It was scarcely to be expected that the relatively new system of the Southern Pacific would not suffer with the rest. The figures seem to show, however, that the Huntington lines suffered more than most eastern railroads from the depression in business following the panic of 1893. While it is true that the portion of the roads operated by the Southern Pacific Company which was known as the Atlantic system, comprising the lines east of El Paso, escaped with a decline of earnings from $7,700 per mile to $7,400, or only 43 per cent, the Pacific system, including the Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific Railroad of California, witnessed a decline in its returns from $8,000 per mile in 1891 to $6,400 per mile in 1897, or a loss of from five to six times as much in gross, and a still greater relative decline in net, receipts. The following table shows the earnings and expenses of the Central Pacific Railroad per mile of road from 1885 to the reorganization of the company in 1898: OPERATING RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD OF CALIFORNIA, 1885-98 PER MILE OF ROAD Year Gross Earnings Operating Expenses Net Earnings 1885 $ 8,383.26 $3,712.93 $4,670.33 1886 9,135.18 4,445.62 4,689.56 1887 10,092.27 5,394.48 4,697.79 1888 11,641.24 7,079.38 4,561.86 1889 11,416.92 7,178.13 4,238.79 1890 11,715.97 7,259.55 4,456.42 1891 12,224.76 6,771.95 5,452.81 1892 10,745.16 6,548.29 4,196.87 1893 10,488.89 6,267.71 4,221.18 1894 9,578.18 6,008.06 3,570.12 1895 9,534.31 5,990.94 3,543.37 1896 9,159.68 5,706.59 3,453.09 1897 4,270.75(*) 2,715.62(*) 1,555.13(*) 1898 11,595.87 6,769.00 4,826.87 (*) Six months only. These figures show very clearly that the gross receipts of the Ogden route increased on the average per mile of road from 1885 to 1891, but that they fell off largely and persistently from 1891 to 1897. Indeed, the net earnings per mile each year from 1894 to 1897 inclusive, were less than those for any of the nine preceding years. Suspension of Central Pacific Dividends