133.  To  restore  the  railways  to  solvency,  it  was  not  possible  to  put  up  the
rates,  even  if  this  had  been  desirable  with  the  experience  before  them,  and
the  railway  officials  wore  forced  to  devise  methods  which  would  permit  of
their  carrying  the  traffic  at  these  low  rates  and  at  the  same  time  earn  a
dividend  for  the  stockholders.     The  alert  American  mind  was  not  lou"  in
devising  those  methods,  and  to-day,  railway  ra'es  for  goods  traffic,  judged
as  a  whole,  are  lower  in  America  than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world
India  not  excepted,  the  average  rate  in  1902  per  English  ton  of  2,'240  Ibs.
per  mile  being  in  America  5  •  03  pies  ( 12  pies  =  Id.  —  2  cents)  as  compared
with  the  average  rate  for  all  India  of  6  •  68  pies.
This  is  the  average  rate  charged,  not  by  railways  which  are  in  a  state  of
insolvency,  but  by  railways  which,  taken  as  a  whole,  are  as  prosperous  as  the
railways  in  India.  In  1902  the  railways  in  India,  taken  collectively,  yielded
enough  net  earnings  to  pay  a  return  of  4 '92  per  cent,  on  the  total
capitalisation.*  The  American  railways  in  the  same  year  yielded  exactly  the
same  amount,  namely  4-92  per  cent.,  on  their  total  capitalisation,*  notwith-
standing the  fact  that  they  charged  large — very  large — sums  to  operating
expenses,  which  in  India  would  be  charged  to  Capital.
