta manifest, from this show log, that
the rate of return of I iys or 6 per
cent, for the first two years after
March 1. 1920, fixed In the transporta
tion act as a minimum reasonable re
turn upon railroad Investment has not
been even approximated —much less
peached: and that the present high
pates accordingly are net due to any
Statutory guarantee of earnings, for
there Is no such guarantee.
In analysing the expenses which have
largely brought about this situation, it
becomes evident that by far the largest
contributing cause Is the labor cost.
Today the railroads pay out to labor
approximately 60c on the dollar they
receive for transportation services,
whereas in 1916, 40 cents on the dol
lar went to labor.
. C-2 il.. f'rrl day of January. 1917.
when the government took charge of
■ wages through the Adamson act, the
labor cost of the railroads had not ex
ceeded the* sum of about $1,468,000,000
annually, ia 1920. when governmental
authority made the last wage Increase,
the labor cost of the railroads was
about $3,698,000,000 annually, or, if con
tinued throughout the year, Instead of
for the eight months during which the
wage increases were In effect,
tha labor coat on an annual
basis, would have Twen largely in
exeats of $3,900,000,000 —an ln
\hn, since the government took
charge of railroad wages In the Adam
ses set. of approximately $2,450,000,-
000 annually.
In the light of these figures, It is
manifest that the recent reduction of
wages authorized by the labor board,
estimated at from 10 to 12 per cent, In
no sense meets or the problem
of labor costs, and in no way makes It
possible for the railroads to afford
a reduction of their revenue.
Thousands Of Rates Already Reduced
Indeed during the past year there
have been between four and five thou
sand individual reductions in freight
rates. On some railro.'gjs ,the reduc
tions in rates have amounted to more
than the reductions in wages so far
made, and on many other railroads the
[•eductions in wages allowed no net
return on operations, but merely pro
vided against the further accumula
tion of a deficit.
The point is often made that agricul
ture and other industries are also suf
fering the same immediate difficulties
as the railroads. Why, therefore, do
not the railroads take their medicine
like anybody else? The answer lies
In several facts:
1. The railroads were not permitted,
as were other Industries, to make
charges during the years of prosper
ity, making possible the accumulation
of a surplus to tide them over the pres
ent extreme adversity. According to
the reports of the Interstate commerce
commission, the rate of return In prop
erty Investment of the railroads of the
baited States for the past several years
has been as follows:
"RATE OF RETURN EARNED
• BY RAILROADS OF THE
UNITED STATES ON
THEIR PROPERTY
INVESTMENT.”
\l\\ - - - 4.84%
1914 417%
1915 ; 4 20^
1916 (fiscal year) 5 90%
1916 (calendar year) 6.16%
1918 scT^
1919 246%
It will thus be noted that during the
years when other industries were mak
ing very large profits, when the prices
of farm products and the wages of la
bor were soaring to unheard-of heights,
the earnings upon railroad investment
in the United States were held within
very narrow limits and that they have
during the past four years progressive
ly declined.
Roads Handicapped More Than Other
Business.
2. The railroads are responsible to
the public for providing adequate trans
portation. Their charges are limited
by public authority, and they are, In
j very large respects (notably for labor)
compelled to spend money on a basis
fixed by public authority. The margin
within which they are permitted to
earn a return upon their investment
or to offer inducements to attract new
capital for extensions and betterments
is extremely limited. However much
the railroads might desire, therefore,
| to reduce their charges in times of d«p
pression, it will be perceived that the
limitations surrounding their action do
not permit them to give effect to broad
and elastic policies which might very
properly govern other lines of business
not thus restricted.
| It has been urged upon the railroads
that a reduction in rates will stimu
late traffic and that increased traffic
will protect the carriers from the loss
incident to a reduction in rates. The
railroad managements cannot disguise
from themselves that this suggestion is
merely conjectural and that an ad
verse result of the experiment would
b<» disastrous not only to the railroads,
but to the public, whose supreme need
is adequate transportation.
Consequently the railroad manage
ments cannot feel Justified in placing
these instrumentalities, so essential to
| the public welfare, at the haxard of
I such an experiment based solely upon
| such a conjecture.
Farmers Especially Need Lower Rates
It Is evident, however, that existing
transportation charges bear in many
cases a disproportionate relationship to
! the prices at which commodities can
be sold in the market and that exist
; ing labor and other costs of transpor
! tation thus imposed upon Industry
j and agriculture generally a burden
| greater than they should bear. This
;is especially true of agriculture. The
! railroad managements are feeling sen
sitive to and sympathetic with the dis
tressing situation and desire to do
everything to assist in relieving it that
is compatible with their duty to fur
nish the transportation which the pub
lic must have.
At the moment railroads, in many
cases ,are paying 40 cents an hour for
unskilled labor, when similar labor is
working alongside the railroads and
can easily be obtained by them at 20
tents an hour. The railroads of the
country paid, in 1020. a total of con.!
