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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1906)
PAGE 2 Sfo? Nebraska. Independent MARCH 22, 1906 here and regarded as one of the most courageous and honest senators, and as such he enjoys the highest respect of the people at this capital both in side and outside of congress. The confidence of Senator Aldrich that he will win out In the end for an amendment" that will he satisfactory i to himself, and the reports that are current here that President Roosevelt is figuring with his party leaders upon some compromise amendment that will unite the party, has the ef fect of throwing a wet blanket over the enthusiasm of the friends of an unamended bill. It Is well known among the senators and members of the house that the kind of a bill that will finally pass rests absolutely with the president. If he stands firm sen ators must yield to him on this meas ure, because the people are with him, and to oppose him would be to destroy their own future political prospects. Again if the president will stand it is certain that he will receive the entire democrat vote with possibly one or two exceptions, which will be sufficient. ' It seems a little strange that just at the time when the newspapers of the country are proclaiming the fact thiat President Roosevelt has succeed ed in having the masses think about the great issues involving their wel fare without inquiring the attitude of tneir party concerning the same, and that through his efforts party lines are disappearing before a higher in telligence and a broader patriotism, that any fears should be entertained by any one, that the president himself would be the means of disappointing the country by considering the com promise of a righteous measure be fore congress in the interest of party harmony. The war between the house and the senate is as bitter as ever with no prospects . of Improvement in sight. Speaker Cannon Is determined to give a demonstration of his power, and has chosen the statehood bill as one involving as many difficulties as pos sible as the one that will consequently afford him the most glory, if he tri umphs. The house insurgents are again active and more determined than ever, and the chances are that the speaker will fail. Never in the history of congress was there so much demoralization of a general nature in cluding both branches of congress. Much has been undertaken and very little accomplished so far, with the prospects of little being accomplished in the future. It all comes of a re form measure in the form of a rate bill, being thrust upon a congress where it has no friends in the ma jority party, those who assume to be friends are doing so because the ne cessities of the case compell them to stand by a president who carried the district or state represented by the member or senator by so great a ma jority that their constituents demand that they support the president. It must be conceded that it is difficult at the present time to forecast the outcome of the measures now before congress. . ;- Republican politicians are harrassed with doubts and fears over the pros pect of the coming congressional elec tion, and. the next presidential elec tion. One of the most astute repub lican politicians in the United States, said to me last week, when I asked him what effect the passage or non passage of the rate bill would have on the future of his party, that , it was a case of being damned if they did and damned if they didn't. That the people demanded the passage of the bill, and will strike the party down if it refused to pass it, and that the railroads would not let their sen ators support the measure so that the passage of the bill involved a split in the party that would be fatal in the coming elections as the interest of the public was centered upon the action of the senate, and explanations would not go with them, this time, thev were demanding what the nartv could not respond to, which was good faith. EARNINGS OF RAILROADS i Net Earnings of All Roads of $3,215 Per Mile for the Entire Mile- - age of the United States The. United States interstate com merce commission reports the earn ings and operating expenses of the railways, of the United States as fol lows: This report covers the statement of income and expenditures of 752 oper ating companies. It includes the re turns of all railways whose reports were on file with the commission on or before December 6, and represents an operated mileage of 214,477.82 miles, which is not far from 99 per cent of the mileage to be covered by the final report for the year in ques tion. The gross earnings of the railways for the year ending June 30, 1905, on the mileage already stated, were $2,073,177,325. This total comprised earnings from the passenger service amounting to $1,449,182,702, or 69.90 per cent, and other - miscellaneous earnings amounting to $51,885,257, or 2.50 per cent. According to this pre liminary report, the gross earnings from operation averaged $9,666 per mile of line. This average is consid erably larger than the like average for any other year for which a sta tistical report has been published by the commission. The final report for the year ending June 30, 1904, showed that the total gross earnings of the railways, on 212,243.20 miles of line, for that year were $1975,174,091, be ing equivalent to $9,306 per mile. Of the gross earnings per mile of line the passenger service contributed $2,667 and the freight service $6,757. In a general way it may be said that the several per mile averages shown in connection with the preliminary re ports are likely to be somewhat larger than similar averages in the corres ponding final reports, in consequence of the fact that the latter include re turns for additional roads in which the ratios of the items to the respec tive mileages are less than the gen eral averages. The operating expenses of the rail ways embraced in the current prelim inary report amounted to $1,383,584, 404, thus averaging $6,451 per mile of line. For the year ending June 30, 1904, the operating expenses report ed finally were $1,338,896,253, or $6,308 per mile. This advance report indi cates that the ratio of operating ex penses to earnings for 1905 was 66.74 per cent. The final report 'for the year 1904 gave for this Item 67.79 per cent. This preliminary report shows that the net earnings of essentially the same roads were, for the year end ing June 30, 1905, $689,592,921, and for the year ending June 30, 1904, $634,674,561. The railway companies for which returns are included in this advance report also received $114,636, 642 in the form of income from in vestments in the stocks and bonds of railway and other corporations, and from other miscellaneous sources. The net earnings, as - stated above, must be Increased by this sum to obtain the entire income which these operating lines had at their disposal for cor porate expenditures and for reserve or surplus funds as well. The total