People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 March 1896 — Government Railroads. [ARTICLE]

Government Railroads.

The New Orleans Picayune of a recent date contains the following facts and figures relative to the working of the railroad system in Australia and other countries where the government owns the railroads; “In Australia you can ride a distance of 1.000 miles across country for $6.50 first-class, while Workmen can ride six miles for 2 cents, twelve miles for .1 cents, thirty miles for 10 cents, and railroad men receive from 25 to 30 per cent more wages for eight hours of labor than they are paid in this country for ten hours. In Victoria, where these rates prevail, the net income from the roads is sufficient to pay all the federal taxes. In Hungary, where the roads are state owned, you can ride six miles for I cent, and since, the roads were bought by the government the men’s wages have doubled. Belgium tells the same :• tory —fares and freight rates cut down one-half and wages doubled. Yet the roads pay a yearly revenue to the government of $4,000,000. In Germany you can ride four miles for 1 cent on the government owned lines. Yet wages are over 125 per cent higher than they •were when the corporations owned them, and during the last ten years the net profits have increased 41 per cent. Last year the roads paid the German government a net profit of $25,000,000. People who favor the government ownership of railroads claim that if our rovernment owned the railroads we c.rid go to San Francisco from Boston or $lO. Here is the proof: The United ’fates pay the railroads not quite $275 j transport a loaded postal car from loston to San Francisco. A passenger ar will carry fifty passengers, which, ! $lO each, would be SSOO, or a clear refit of $225 per car, and this, too, after i ; ing oVz per cent on watered stock, hi h is fully 100 per cent on the cost . the road. These quoted figures are • a from a reliable source.”