A painstaking effort to secure accurate statistics concerning recent increases in these expenditures and losses has been made and data for that purpose have been supplied by many of the railways operating east of the Mississippi river. These data are necessarily incomplete and fragmentary, the accounts of many of the companies not being kept in such form as fully to disclose the items desired. In few cases were the data which could be obtained for any line complete--some companies were able to report particular items while other companies could not give these, but could supply others. Generally speaking, it should be realized that the tabulation of these reports makes a showing which is incomplete mainly in the form of omissions. A conservative computation discloses that the costs due to increases in expenses or reductions in revenue imposed by statutes or by Commissions acting under Federal and State regulatory laws costs the railways of the United States approximately $200,000,000 in two years. That this is not an exaggerated estimate will be appreciated by reference to the principal general items of expenditures as enumerated on the preceding pages. Until these items shall have been assigned a proper classification in the accounts of the railroads the accurate results may not be ascertained, but it will at once occur to those in any measure informed that there has been an enormous increase of work and expense placed upon the carriers to conform to the innumerable requirements of State and Federal laws and the rulings of the Commissions thereunder, and that this burden has extended to all departments of the carriers. Litigation and miscellaneous expenses appear as a large part of these new costs, and in addition the carriers' revenues have been greatly depleted either directly by the laws, orders of Commissions or suggestions having practically the force of orders, resulting in reductions of freight and passenger charges. COST OF OBTAINING NEW CAPITAL.