The value-added in this post for Economics in the Rear-view Mirror are the course description, enrollment and final exam for William Z. Ripley’s one semester course at Harvard during the 1911-12 academic year on the economics of transportation. I have copied and pasted some biographical information about Ripley’s T.A. for the course, Arthur Stone Dewing, and appended a list of links for earlier exams on the economics of transportation.
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Bonus Material
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Not your typical teaching assistant
Dr. Arthur Stone Dewing was born (April 16, 1880) and died (January 19, 1971) in Boston. His academic degrees were awarded by Harvard (A.B., 1902; A.M., 1903; Ph.D. in Philosophy, 1905). Dissertation title: “Negation and Intuition in the Philosophy of Schelling.” He also studied at the University of Munich. Dewing taught philosophy from 1902 to 1913 and in economics and finance from 1911 to 1933. He was one of the founders of the Harvard Business School. For a memorial see Cornelius Vermeil, “Arthur Stone Dewing”, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. 83, 1971, pp. 165-167.
Incidentally Arthur S. Dewing was a distinguished numismatist, his collection of nearly three thousand ancient Greek coins was considered “one of the most outstanding in the hands of a private collector in the world.” Here a fascinating article about the theft and recovery of much the Dewing collection.
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Monographs/Books on Transportation by W. Z. Ripley
Transportation. Chapter from the Final report of the U.S. Industrial Commission (Vol. XIX) and privately issued by the author for the use of his students and others. Washington, D.C., 1902.
Railway Problems, edited with an introduction by William Z. Ripley (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1907).
Railroads: Rates and Regulation (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912).
Railroads: Finance & Organization (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1915).
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Course Description
1911-12
51hf. Economics of Transportation. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 10. Professor Ripley, assisted by Dr. Dewing.
A brief outline of the historical development of rail and water transportation in the United States will be followed by a description of the condition of transportation systems at the present time. The four main subdivisions of rates and rate-making, finance, traffic operation, and legislation will be considered in turn. The first deals with the relation of the railroad to shippers, comprehending an analysis of the theory and practice of rate-making. An outline will be given of the nature of railroad securities, the principles of capitalization, and the interpretation of railroad accounts. Railroad operation will deal with the practical problems of the traffic department, such as the collection and interpretation of statistics of operation, pro-rating, the apportionment of cost, depreciation and maintenance, etc. Under legislation, the course of state regulation and control in the United States and Europe will be traced.
Course 5 is open only to students who have passed in Economics 1.
Source: Division of History, Government, and Economics: 1911-12 (1st ed.). Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. VIII, No. 23 (June 15, 1911), p. 63.
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Course Enrollment
1911-12
Economics 5 1hf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. Dewing. — Economics of Transportation.
Total 99: 4 Graduate, 23 Seniors, 54 Juniors, 14 Sophomores, 3 Freshmen, 1 Other.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1911-1912, p. 64.
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ECONOMICS 5
Final exam
(mid-year 1911-12)
- The “operating ratio” on the Delaware and Hudson is 59.7; on the New Haven 67; and on the Union Pacific 51. Suggest explanations for these variations.
- Pittsburg soft coal operators contend that their freight rate to the Lake ports is unreasonably high; and urge, as one reason for a reduction, the fact that the predominant movement of other tonnage, principally iron ore, is in the opposite direction. In other words, because many cars would otherwise be hauled northwards empty, soft coal should be carried as a back load at cheaper rates.
Discuss this proposition; indicating especially what other factors must necessarily be considered. - Does a “flat rate” over a large territory favor the local jobbers within that territory or not? Illustrate by an actual or hypothetical case.
- State the main features of the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, — the East Federal law regulating common carriers.
- Contrast the Gould and Harriman policies of railroad expansion, pointing out the main reasons for the success of one and the failure of the other.
- Define carefully: —
Commodity rate.
Valuation of railroads.
Stock watering.
Collateral Trust Bond.
Voting Trust.
- What was the nature of the first great case to come before the Interstate Commerce Commission under the law of 1910, which could not have arisen under the law of 1906? How was it decided?
- Are there any features of transportation in foreign countries which seem to you to be worthy of imitation in the United States? If so, indicate how they would need to be modified to suit our conditions.
Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University — Examination papers, 1873-1915. Box 6. Bound volume, Examination Papers, 1912. Harvard University Examinations. Papers Set For Examinations in History, History of Science, Government, Economics […], pp. 49-50.
Earlier exams etc. for Economics 5,
Pol Econ 9
(Economics of Transportation/ Railroads)
1887-88 (James Laurence Laughlin)
1888-89 (John Henry Gray)
1889-90 [Omitted]
1890-91 (Frank William Taussig)
1891-92 (Frank William Taussig)
1892-93 (Frank William Taussig)
1893-94 (Frank William Taussig)
1894-95 (George Ole Virtue)
1895-96 (Frank William Taussig)
1896-97 (Frank William Taussig)
1897-98 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1898-99 (Hugo Richard Meyer
1899-1900 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1900-01 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1901-02 (Ripley with Hugo Richard Meyer)
1903-04 (Ripley alone)
1904-05 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1905-06 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1906-07 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett and Walter Wallace McLaren). Also with the Assignment of Reports.
1907-08 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1908-09 (Ripley with Edmund Thorton Miller)
1909-10 (Ripley with Eliot Jones)
1910-11 (Ripley with Ralph Cahoon Whitnack)
….etc.
1906-07. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)
1907-08. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)
Image Source: madoncollections.com.