Nebraska advertiser., 1875-03-11
Q. NJ. e. p II. r.
The Presidents Report to the Stock.
holders.
yyEsr OUINcy Mo Mo,

WEST QUINCY, Mo, March 2, 1875.
! In submitting to yOu report concerning
| the property interest you hold in the Quin-
| cy, Missouri and Pacific Railroad. / shall re-
| fer only to the history of the road during the
period since our last annual meeting, and 70
| the prospects, which. in my opinion, we may
| anticl pate are likely to be realized in the fu-
| ture. You are all familiar with the circum-
| stances which surrounded us one year ago
and IL is probably sufficient to say that our
| general situation, Except rs IL is affected BY
| liabilities of the Company and the compile
| ton of the road is not materially changed.
These negotiations. 1t may be here briefly
| remarked, are satisfactorily progressing, and
In all probability, will soon be successfully
cOnSummated.
The Indebtedness Of the company remains
substantially the same In amount as IL was
one year since. No bonded securities have
been sold, and the company have been solely
dependent upon the earnings of the road to
meet current expenses. The reports submit
ted herewith show that all acerRing accounts
for operating the road have been promptly
met that an encouraging increase I'm the
earnings has been realized, and that the net
income has been largely In excess Of 1873.
The gross earnings Of 1874 are fifteen and
one-half per cent. in excess OF the earnings
of 1873, and the net earnings of 1874. inelud
ing all operating expenses. current general
expenses and taxes show an increase over
1873 Of more than double in amount. These
facts speak well for the care and economical
management OF the officers In charge of the
operating department, as well a. for the bus
iness tact shown In developing the receipts
of the road.
All taxes have been promptly paid in COM
pliance with the statute Of Missouri, the to-
tai amount being Sl0564.2S.
While II must be admitted that the present
income from your property does not yield
such return as the capital invested de-
mands, yet we must bear In mind that the
enterprise is scarcely more than begun that
but little more than one fourth Of the road Is
now in operation. and that we may feel cer-
tain, in view of the fact that a line OF only 20
miles is doing as well as IL Is. that the COM
pleted road of Do miles would be a most ex-
cellent property. | am satisfied that our
road Is doing even much better than roads Of
similar length I'm the western country. We
have as yet no traffic except such as is afford
ed by the ordinary products OF a country.
rich and fertile IL is true yet at this time but
partially developed. and while our business
has rapidly increased in volume, vet we have
stream of traffic from coal transportation.
which IS so sure and so great a source of rev.
enue to some OF even the shorter lines.
An extension of less than six mil will
bring us into one of the richest coal fields in
the Western States. and when that is COM
pleted we may look for a substantial increase
in our earnings, as well as a considerable
decrease in our working expenses by the
chea pening OF our fuel
1t affords me pleasure to be able to report
that during the year past, no accidents have
occurred In the running of the trains, nor
have there been any Interruptions or delays
in the regular business Of the line.
For the present our policy must be to take
the best care OF our property, to keep 1t in
thorough and good condition. and TO man.
age the operation of the road with such
wise economy, that while the expenditures
may be kept at minimum amount, the
business interests Of the line will at the same
time be fOstered and developed.
Even should we be Obliged to depend solely
upon our own resources. / am satisfied we
can soon build to the coal fields, and from
time to time extend the road westward. The
additional traffic to be expected from coal,
united TO the receipts from our steadily In
creasing business. will pay fair interest,
probably five per cent. on the capital invest
ed. As sn evidence of this. may refer to
the receipts of the road from September, 1874,
to February, 1875 both inclusive. the earn
ings of the latter month being closely ap-
prOximated.
The gross receipts for these six months are |
s65. 1924, and the net earnings 25.26O94. 1t |
is safe to assume that the net earninqe from
ordinary sources. added to the receipts from
coal transportation when the road is extend |
six miles west Of KirkSville. will aggregate |
S65, 600 per annum. or about five per cent. on |
the capital invested.
You are probably aware that during the |
past year the directory has been unremitting /
In It's efforts to close certain negotiations |
looking toward the settlement Of the liabii- |
ties OF the company, and the completion of |
the road to It's western terminus. While I |
am unable, for reasons apparent to all. To en- /
ter into the details of these negotiations and |
explain the features Of the same. can. how
ever, assure you that we have everY reason /
TO be encouraged as to its ultimate success
An enterprise of the character and real /
merit of the Quincy, Missouri and Pacific |
Railroad must necessarily attract the atten-
tion of capitalists and Notwithstanding the
influence of the times and the
fact that many roads are In financial difficult
", and are defaulting in the payment of In
terest on bonded securities, we have found
hat our line has been favorsbly looked upon