HENRY COUNTY WEEKLY, McDONOUGH, GEORGIA
oiuiruoiy over *1,31)0,000.000 to unskill
ed labor alone. However desirable it
may be to pay this or that schedule of
wages. It is obvious that it cannot be
paid out o£ railroad earnings, unless
the industries which use the railroads
are capable of meeting such charges.
The railroads and through them
the people generally—are also ham
pered in their efforts to economize by
a schedule of working rules and con
ditions now In force as a heritage from
the period of federal control aiid up
held by the railroad labor board. These
conditions are expensive, uneconomic
, and unnecessary from the point of view
of railroad operation and extremely
burdensome upon the public which
pays the bill. This schedule of wages
and of working conditions prevents the
railroads from dealing equitably with
their labor costs in accordance with
rapidly changing conditions and the
great variety of local considerations
which ought to control wages in dif
ferent parts of the country. The rail
roads are seeking to have these rules
and working conditions abrogated
The railroads will seek a reduction
in wages now proposed by first request
ing the sanction of the railroad labor
board. The railroads will proceed with
all possible dispatch, and as soon as
the railroad labor board shall have giv
en its assent to the reduction of wages
the general reduction In rates will be
out Into .effect.
Creech Creek coal, $9.50 per
ton. Place order now. Planters
Warehouse & Lumber Co.
DR. W. D. HEARN
DENTIST
Wishes to annoanoe that he is now
located at No.
99 1-2 WHITEHALL STREET,
ATLANTA,
where he will be glad to see his
many friends from MoDonough
and Henry oonnty.
JRI
A Mystery Cake
Can you name it 1
Here is another new Royal Cake, so delicious and appetizing that
we have been unable to give it a name that does justice to its
unusual qualities. It can be made just right only with Royal
Baking Powder. Will you make it and name it?
SSOO for Names
For the name selected as best,-
we will pay $250. For the sec
ond, third, fourth, and fifth
choice, we will pay SIOO, $75,
SSO, and $25 respectively.
Anyone may enter the contest,
but only one name from each
person will be considered.
All names must be received by
December 15th, 192 V In case of
ties, the full amount of the prize
will be given to each tying con
testant. Do not send your cake.
Simply send the name you sug
gest, with your own name and
address, to the
ROYAL BAKING POWDER COMPANY
149 William Street, New York
Gin Notice.
Bring your cotton to Kimbell’s
gin, where you can get it ginned
any day of the week. We will not
set gin days. We will pay highest
market price for cotton seed.
J. O. & C. M. Kimbell.
EAGLE No. 174
For Sale at vour Dealer Made in five grades
ASK FOR THE YELLOW PENCIL WITH THE RED BAND
EAGLE MIKADO
EAGLE PENCIL COMPANY, NEW YORK
j||||2||ijk For Cleaning Tile,
|Bathtubs, Kitchen Sinks,
g and Marble
Use SAPOLIO. Quickly removes j
f the stains and makes everything look
t-A like new See that the name
* * - Sii SAPOLIO is on every package.
X:' IT ' j ENOCH MORGAN'S SONS CO.
V = la 50/« Manufacturmr*
l^Sgj|lnSri|k
UMlrßnrffn
jggH^SAPOLIOJ
Gin Notice.
We will not set gin days unt J
further notice. Bring us you
cotton and we will guarantee sat
isfaction or do our best to do so.
We will pay market price for seed.
Farmers gin & Warehouse Co.
By S. P. Crowell.
Mi How to make it
mMMMB Use Irsel measurements for all vusteritlt
}i cup shortening
1 W cups sugar
Grated rind of 14 orange
1 egg and 1 yolk
2V% cups flour
W 4 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder
1 cup milk
X 1% squares (IK ots.) of
l unsweetened chocolate (melted)
li teaspoon salt
Cream shortening. Add sugar and grated orange rind. Add
beaten egg yolks. Sift together flour, salt and Royal Baking
Powder and add alternately with the milk; lastly fold in one
beaten egg white. Divide batter into two parts. To one part add
the chocolate. Put by tablcspoonfuls, alternating dark and light
batter, into three greased layer cake pans. Bake in moderate
oven 20 minutes.
FILLING AND ICING
3 tablespoons melted butter 2 tablespoons orange juice
3 cups confectioner’* sugar 1 egg white
(Powdered sugar may be used but 3 square* (3 ots.)
does not make as smooth icing! unsweetened chocolate
Grated rind of Vi orange and pulp of 1 orange
Put butter, sugar, orange juice and rind into bowl. Cut pulp
from orange, removing skin and seeds, and add. Beat ail together
until smooth. Fold in beaten egg white. Spread this icing on
layer used for top of cake. While icing is soft, sprinkle with
unsweetened chocolate thsved in fine niece- with sharp knife
(use H square). To remaining V,i squares unsweetened
chocolate which has beer, rueiu L. Spread this thickly between
layers and on side* of cake.
