Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1894 — THE HIGHWAYS OF COMMERCE. [ARTICLE]

THE HIGHWAYS OF COMMERCE.

Some Interesting: Figures on American Railway Systems. There ai'e more miles of railway track in the United States than in all the other countries of the world combined. These are the figures: -United States, 172,001) miles; FuroDe, Asia, Africa, South, Central and British America and Australia, 167,000 miles. The number of locomotives in use on American railways is 85,000; passenger cars, 25,000; mail and baggage cars, 8,000: and freight and coal cars, 1,200,000. The railways of the United States carry in a year (00,000,00) passengers, and transport 810,000,00,) tons of freight. The disparity between the two branches of transportation i 3 much greater than it is in Europe, for the foreign railways carry twice as many^passengers a- do the railways of the United States, whereas the earnings from freight or “goods” trains, as they are called abroad, just about balance. In this country the earnings from freight business are about three times greater than from passenger business. The railways of the United States earn from all sources of revenue about $L 100,000,000 in a year. About twothirds of this is disbursed in expenses, and the balance, $351,000,090. represents the net profit. Two-thirds of this, however, go s to pay interest on bonds of guaranteed stock, leaving about $100,000,000, or one-twelfth of the whole amount earned, so • the payment of dividends and for necessary improvements.