The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-05-29
0. |. co.'s FINANCES.
Report of Receiver C.
j. Smith Filed Yesterday.
INTERESTING FACTS SHOWN sYir
Investments in King County the Only
Oaes Which Have Been in the Least
Degree Remunerative.

Receiver c. J. Smith. of the Oregon In
provemert Company, fled in the United
States circuit court yesterday the annual
report of the affairs OF that company fos
the year ending March 81. 1885. and also
h-s regular monthly report for March.
The report constitutes a gcod-sized vol
ume OF statistics. from which a good deal
Of interesting Information may, by patient
search. be CLEANED. II not only discsoses
the present financial condition % the COM
pany of which he IS receiver. but a care
tal examination will show why the COM
pany became so financially embarrassed
as 20 render the appointment OF any re-
ceiver necessary.
The property of the company consists OF
steamers. land ard coal properties. and al
so Of all. or at least the greater portion OF
the stock Of the following companies: The
Pacific Coast Steamship Company. the Pa
citic Coast Railway Company, the Column
b.a & Puget Sound Railway Company. the
Seattle & Northern Railway Company and
Port Townsend Southern Railway Com
pany Operated In TWO branches. one from
Olympia. the other from Port Townsend).
OF these properties the Columbia & P,l-
get Sound railroad and the coal mines are
located In King county, and the steamers
are operated from Seattle. These are the
only properties which show now. or have
shown in the last two years. any earning
capacity. All of the others show a heavy
annual loss in their operations. with the
sole exception of the Seattle & Northern
railway, which shows net earnings for the
year OF $5.es4
During tae last year she Columbia & Pu-
get Sound railroad earned, net, S.. iss. %:
the coal mines. SIS .is, and the steamers.
50. f6i-s0; or in the aggregate the net earn
inss Of the properties owned In King eoun-
ty were so. 1906. The aggregate net earn
ings OF all the properties combined was
only Ss,1a.3. Had il not been for the
earning capacity of its Seattle properties
the annual deficit would thus have been
upwards of sse.ooO
A comparison with the figures Of the re-
port for the year ending March 81. 1885, IS
also interesting During the former year
the Pacific Coast Steamship Company was
operated at a deficit of sl7.lf3.oa For the
year ending March 81, 1885, the deficit was
xs,S1i.ss- liz the former year tine Pacific
Coast railway earned. net. s3,35Sl5: last
year It's expenses exceeded its income
N.ss5. The deficit on the two branches OF
the Port Townsend Southern was a tr,ns
greater the former year than for last year.
there having been Heavy reduction in
operating expenses and a sight increase in
business.
The Columbia 4 Puget Sound shows an
increase in net earnings over the former
year OF A.iss-a2, while the coal mines show
falling OF Of sls.52s.sl. and the steamers
OF $5,5Qo33
The percentage OF operating expenses TO
increase n the former year was s3so. and
last year it was ss.i2 The gross earnings
or the King county property-the coal
mines and narrow gauge raiiroad-were
S2i4, la. . las; year, and the operating ex-
penses sls7.Ss.so. From this IL appe lrs that
the percentage OF operating expenses TO in
come. as far as the King county properties
were concerned, was only sssi
Altogether the report shows clearly that
the valuable properties OF the company
and the only ones which. even during the
financial depression. haze had far earn
ing capacity are those first invested In by
the company, that Is. the coal mines and
narrow gauge railroad in King county, the
distincuvely Seattle investments. The
railroad was originally built and the urln
cipal mine originally developed by Seattle
capitalists. and the company came into
possession Of them by purchase after thew
had become OF value
The later investments OF the connanv
II would appear by the report. almost uni
formly have been unfortunate. and they
are responsible for the present bad fuan-
eial condition OF the company.