The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-04-18
ASK A FRANCHISE
Street Railway People Before
County Board.
Directors Expect to Obtain Eighty
five Cents on Dollar
for Bonds.


st. Peter Railway and Lighting Co.
held another meeting Tuesday
and considered franchise which it is
sought to obtain from the counties OF
Blue Earth, LeSueur, and possibly
Nicollet.
A special meeting of the county
board was held iEnthe afternoon, and
Secretary A. E. Clark presented the
franchise and asked that it be granted.
II is a somew hat lengthy document,
and grants q franchise for twenty five
wears for the company to build and
operate a car Line along the st. Peter
prairie road to the north line of the
county.
The franchise provides that the
company shall plank all crossings,
macadamize between the rails where
the county macadsmizes the ssroad-
way, fence in the track if required,
have the-.work done. under the super
J vision of the county surveyor, etc.
l. 1t is intended to construct the line
along the highway..if the county will
permit-it, otherwise it will be neces-
8 sary to go to some expense to procure
8 Alright of way across private property:
The.commissioners passed thu. ordi:
nance by unanimous vote late this
afternoon and adjourned.
The directors have named eighty-hv'
cents on the dollar, net, to the com
lpany as the minimum price that thu
n bonds are to be foated at, and J! d
Collins has been 80 instructed.
The bonds are to bear five per cen
i interest, payable semiannually.
IS is not expected that the bonds can b
fioated at a higher figure than tn
h minimum named, which will max
y the interest on the investment q trih
l. less than six per cent.
l. Surprising the.plant to cost $34o, W
i all-told, then $3.50, 600 of bonds woul
Or net the..company..$s97, 500.
D. Add to this $40, 900 received frol
III neutrality-suspicious., and the compan
m would have $342, 500 with which
build the plant. In other words tt
ne money subscribed by Mankato psrti
ne for stock will just about equal tt
ed difference between. the face and sellir
er value of the.bonds. The proceeds
he the stock sold are to be used in Il
IS. construction of the plant.
VS.
is T. M. Breen, the Kasota stone ma
n has indicated desire to take $500
to stock in the company.
to
- The st. Peter Tribune comes out
favor of the line to that city. 1t say
We were opposed to the building
.s the electric line from Mankato to
90 Peter in the beginning, as we we
- informed it was strictly passeng
80. line, but since the matter has be
10 explained by those in authority. tt
.c the enterprise is principally for
freight business it would commar
it puts different phase on the 81
er. iect. The Tribune desires to cons
inz the best interests of the business n
no. of st. Peter. No street railway L
ing will lay a broad guage track and
I'M, pound steel T rail for simply street RI
,rlv way traffic. There is something b
.sy- ger and broader and deeper in
the proiect. We believe it will hns
eliminate in broad guage railV
me into the twin cities and further Il
ook that of such powerful railway inter-
that will benefit rather than criI
our prosperity. We are not here to
sor lieve that Mankato merchants,
lass those of any other town, have supe
ability or advantages in buying &C
- to our st. Peter merchants. Our n
chants can buy as cheaply and sell
cheaply as merchants anywhere,
If 80, why fear competition2 Lool
at this matter from business sts
point, it is for our business mel
carefully weigh the matter we'll,
when they do, if they want new
roads as earnestly as they have
fessed for the past few years, t
will not now refuse the offer that
bring to their doors the opportunit
ri do business with Two of the great
way thoroughfares of this country
yaH Milwaukee and Great Western, wi
vvIE with the Omaha and Northwest
FOL would give us railway prive
MGH equal to any town in the state GU
wi the larger cities, and this, too,
asaf out money and without price,
ii the right of way through one OF
- streets, and freight terminals.
nCNTIcTc knI0IIQN