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Bad Oil!look for Iowa Railroads. ,(Pram I ho Duluunia TimeH.J ,It ia evident that Home of t.ho rail- troads iu the State of Iowa are not themonopolies which they are generally termed, or else monopolies may he of a i very nprofitablo kiml. A sliort time , since wo had an account of the sale of lt;the 1oh Moines Valley railroad, be- ; cause of the failure of tlio company to ! pay interest on its bonds. Tho capital i stock of tlio road hus long been value-less, and all tho company could possibly do was to pay the running expenses. It ! was undoubtedly doing whatever bttsi- ' uess iB performed for the public at leea ‘ than coat, because, while it has done nothing toward liquidating tho interest account upon its bonds, and has given ' its stockholders not tho value of a cent, iit has also been allowing its road-bed to deteriorate badly. The settlement of , the eonutry may bring it to a paying condition some time in tho future, but up to this time, and for years to come, -no one will Lie likely to class the Des 1 Moines Valley Company as beiug among { those monsters of monop lies, getting rich off tlio spoils of the people. 1Tlio Central railroad ol Iowa seems to .be last reaching tho condition of the 'Dcs Moines Valley. Its directors have just issued a circular to tho bondholders, declaring that tlio earnings of the • road for the last year wore less than the coat of operating, and that therefore, ' although they wore compelled to pass j the Ajiril payment of interest upon the second-mortgage bonds, they ure now : again compelled to pass the July interest upon the first mortguge. The float- | ing debt is also more than $950,000, of winch more than 0110-half, or $524,000, is for money udvauced to pay previous interest. They also dealaro that the road cannot be properly worked without a largo increase of equipment; and thirty-three miles of it is practicully useless without tho construction of thir-ty-ono miles of new lino, and means to provide this must he provided.The Dubuque Southwestern RailroadiH only bonded for about $10,000 per mile, and although it has been thus far enabled to pay interest upon its bonds, it hus not for two years, if ever, paid a cunt in the way of dividend upon its capital stock. A surplus which it hud on hand kbt year enabled it to pay the lust installment of interest due on its bonds, but it is exceedingly doubtful if it will bo enabled to meet tho next coupons due, aud thus far, this year, it has been unable to pay its taxes ia some of the counties.According to the best information we can get, the C., 0. and 1). and the 0., 1. and M. present no greater indications of profit. The river competition keeps their schedules down to low rates, and their receipts, in comparison with their earnings, give no evidence of u balance on tho right side. If they earn sufficient to pay running expenses, and interest upuu their bonds, for a few yearsto come, wc apprehend that the Directory will be well satisfied.Evou tho Illinois Central reported the expense of its Iowa Division $40,009 more last year than its receipts, and the gross earnings of its Western Division ure given at only $1,887.12 per mile— hardly enough to pay running expenses, to suy nothing of rontal aud repairs.The Davenport and Bt. Raul railroad reports gross* eaxniugu of only $837.71 per mile, and, with its increased length, will not for some time euru enough to pay its taxes and the coupons on its bonds.Even the Bioux City ami Pacific, with its Government subsidy in bonds and lands, has not, we Understand, paid a dollar of dividend to its stockholders. :The Burlington and Bouthwestern, the Chicago and Southwestern, the Iowa : Midland, the Babulu, Ackley and Dakota and the Biqux City and St. Paul arc all in u condition other than profitable to ;
Newspaper Details
Algona Republican
Algona, Iowa, US
Wed, Jul 30, 1873
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Don B.
USA 27 Jun 2023
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