Railroad Week

There was not a single private railroad car in the yards of the Pennsylvania or Central of New Jersey at Atlantic City last week when the topnotch executives of every important Class I road in the land gathered to discuss the financial destiny of their industry.

Carl Raymond Gray of Union Pacific arrived from Omaha in an ordinary Pullman on a pass. So did Lawrence A. Downs of Illinois Central who lives in Chicago. Samuel Thomas Bledsoe of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Hale Holden of Southern Pacific, Leonor Fresnel Loree of Delaware & Hudson, Frederick Ely Williamson of New York Central all left their luxurious "office" cars behind to save money, make a good impression. In the gold and amber club rooms of the Hotel Traymore they, and 61 other railroad presidents and chairmen, sat down behind closed doors to discuss ways & means of extracting more money from the public.

Since their last meeting as members of the Association of Railway Executives, grave matters had arisen. The Railway Pension Bill had been passed, pay cuts had been restored. They listened in silence while committees reported that payments under the pension bill would add $66,000,000 to their operating costs, the restoration of pay cuts on July 1 another $156,000,000, and increases in materials and equipment prices still another $137,000,000--a grand total of $359,000,000. Newshawks soon learned that they were considering an increase in freight rates to offset these costs. A terse, typewritten statement made public by the Association at the close of the meeting did not confirm this in so many words, but it emphasized that the "railroads have no sources of income other than money received for services performed for the public, and they are faced with the problem of finding a way to increase their revenues."

When the meeting broke up the Association had informally decided to ask the Interstate Commerce Commission for permission to raise freight rates at least 10%. Railroad revenues approximate $4,000,000,000 annually, of which $3,000,000,000 is from freight, $1,000,000,000 from passengers. A 10% freight rate increase would bring in $300,000,000 annually. But the railway executives well knew as they rolled home in Pullman drawing rooms last week, that to add 10% to the freight charges on lightweight commodities for short hauls would only drive even more business into the hands of truck and steamship competitors. Consequently they were planning a graduated increase, not permitting rates of any one commodity to he upped more than 3-c- per cwt.

Other railroad news of the week:

P: President Charles J. Hardy of American Car & Foundry Co. reported to stockholders at their annual meeting in Jersey City that orders on the company's books as of July 1 totaled $9,477,000 against $622,000 a year ago. May and June bookings had been 1,900% greater than for May and June 1933. Government aid to railroads had stimulated equipment buying, said President Hardy, who predicted large new orders for the near future.

P: Pennsylvania reported a May net of $2,176,381 against $1,848,091 in May 1933. Delaware & Hudson reported a May loss of $268,171 against a loss of $419,659. New York Central's May net was $72,091 against $105,708 in May last year.

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