Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1915 — RAILROADS’ CLAIM FOR HIGHER RATES [ARTICLE]

RAILROADS’ CLAIM FOR HIGHER RATES

Statement of General Passenger Agent of the Man/on Before the Commercial Club. At the meeting at the court house last Friday evening when F. P. Cockrell, general passenger agent of the Monon railroad, and other agents of the passenger department presented to citizens an argument for the repeal of the 2-cent . passenger law and the passing of a law providing a rate of 2Vs cents, Mr. Cockrell said substantially: Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: j I want to thank the officers ofthis association for arranging this 1 meeting and giving us this hearing, and I want to thank you gentlemen individually for taking the trouble to come here and listen to what we have to say. Our object | in asking for this hearing is to enj list your support in an effort we ' are making to have the Indiana j legislature at the present session ■ repeal the two-cent 'passenger fare law and enact in its place a new law fixing the passenger rate at.2 1 /* cents a mile. j. In 1907 the legislature "'reduced our passenger rate 33 1-3 per cent; that is, from three cents a mile to two cents a mile. They did this in spitv>f our protest, in spite of the fact that we told them that such a rate would be unprofitable. That was eight years ago. During those eight years we have given the two cent rate a thorough trial and have demonstrated beyond doubt that it is unremunerative. Now, in addition to enacting this law reducing our passenger rate, the people, through their law-mak-ing 'bodies, both state and national, have, during the past few years, enacteA laws which have had the effect of increasing our operating expenses. They have enacted The -full crew law, The sixteen hour law, The boiler inspection law, The law requiring automatic block signals,

The law requiring electric headlights, The law requiring automatic stokers. In addition, we have been required to elevate our tracks in large cities, install crossing gates, crossing ibells and employ crossing flagmen. The government has required us to adopt all steel postal cars, the Pullman Company have adopted all steel sleeping cars, and in response to public demand the roads are building all steel equipment of all kinds as fast as their old equipment wears out. No road today would think of building new equipment that was not of steel construction. Steel equipment costs more to build and more to haul.

While these things have been a good thing (for the public front a standpoint of comfort and safety, they have been very expensive to the railroads, so that between the proposition of having our rate reduced on the one hand and our operating cost increased on the other, there has been no possibility of profit in the railroad (business dub ing the past fefr years. On the contrary, there has been a substantial lass, as the figures I am going to read you will show: Seventeen of the principal railroads operating in and through the state of Indiana had invested in their properties during* the last fiscal year eight hundred and sev-enty-five million six hundred nine thousand, seven hundred thirtyfive dollars. During that year their gross receipts were $163,190,337 During that year their gross receipts were $163,190,337. Their operating expenses, taxes and interest were $175,417,706. The public, through their lawmaking bodies, tell us that they have the right to say what rates we shall charge and what service we must perform because rfre are a public institution, but when we tell them that to perform such service at such rates will mean a net loss; they tell us that that is our lookout, because we are a priIvate enterprise. We are a public [ {Continued on back page.)