Railroads of U.S. To Advance Rates

1920

WILL ADD BILLION AND HALF TO YEARLY EARNINGS.

Fare to Cost One-fifth More; Freight 25 to 40 Per Cent, Pullmans 50.

WASHINGTON, D. C. — Authority for the railroads of the country to increase their revenues by approximately one and one-half billion dollars has been granted by the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Freight rates will be advanced about one-third, passenger fares one-fifth and Pullman charges one-half.

Coastwise and inland steamship lines and electric railway companies also were granted permission to increase their freight rates in proportion to the increase granted to the railroads serving the same territory. No estimate of the aggregate amount to result from these advances has been made.

May Go Up September 1.

The new rates, which are to continue in force until March 1, 1922, will become effective upon five days' notice by the carriers to the commission and the public, and they must be in operation before January 1. Since the Government guarantee expires September 1, the carriers are expected to bend every effort to put the advances into effect by that date.

Increases granted by the commission are designed to offset the $600,000,000 wage advance awarded by the railroad labor board and to provide the 6 per cent net income on the aggregate value of the railroad properties as permitted under the transportation act.

The aggregate value of all of the railroads was estimated by the commission at $18,900,000,000 as against a book value of $20,040,000,000 given by the carriers.

Increase Is General Thruout U. S.

The 20-per-cent increase in passenger fares, excess baggage charges and milk transportation rates and the 50 per cent surcharge on Pullman fares authorized by the commission will be general the country over.

Freight rate increases will vary according to territory, with 40 per cent in the East, 25 per cent in the South, 35 per cent in the West (from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains) and 25 per cent in mountain-Pacific territory (from east of the Rockies to the Pacific coast, not including Alaska).

The commission held that the increases were justified in view of the rapidly changing conditions as to prices and the necessity for providing adequate transportation facilities during and after the period of readjustment

NEW RATES EASILY FIGURED.

Travelers will have little difficulty in calculating from the present fare rate the amount of the new fare, With no surcharge complication, the new fare is simply one-fifth more than the old fare.

The following table illustrates the difference which the new rates will make in travel between Chicago and other cities:

To New York — Present rate: $29.40; New rate: $35.28; New rate with surcharge and Pullman: $45.00.

To Milwaukee — Present rate: $2.75; New rate: $3.20; New rate with surcharge and Pullman: $4.02.

To New Orleans — Present rate: $30.38; New rate: $36.45; New rate with surcharge and Pullman: $47.39.

To San Francisco — Present rate: $72.12; New rate: $86.54 2-3; New rate with surcharge and Pullman: $[*].

The freight rate increase means a levy of $12 per capita a year for every man, woman and child in the country.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 2.

Note: [*] Missing information. The other San Francisco rates are pretty certain.