The St. Paul

That 1923 was a good year for the railroads was recently shown by the annual report of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway for last year. For the first time since 1917, the Northwestern road earned its interest charges, and in addition showed 18-c- per share on its preferred stock, While this is not of course a wildly prosperous condition, still it is a marked improvement over former years.

In 1923 the road's gross revenue was $169,000,000 against $156,000,000 in 1922. Thus, although expenses last year were $134,000,000 instead of $129,000,000 as in 1922, net operating income was $20,000,000 instead of $13,000,000 and a net income of $207,686 was shown in place of the previous year's deficit of $6,143,168.

At the close of last year, the total assets of the company were estimated at $764,000,000, instead of the $747,000,000 figure of the previous year. The difference is mainly due to road and equipment investment, which was $689,000,000 last year against $671,000,000 in 1922.

The St. Paul still has some "fat" to live on. In 1920 its profit and loss surplus amounted to $38,376,167. Successive lean years have greatly reduced this figure, yet it still amounts to $20,373,792, according to the 1923 statement.