REPORT OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD COMPANY. 9

house and port charges, fuel, feeding passengers and crew, labor on
cargo and coal, repairs to engine department, wages and insurance, all
of which show material increases. _

As yet no steps have been taken to enlarge the terminal facilities of
the line at New York, but owing to the ‘material improvements at
Colon the steamship business at that point is handled at a cost, con-
sidering labor conditions that is not equaled, and at a rate of speed
that is not exceeded by any port in the world. | |

In my report for the first ten months of 1905 I referred to having
secured for our line, on long-term charters, from the Isthmian Canal
Commission, the steamships Mexico and Havana. The large capacity
and speed of those vessels has materially assisted in the prompt
movement of trafic. They have been renamed Colon and Fanama,
respectively. —

A ~ depreciation fund” for steamers and tugs has been opened on
the company’s books, which is credited each month with a fixed pro-
portion of their book value (6 per cent in case of steamers and 10 per
cent in case of tugs and lighters), offset by a charge to ‘‘ operating
expenses.”

MISCHLLANEOUS RAILROAD EXPENSES.

The combined expenditures under this head, which include lighter-
age, docks and wharves, real estate, etc., amounted to 9202, 28 6.86, an
increase of $19,027.73, or 8.16 per cent. |

GENERAL REMARKS.

During the period from January i, 1894, to June 30, 1906, inclusive,
the percentage of total expenses to gross earnings was as follows:

Per cent.
SOAS a Ge ee ee es 69. 93
SOD Re es ore es Se ee 61. 63
SOO eS re ee a ee 53. 94
1897 (including taxes and appropriations for depreciaion CLC) ae ee 61. 12
1898 (including taxes and appropriations for depreciation, etc.)...-......-.-. 64.91
1899 (including taxes and appropriations for depreciation, etc.)-....--------- 64. 66
1900 (including taxes and appropriations for depreciation, etc.)....-...--..-- 69. 25
1901 { (including taxes and appropriations for depreciation, etc.) ....-.-.-.-- 64. 72
(or including Eaciic lnemot Operated 1m 1900) > 6 76. 34
1902 | (including taxes and appropriations for depreciation, etc.) ......--.-- . 65. 87
(or including Pacific line operated for six months) .-............-...- 71. 02
1903 (including appropriations for depreciation and special repairs) ..-.-.--- 66. O1
_ 1904 (including appropriations for depreciation and special repairs) -..-...-- 63. 69
1905 (including appropriations for depreciation and special repairs) ..---.--. 77.49
1906, June 30 (including appropriations for Eee and special repairs)
cwolve months 92 54

The monthly charge, « on the basis of half rates, made to the Isthmian
Canal Commission, for the transportation of its officials and employees
over the railroad, was advanced to $5,000 on November I last.

A revocable license has been eranted to the Union Oil Company, of
California, to lay a pipe line across the Isthmus, along the company’s
line of road, for the transportation of oil from the Pacific to the
Atlantic side. Its installation is rapidly approaching completion.

Through a new interpretation of the scope of Article XX of the
company’s contract of concession, which has been mutually agreed to
between the parties concerned, it ‘has been provided that half rates be