Rail Earnings

The Bureau of Railway Economics in Washington last week made public the earnings of the railways in 1925, the largest earnings in history; but because of increased investments the return was not so large as in 1916. The "net" in recent years:

1921 $ 600,937,356

1922 760,187,319

1923 961,955,457

1924 986,744,996

1925 1,136,973,477

According to the valuation of the roads by the Interstate Commerce Commission the 1925 earnings are a yield of 5%; according to the reckoning of the railroads (by book value), 4.83%. Fourteen Class I railroads had net losses during the year, of which five are in the East, eight in the West, one in the South.