Furthermore, the German railways in Turkey, the failure of which had been freely prophesied, proved to be successful business enterprises. The directors took all possible steps to build up the earning power of the lines, rather than depend upon the minimum return guaranteed by the Ottoman Government. The railways were efficiently and intelligently administered—the operating expenses of the Anatolian and Bagdad lines never exceeded 47% of the gross receipts, although the operating expenses of the chief European railways, under much more favorable conditions, varied from 54% to 62% of gross receipts during the same period. Occasional dividends of 5% or 6% were paid by the Anatolian and Bagdad Railway Companies between 1906 and 1914, but only when the disbursements were warranted by earnings. In 1911, a notable advance was made by the introduction of oil-burning locomotives on the Bagdad lines; henceforth the German railways in Turkey were operated with fuel purchased from the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey![18] This scrupulously careful management eventually brought its reward. In 1911, the earnings of the Angora line exceeded the kilometric guarantee and, in accordance with the terms of the concession, the Ottoman Government received a share of the receipts. In 1912, the returns of the Eski Shehr-Konia line also exceeded the sum guaranteed by the Government, the Ottoman Treasury receiving a share of the earnings of the Anatolian system to an amount of more than $200,000. After 1913, no further payments to the Anatolian Railway Company were required under the kilometric guarantees.[19] The results on the completed sections of the Bagdad Railway were equally promising, as will be indicated by the following table:[20] _Year_ _Kilometres_ _Passengers_ _Freight_ _Gross_ _Total_ _in_ _Tons_ _Receipts per_ _Government_ _Operation_ _Kilometre_ _Subsidy_ (_Francs_) (_Francs_) 1906 200 29,629 13,693 1,368.83 624,028.21 1907 200 37,145 23,643 1,754.44 546,129.77 1908 200 52,759 15,941 1,839.86 529,443.12 1909 200 57,026 15,364 1,936.72 509,565.45 1910 200 71,665 27,756 2,571.43 381,135.58 1911 238 95,884 38,046 3,379.34 238,166.59 1912 609 288,833 57,670 5,315.67 278,785.25 1913 609 407,474 78,645 3,786.53 216,295.17 1914 887 597,675 116,194 8,177.97 2,939,983.00 Figures in italics indicate payments _to_ the Turkish Government of its share of the receipts in excess of the guarantee of 4,500 francs per kilometre.