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Editorial
August 31, 1953
Trainman News
Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
What is this article about?
A 1953 editorial critiques rising railroad profits, noting a 4% revenue increase but 34.8% net income rise in the first half-year, attributing this to inequitable wealth distribution that denies labor fair share, risking economic breakdown and stagnation.
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Full Text
Labor Must Share
According to a report by the Bureau of
Transport Economics and Statistics of the
Interstate Commerce Commission, operating
revenues of Class I railroads reached an all-time
high for the first six months of 1953. They were
$5,327.2 million for the first six months, as com-
pared with $5,120.6 for the corresponding period
of 1952, an increase of four per cent. Some part
of the increase was attributed to freight rate
increases authorized in Ex Parte No. 175 pro-
ceedings.
More significant to railroad employees, how-
ever, was the same bureau's report regarding net
income for these railroads. Their net income for
the first six months of 1953 was estimated at
$418 million, compared with $310 million in the
corresponding period of 1952. This is an increase
in net income of more than 34.8 per cent, com-
pared with a four per cent increase in operating
revenues.
From this spread between four per cent and
34.8 per cent is written the peak profits and peak
consumer debts now prevailing. Translated into
everyday realities of our national economy, this
means that more and more profits are being
made out of increasingly productive workers. It
proves the inequitable distribution of wealth,
the unfair sharing with labor that, if continued,
means eventual breakdown of our economy be-
cause the total national product cannot be sold.
Thus, factories close, the economy stagnates
and some economic experts begin to look to the
spots on the sun to determine the source of this
awful economic malady that brings on depres-
sions and panics.
So often, man thinks it is the sun, rather than
himself, that makes his shadows.
According to a report by the Bureau of
Transport Economics and Statistics of the
Interstate Commerce Commission, operating
revenues of Class I railroads reached an all-time
high for the first six months of 1953. They were
$5,327.2 million for the first six months, as com-
pared with $5,120.6 for the corresponding period
of 1952, an increase of four per cent. Some part
of the increase was attributed to freight rate
increases authorized in Ex Parte No. 175 pro-
ceedings.
More significant to railroad employees, how-
ever, was the same bureau's report regarding net
income for these railroads. Their net income for
the first six months of 1953 was estimated at
$418 million, compared with $310 million in the
corresponding period of 1952. This is an increase
in net income of more than 34.8 per cent, com-
pared with a four per cent increase in operating
revenues.
From this spread between four per cent and
34.8 per cent is written the peak profits and peak
consumer debts now prevailing. Translated into
everyday realities of our national economy, this
means that more and more profits are being
made out of increasingly productive workers. It
proves the inequitable distribution of wealth,
the unfair sharing with labor that, if continued,
means eventual breakdown of our economy be-
cause the total national product cannot be sold.
Thus, factories close, the economy stagnates
and some economic experts begin to look to the
spots on the sun to determine the source of this
awful economic malady that brings on depres-
sions and panics.
So often, man thinks it is the sun, rather than
himself, that makes his shadows.
What sub-type of article is it?
Labor
Economic Policy
What keywords are associated?
Labor Sharing
Railroad Profits
Economic Inequality
Wealth Distribution
Productive Workers
National Economy
What entities or persons were involved?
Bureau Of Transport Economics And Statistics
Interstate Commerce Commission
Class I Railroads
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Inequitable Sharing Of Railroad Profits With Labor
Stance / Tone
Critical Of Profit Distribution, Advocating Fairer Labor Share
Key Figures
Bureau Of Transport Economics And Statistics
Interstate Commerce Commission
Class I Railroads
Key Arguments
Operating Revenues Up 4% To $5,327.2 Million In First Half 1953
Net Income Up 34.8% To $418 Million
Profits From Increasingly Productive Workers
Inequitable Wealth Distribution To Labor
Unfair Sharing Leads To Unsold National Product
Results In Economic Breakdown, Stagnation, Depressions