Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1900-05-02
Here is Mr.. Miller's letter in full:

Complying with your request here
with submit few facts regarding the
experience of Waverly people in build
Ing the Waverly Short Line. ] In the
year 1885 a company was organized to
build spur to connect with the B. Q.
R. & N. Ry. at point ~ miles south
west of here. "A proposition to levy q
5 per cent. tax was submitted to the
people of this township at special
election in the spring Of 1886 and was
carried, though not without consider
able opposition. The terms of the
proposition ieqhilsd that. the. road
should be completed and in operation
by August I, 1886, but there grew up
various .dissenslons among Its project
ors and for time it seemed that the
whole thing would be allowed to 90
by default. But as the time approached
when the tax would be invalidated
they got together in earnest and pre-
pared to put the road through with q
rush. Before the first spike was driven,
however, the road was leased to the b.
C. r. 81 N. Ry. Co., the terms of which
lease will state later. think that it
was after July when the work was
gotten underway, and by the specified
time it was completed and trains were
running to point within the corporate
limits of the city as required, but still
mile from the business part where it
was intended the depot should be To-
Gated. This was on account of an I'M
fOrseen obstacle that arose when it
came to crossing the track of the Hin
OILS Central, the Short-Line builders
one morning being surprised to find
their future progress checked by a side
track of the former road which had
been built during the night and filled
with dead engines and old box cars. 1
cite this incident merely to show the
extra expense that was incurred in
building our Short Line, which in all
probability would not occur in the
building of other similar lines. A per,
manent injunction against the crossing
was secured in the court and there was
no alternative left but to pass under the
Central's track. Owing to the char
acter of the grade at that point this re-
quired the elevation of the I. G. track
for q long distance and for this expense
the Short Line Co. had to put up a
cool 1000, and gentleman prom
inently connec ted with the building of
the road informs me that the urgency
of the construction and the busy season
of the year when it necessarily had to
be done, made the cost of the road an
other $4,000 greater than it should
have been.
AS it was, the total cost of the COM
pleted,- road with commodious depot
centrally located, ample stock yards, etc.
was $4,000. 0fthis sum $685. 900 was
raised by taxation. $4,000 was taken
in stock or donated outright by leading
citizens. This left the road with an
Indebtedness Of 500 600 and there were
plenty of gloomy predictions as to what
would become Of it. The tax receipts
of those upon whom the bafdeH-ef- tax
alton fell,and with awful as weight they
then thought, were converted into stock
at its face value, and this is the only
stock that is in existence today, except
$1,000 worth issued to those who went
down into their pockets as donators
and asked livestock as q, slight return
for their generosity. SoMb Of theta1pay.
ers sold their stock for song, and Others
held ontoit.. .N'all had been fsr-seeipg.
enough to retain it we would have the
rather unusual condition here of every
taxpayer being interested in an invest
ment that PAYS AN ANNUAL DIVIDEND
OF FROM IA TO 16 PER CENT FOR THAT
is WHAT OUR LITTLE SHORT-LINE
DOES. No doubt 1t lis due to this
community of interest, which, new
ertheless, exists to great extent
by reason of many farmers, dairy.
men and merchants retaining their
stock that makes it pay 80 we'll. Be-
sides the road is NVaverly enterprise
and our people are Of a peculiarly loyal
kind.
The arrangement entered into with
the b. G. r. IN. by. extends through
eighteen years with privilege of re-
newal for similar length of time and is
as follows:
The b. G. R. & N. Co. furnishes the
rolling stock, pays the operating ex
penses and taxes, keeps up the repairs
IN fact really treats the road as part of
its own line and the Short Line 20.
receives per cent. of the gross earn
ing between this city and Chicago, st.
Paul, Milwaukee, st. Louis, Kansas
City, Omaha and intermediate points.
On the proportion of the freight and
passenger charges beyond these points
the Short Line has no share. This ar
rangement had been in existence last
August for nine years, during which
time six per cent. interest had been paid