Manner and extent of supervision largely gauged by the character of the government, 471. — Accounting methods of the German railroads, 472. — Defects, 473. — Policy of the British government, 474. — Published statistics give little information in regard to operating costs of the net return on capital investment, 477. — Prescribed accounts fall into two groups, those relating to Capital and those relating to Revenue, 479. — Objections to the "Double Account, " 480. — Form of the general balance sheet unsatisfactory, 482. — Chief defect in British accounting methods that they fail to distinguish properly between capital and revenue expenditure, 485. — Railroad policy of France, 489. — Close financial bonds existing between railroads and government, 490. — Prescribed accounts, 490. — Auditing commission, 496.—Preventive control exercised by consultative committee, 497.