Page:Walter Renton Ingalls - Wealth and Income of the American People (1924).pdf/51

Rh Year Tons

1916 1,203,367,190 1917 1,264,015,725 1918 1,263,343,993 1919 1,096,111,271 1920 1,255,704,973

Not only did the tonnage of products fail to increase after 1916, but also the work performed by the railways did not increase materially, except in the matter of passenger transportation. In a recent statement before the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce Daniel Willard, President of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co., reviewed the conditions confronting the railroads during and immediately following Federal control, and submitted extensive data “showing what

has happened to the railroads since 1916.” Mr. Willard gave the accompanying table of figures: Passenger Transportation Year Net ton miles miles service train miles 1916 396,365,917,082 34,585,952,026 —1,224,168,566 1917 430,319,014,635 39,476,858,549 —‘1,237,137,632 1918 440,001,713,665 42,676,579,199 —_‘1,175,782,791 1919 395,679,051,729 46,358,303,740 —-1,117,547,908 1920 449,292,355,000 46,724,880,000 ——1,205,626,175

It appears from these data that there was but little change in the quantity of original freight during the period 1917-20. After 1916 each ton was carried on the average a greater number of miles, this reflecting one of the dislocations following the entry of the United States into the war. The aggregate of passenger travel increased a great deal. Excessive railway travel was one of the luxuries of the period. The work was done without any increase in the number of train miles, this reflecting the efforts of the railway managers to increase