These statistics have been called for by the Post Office Department to enable it to make accurate comparisons between the space used and the facilities furnished on passenger trains for the three classes of service performed, that is, for express companies, for the Government in mail carriage, and for passengers. The point of the whole inquiry is this: Does the Government contribute to the cost of the passenger train service upon the railroads of the country its fair share, that is, in proportion to the space and facilities it demands and requires the companies to furnish for the mails? In making the comparison all the car space in all passenger trains must be measured and tabulated and has been measured and tabulated in the tables here submitted. A passenger car may have seats to accommodate eighty persons; the average load it carries may be fifteen persons. But in making up these returns of "space," all the empty space in that car is credited as passenger space. That car may likewise be loaded only one way and returned "dead head," but these returns have credited such return movement as passenger space. The same is true of the express service in these returns. All space in all baggage and express cars set aside for the express company's use is, in these tables of statistics, credited to express, whether in fact loaded or "surplus," or "dead head" space. How is a comparison possible, unless the space credited to the mails is recorded in the same way? As stated above, only five per cent of the whole space is involved in the question of "surplus" space, and if that five per cent should be entirely thrown out, the percentage results would not be materially changed. RESULTS UPON THE BURLINGTON ROAD. The Government cannot justly ask a railroad company to carry the mails without profit. The passenger business on the Burlington road is conducted without profit if it is charged with the expenses assignable to passenger traffic, and a proper proportion of the expenses not thus specifically assignable, and a fair share of the taxes and the charges for capital in the form of interest on bonds and dividends on stock. The profit in the business comes from the freight. This fact gives force to the present inquiry of the Post Office Department to determine whether the Government, in proportion to the service and facilities it requires from the roads on passenger trains, is contributing a fair proportion of the passenger train earnings. If the passenger train business, as a whole, is carried on at a loss, the Government ought, in fairness, to stand at least its share of the loss. The earnings of the Burlington Company from all passenger train service in November were $2,242,099. The following table shows the earnings from passengers, from mail and express, and the space used in passenger trains by the three classes of traffic and the proportion of earnings contributed for facilities so used: