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About The Henry County weekly. (McDonough, GA.) 18??-1934 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1921)
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.
