In no other country and at no previous time have railroad operations received as much attention as at present in the United States, and it is doubtful whether these matters have ever been more ?a grantly misinterpreted. The economic importance of American railroads and the participation of the people as individual investors in their rapid growth and development creates a demand for the proper understanding of railroad activities and operating results. Government regulation under the Inter state Commerce Act has promoted and assisted this demand. The publications of the Federal and State commissions are now as important sources of statistical, information as the reports issued by the individual railroad companies. These published sta tistical returns are in many ways useful to the rail road manager, to the investor and to the public. The expensiveness of compilation and the liability to abuse and misinterpretation render necessary the utmost wariness and care in analyzing such data.