AS PRICES RISE
HIGH COST OF LIVING
HITS THE RAILROADS
Smlu Will Bi CrlffM Ut-
Im MM Com Sun.
Wasteful and Conflicting Regulations
Hamper Railroad Credit, While Ad
vanee In Labor and Materials Out*
strips Revenues, Chairman Krutt
schnttt Tslls Cengrsss Cemmittss.
Unified Federal Control WUI Improve
Conditions.
Washington, April r .—The condition
tn which the railroads And themselves
«s a result of constant increases in
wages, prices of material, taxes and
other expenses, while their revenues
«re restricted by legislation, was strik
ingly described by Julias Krottschnitt,
Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Southern Pacific Company, in
Ills testimony during the past few days
before the Joint Congressional Com
mittee on Interstate Commerce, which
Is making a study of the question of
railroad regulation. Mr. Krottschnitt
urged the committee to recommend a
plan of regulation which will center
responsibility for regulation and its
results In the federal government so
thst conditions affecting both expenses
and revenues may be made subject to
a uniform policy Instead of the waste
ful and often conflicting policies in-
Tolved in the system of combined state
and federal regulation. 1
Why Rssds Need Mors Money.
Mr. Kruttschnitt's testimony also had
u bearing on the reasons for the appli
cation of the roads to the Interstate
Commerce Commission for a general
advance in freight rates. He showed
that while the price of transportation
has declined in recent years, the cost
bf producing transportation, like the
cost of almost everything else, has rap
idly advanced. This lie illustrated by
showing that if freight and passenger
rates had increased during the past
twenty years in the same proportion as
average commodity prices the railroads
of the United States would have re
ceived $1,654,000,000 more for trans
portation in 1915 than they did receive.
This ssving to the public was effect
ed, in spite of an increase ef 93 per
cent in the cost of operation of trains,
fcy a reduction la the average passen-
HOW CARUSO REST?"
HIS WONDERFUL VOICE
Great Tenor, Who Sings In Pittsburgh
May 5, Turns to Pick and Shovel.
Caruso, the idol of the musical
world, who will sing in Pittsburgh
with the Cincinnati Orchestra at Shrin
ers' Mosque on Saturday evening, May
sth, seems to !iave had a sort of vocal,
rebirth during the present season.
When he came to America over a doz
en years ago his specialty was the
singing of the lightest lyric roles. In
later years Caruso has been so identi
fied with the heavier roles that his
Caruso as Dss Grieux In "Manon."
friends despaired of hearing him again
in the old style which first brought
him fame. "The old Caruso" was the
general exclamation when he sang in
"The Pearl Fishers" on the opening
night at the Metropolitan this season.
When an intimate friend of the tenor
was asked how he accounted for it he
replied, "A summer's perfect rest; it'a
the only explanation." And as a mat
ter of fact for the first time in many
summers, on account of the war, Ca
ruso accepted no engagement to sing
in concert or opera after concluding his
season at the Metropolitan. He spent
the summer on his magnificent estate
utar Florence, most of the time In the
open air directing improvements on the
grounds around his villa, and often
with bare head and sleeves rolled up
plying a pick or a shovel witlj all the
earnestness and energy of a man try
ing to earn his dally bread.
ger rate per mile from 2.04 cents In
1895 to 1.98 cents In 1915. a decrease
of 3 per cent, and by a reduction In the
average freight rate per ton mile from
8.39 mills In 1895 to 7.3 mills in 1915, or
13 per cent During the same period
the coat ef operation per train mile
rose from 92 centa to $1.78. almost
doubling. At the same time the aver
age price of 346 commodities er imer
ated in a bulletin ef the Department of
Agriculture increased 115 per cent.
Transportation is practically the eniy
commodity in general use that has not
Increased tremendously in price during
the past twenty years, freight and pas
senger charges being lower than they
were twenty years age.
Big Saving te Public.
If rates had risen proportionately to
the increase in the cost ef ether arti
cles of ordinary use, Mr. Krottschnitt
told the committee, the average pas
senger rate in ltlfi would hare been
2.96 oenta a stile, er M per oent higher
than it was, and the average freight
rate wosld have been 1.21 cents, er 66
per cent higher than it was. The sav
ing to the public in passenger fares
through this difference was $314,000,-
000 and in freight rates $1,340,000,000.
Universal railroad bankruptcy under
reduction in rates and increased
oost of operation, he said, was avoided
only by heavy expenditures to obtain
increased efficiency in train movement,
making it possible to haul more tons of
freight per locomotive. This had re
duced the average cost of hauling a
ton of freight, but the decline in the
average freight rate had reduced the
net revenue of the roads from each ton
hauled. If the operating costs of the
railroads, Including the prices of coal,
labor and material, continue to ad
vance at the present rate a lot of rail
roads will be in the hands of receivers
by 1918 unless some relief is afforded,
Mr. Krottschnitt told the committee.
