Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 108, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1918 — HIGHER RAH. RATES CONING [ARTICLE]

HIGHER RAH. RATES CONING

BOTH PASSENGER AND FREIGHT RATES TO BE RAISED IN NEAR FUTURE. Three cent passenger rates is • probability of the near future under the government control of railroads and an increase of 25 per cent in freight rates will be made at the same time. It is probable, hovever, that a one cent per mile passenger rate will be made for the soldiers. All excursions or reduced rates are to be abolished and if you want to travel from now on you will have to pay a stiff price to ride. A dispatch from Washington says: Estimates made today by railroad administration officials indicate that an increase of at least 25 per cent, in freight and passenger rates will be necessary this year to meet, the higher costs of fuel, wages, equipment and other operation expenses now set between $600,000,000 and $75,000,000 more than last year. Recommendation that rates be raised by approximately this percentage has been made to Director General McAdoo by his advisors. He is expected to act within the next six weeks and to put increases _ into effect immediately. Shippers, will be permitted to appeal to the interstate commerce commission ‘ under the railroad act, and final decision will be with President Wilson. Such an increase as is proposed would be the biggest in the history of American railroads, as the percentage is larger than any ever sought by the railroads under private management, and would apply alike to the entire country. Both classes and commodity schedules would be affected. Rate experts of the interstate commerce commission and railroad administration how are at work on new schedules. Any increase to be ordered will be arranged in a manner to preserve rate relationships between communities and regions, officials said today, so that industries and commercial interests will be subject to the same degree of rate competition as at present. Passenger fares would be raised under the plan suggested to about three cents a mile, from the existing general rate of a little less than 2% cents. The proposed increases, it is estimated, would yield about $900,000,000—5700,000,000 in freight, and $200,000,000 in passenger revenues. This would leave a margin about the estimated increased operating expenses eventually, but since the new rates would not go into effect until the year is half over, their yield would fall several hundred million dollars short of meeting the anticipated deficit this year. The estimate of increased wage is based on the probability that the director general will approve a general scheme of higher pay for workmen in accordance with the railroad wage commission's recommendations which called for an addition of $300,000,000 to the $2,000,000,000 pay roll of last year.