A plan was devised for making up solid trains of live stock and of perishable freight and also consolidated trains of export freight at Western points and forwarding them on certain days of the week directly and rapidly to their destinations. Passenger trains that had been mainly competitive and such others as could be spared were dropped, resulting in the elimination during the first seven months of Federal control of 47,000,000 passenger train miles--an economy in motive power and equipment without which the successful movement of troops would have been impossible. Equipment was standardized, making possible its universal use, and freight cars were more heavily loaded. In place of the separate ticket offices made necessary by private and competitive ownership consolidated ticket offices were opened in all large cities, 101 of these doing the work of the former 564. The result aimed at was both economy and a better distribution of the passenger traffic. The Railroad Administration saw in the inland and coastal waterways and the coastwise shipping service an important possible aid in its task of making transportation equal to wartime needs, and so mid-Western rivers and Eastern canals were brought into coöperation with railway service and several coast-wise lines of steamships were made a part of its facilities. The rental, or return, guaranteed to the railroad companies amounted for the year approximately to $950,000,000. Upon the advice of a commission appointed to investigate the matter of wages and living costs among railroad employees, wages were raised and threatened labor trouble thereby averted, the increase amounting to between $600,000,000 and $700,000,000 for the year. In the ten months ending November 1st the railroad receipts from freight, passenger and other sources aggregated over $4,000,000,000 and were almost as large as for the whole of the previous year. The receipts were greater by 20 per cent, but operating expenses also had increased by more than $1,000,000,000, the year 1918 breaking all records for both revenues and expenses. The increase in wages, in cost of coal, and in all maintenance and operating costs was responsible for the increase of expenses, which would have been much greater but for the economies introduced. Freight rates were raised during the year to help meet the raise of wages, while a substantial increase in passenger rates was put in force both to help in that result and to discourage unnecessary passenger traffic during wartime conditions. There was a final balance against the Government, as between the net income of the roads and the guaranteed return to their owners, of between $150,000,000 and $200,000,000.