"Owing to the rise of commodity
prices," he said, "the purchasing power
of the dollar has fallen 55 percent and
the railroads are in the position of be
ing compelled by law to accept pay
ment for their service to the public in
currency worth 45 cents on the dollar.
Public's Chief Interest.
"The public's greatest interest is in
adequate transportation facilities and
not so much in low rates. As to most
commodities freight rates form a very
small proportion of their cost. Ex
cluding low grade commodities, the
percentage of the freight rate to the
cost is so slight as to offer no justifica
tion for any substantial increase in
prices to the consumer. It may be
stated with little fear of contradiction
that the consumer seldom, if ever,
profits from a lowering of freight rates.
"Extortionate charges are a thing of
the past, snd under the attempt to cut
rates to their lowest possible figure
the interest ef the whole public in the
character and standard of transporta
tion is subordinated to the Interest or
that part of the public only that profits
by lower rates—that is to say, the ship
pers and their agents and not the gen
eral public, the ultimate consumer." I TeatroNEW STRANO |
| PROGRAMMA PER L'ENTRANTE SETTIMANA !
|[ Lundedi George Halsh nel MELTING MILLIONS !
ij Martedi, — Mentioned in CONFIDENCE IN THE <
\ DEATH OF PERIL. f j
jl Mercoledì Filma di Commedia: BRAON STORNI <
\\ Giovedì Rappresentazione di , 5 SPETTACOLI |j
j| Venerdì M.me PETROVE (la migliore attrice del ||
jl " giorno) in Metro Pictures LA QUESTIO- j!
j; / NE ETERNA. j;
|i Sabato A JOB FOR LIFE « jj
LOCALE IGIENICO, COMODO, ARIOSO
E PULITO, CON OTTIMA MUSICA
! POLO C AZZARA !
@ NEGOZIANTE ALL'INGROSSO !N |
I VINI E LIQUORI I
@ 11. ■ mTTw I @
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Potete telefonare a qualunque @
dei due telefoni-
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]
Storage Ice & Supply Co.
"The Velvet KincJ"
tk ICE CREAM'' pura ed igienica. E' da tutti ri-
I cercata per il suo sapore oltremodo gustosissimo.
Qualità finissima a buon prezzo. Dateci un ordine
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BELL 59 R. deppone LOCAL 390 W
Indiana, Penn'a
I "JOE" CAMPBELL |
Tutto a Buon Mercato ❖
❖ in Ottime ed Elegantissime ❖
| CALZATURE |
£ 662 PHILADELPHIA STREET %
| INDIANA,. PA. ,
IL NOSTRO AGENTE
PER LA CONTEA
D'INDIANA
e' il Sig. August Buccieri. Eg
li e' autorizzato da questa am
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BACCALA'
La Ditta PASQUALE GIUN
TA SONS Importatrice di generi
di grosseria del numero 1030 So.
9th Street di Philadelphia, Pa.
avvisa la sua clientela di aver ri
cevuto una gran partita di BAC
CALÀ' che vende al seguente
prezzo ;
PRIMA QUALITÀ' a $9;65 il
Barile.
SECONDA QUALITÀ' a 7;80
il Barile.
v I suddetti prezzi sono per tre
giorni solamente.
Volendo fare acquisti di MAC
CHERONI, marca "Giuseppe
Garibaldi," OLIO d'OLIVA,
CAFFÉ', SIGARI, FERRO
CHINA, OLIVE ed altri generi
di grosseria, scrivere alla DIT
TA.
PASQUALE GIUNTA SONS
Grande grosseria all'ingrosso
1030 So. 9th Street,
Philadelphia, Pa.
che vi fara' prezzi ristretti per
generi garentiti.
La macchina del
I business man
| Macchina unica a caratteri visibili
10 GIORNI DI PROVA GRATIS
r ■
TSLRI^ Xr&*2Bf%IL
WNAR J IML
B^P^^MPWMBIISRKMGFLGRLML
■MHMHHHHHMMMMMHMHMMHHM
I *
La macchina Woodstock ha un valore di SIOO e si da per
soli $59.50 a sola titolo di reclame.
/
L'Unica Macchina da Scrivere Negli Stati Uniti Con
Pagamento Facile di Soli 10 Soldi al Giorno.
;
Agenzia Italiana
15 N. Carpenter Ave. INDIANA, PA.
—— - - --
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BEAIfTIFUL
LOSS BROS. A CO.
* X» T«rt
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E' QUEGLI CHE INDOSSA I MAGNIFICI ADITI DI
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| Diffondete IL PATRIOTA fra i vostri amici
Chi e' il vostro sarto?
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1 Scriveteci e manderemo fino a casa vostra uno
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Ora in New Bronswick, N. J.
il
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