income, consequently, was $804,229, 563. The aggregate of all the deduc tions chargeable against such total in come was $713,994,800. The principal items included in these deductions were, interest on funded debt, rents (which were $58,533,381), and divi dends, $196,080,237, as described " be low. It thus appears that the surplus for the jrear resulting from the oper ations of those roads which the pre liminary report covers, was '$90,234, 763. The complete or final report for the year ending June 30, 1904, cover ing both operating and leased roads, showed a surplus of $5C,729,331, and the like report for the year 1903, showed a surplus of $99,227,469. ISLE DEVASTATED BY VOLCANO Savaii, in the Samoan Group, Visited by Disastrous Eruption Honolulu. The officers of the steamer Sierra, .which arrived here from Sydney, via Samoa, reports that the eruption of the volcano on the isl and of Savaii of the Samoan group continues on a large scale. Three villages have been destroyed, includ ing Malaeola, where was located the finest cocoa plantations on the isl and. The residences of A. King and G. Barleley have been reduced to ruins. The lava from the volcano is flowing into the ocean in a stream three-quar ters of a mile, wide and twenty feet deep. ' " The gSvernment has chartered the steamer Maori to remove the women and children , from the danger zone. The ship's officers also report that there has been no communication with Tahita since v the recent disastrous hurricane. ; SUMMARY OF NEWS Minnie Adams won the iCty Park Derby at New Orleans. Chicago registration Is nearly 50,000 neavier than that of last October. Corporal Tanner, head of G. A. R., In protest against low pay. for aged clerks. Peoria, 111., grand jury told three jurors in: drainage damage case got $500 each, '-v- , , . Warrants, issued for arrest of fifty men as result of charivari in Perry-? opolis, Pa. 7 VV' 7.,. '. . ' Volcano on island of Savaii, in; Sa moan group, pouring, rivers - of, fiery lava into the ocean. - ! Louis De Lange a playwright, is found with his throat cut in his room In a New York, hotel. r t - r ? Paris paper asserted France has in sisted on minimum rights in Morocco and cannot rriodifythem. ' " Congress decided " to' take steps to end rapacious policy of powder trust; government plant assured. Pure food bill adulterated by injec tion of "joker" which gives specialists supreme power, injuring measure. Joint conference of operators and miners at Indianapolis depends on re scinding of Ryan resolution by miners. Senator Bruce scored labor unions in debate on child labor measure in Iowa senate; bill passed by a vote of 46 to 4. Delegation : of Missouri jobbers asked Western Trunk Line association executive committee to reduce through freight rates? ' . Alton B. Parker in address before Mississippi legislature declared it de mocracy's duty to wage war on cor porate privilege. Two hundred and eighty-one mid shipmen declared to be guilty of haz ing;, house committee censured Rear Admiral Brownson. John Alexander Dowie cabled the Chicago Tribune that he remains su preme head of .Zion; story of his wife's separation denied. Jowa legislators call on Governor Cummins -for proof to sustain his charge that railroad influence was used corruptly to defeat the primary bill. Maximum age of applicants for po sitions on Chicago police force re duced from 35 to 30 ; minimum height raised from 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 8. Oil magnates tell Attorney General Hadley of Missouri they will give no information willingly. Charges that the Standard corrupts railway em ployes are uade in the Kansas City hearing. Strong protests against the proposed law providing for an age limit in the government service is contained in a letter written by "Corporal" Tanner to Chairman Tawney of the house ap propriations committee. The Jews have been ordered to leave the city of Vladivostok in three days. The majority of the workmen are boycotting the elections- at Samara, Russia. A Nashville, Tenn., doctor has been accused of killing a woman for her money. The president will make no immed iate appointment of a justice of the supreme court. The congressional free seed distrib ution is coming to be looked upon as a species of graft. The saloons of Chicago are not likely to increase in number since the ' li cense fee is raised. The department of agriculture is : closely looking after the forest re serves of the nation. There is" a prospect that the house will pass the bill abolishing the rank of lieutenant general. Democratic senators have conferred over the railroad rate bill and favor non-suspension of rates. Europe takes two-thirds of the ex ports of the United States and sup plies one-half "the imports. With a population of only 3,315,343 Switzerland has a foreign trade of more than $400,000,000 a year. A German baroness committed sui cide at the quarters of her son, a lieutenant, at Fort Leavenworth. President Mitchell has sent a reply to me letter or tne coal barons re jecting the demands of the miners. A snowslide near Ouray, Colo., de stroyed half a million dollars worth of mining property and killed one man. The workmen in twenty-two but of thirty-seven factories" at Kharoff, Rus sia, have declined to participate in the elections. The new president of the New York Life Insurance company was censured for endeavoring to secure a continua tion Jn office. Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst criticises the message of President Roosevelt congratulating General Wood on the victory at Jolo. Colonel Knight, Major General Wood's chief - of staff, has retrned from a reconnaissance of the situa tion in China. He reports that there , is absolutely no danger of trouble and that tranquility prevails. The constitutional democrats at Moscow are developing strength at the elections. A railroad man selected as a delegate refused to give his name to the authorities until he was guar- an teed immunity from arrest. I Attack on the republican party as ! responsible for the abuse of govern ment taxation, which is the cause of graft, is made by former Judge Alton B. Parker, who, in a speech at Jack son, Miss., warns the democratic i party against radicalism. Senator Depew, so seriously ill that, no one but. members of his family is allowed to see him, Is in strict se clusion at the countrv home nf n friend near New York, and it is re- i ,1 4-1. i. 1 111 i i . . pui Leu umi ue win not De auie to go -back to the senate this session. Send $1.00 for a year's subscription to The Independent and receive Mr. Berge's book, "The Free Pass Bribery System," free as a premium. This offer applies to full paid advance sub scriptions only. ODDS AND. ENDS In 1905 486 new national banks were organized. The present population of Vienna exceeds 1,800,000. , Mahomet's tomb is covered with jewels worth $12,500,000. . The Mexican lap dog is the smallest member of the dog family. Germany has considerably more than one-half of the coal still stored in Europe.