The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1903-12-17
First Statement OF Kenosha Electric
Railway Company Shows Sur
prising Business.
AVERAGES 1860 PASSENGERS DAILY
Company Submits It's Report to the State
Treasures and Pays City Tax Of 1855
for Ten Months Business.

John /. Beggs, the talkative- nagnate
of the Milwaukee electric railwaylines,
who. for the past ten months, has been
scof6ng at the alleged prosperity of the
Kenosha Electric Railway company,
will have to take a bracer tomorrow
when he reads of the earnings that
have been chalked up to the credit of
the company during the first ten
months of service as local line in Ke-
nosha. The first sworn statement of
the business of the company was filed
with the city clerk today and it is GER
tainly one that will come as surprise
to even the warmest supporters Of the
company in Kenosha. The report is
one that will place the Kenosha rail-
way property high in the estimation of
surrounding lines, for it shows that
the line, during the first ten months of
service, has not only paid expenses
but has paid handsome return for the
capital invested.
The report that has just been made
for taxation purposes to the secretary
of state and state treasurer shows that
during the ten months the company
has received from cash fares alone the
sum of $19.191.38. Besides this SUR
prising sum the company has received
from advertising privileges in the cars
the sum Of $223.21, making a7total re-
ceipt of nearly twenty thousand dol
lars. The number of miles owned by
the company is put down at 4.3 and the
number of passengers carried during
the year is given in round numbers as
$4,000. The daily average is shown
to be 1850 passengers and the daily in
come of the company has been little
over Sos. Added to these figures it
must be remem bered that during the
first ten months many free passen-
gersswere carried. These free passen-
gers would probably amount to from
twenty to hundred fares day. In
the future this free list will be entirely
suspended and the income of the COM
pany will consequently be much
greater in the coming year. The fact
that this report covers the first ten
months of business only shows great
increase III the traffic of the company
and the number of passengers carried
during the last month was greater
than IN any other month.
On this report the company will pay
taxes to the city in the u,ountof two
per cent of their earnings, the total to
be paid amounting TO little over $3.50.
1t is impossible fer an outsider to ng-
ure on the profit that has besa mo de
by the company, but it is understood
that the company is more than salts
fed by the showing that has been
made. The daily expenses of the COM
pany have been placed in the neigh-
borhood of forty dollars, so that il is
safe to say that the daily profit of the
company from the line during the ten
months has amounted to ar average of
$25, or total income of 81 500. This
is nearly enough to pay sple add inter-
est on the modey that has been in
vested by the company.
The business has shown such
steady increase dur ng the last few
months that the son ,any is expecting
that the figures will DE nearly doub ed
during the coming year. During the
early months Of the operation of the
lines the service was such that ii was
impossible for the company to handle
the business, but the managers now
claim that Kenosha has as good street
car service as any city in the state of
Wisconsin.
The service is constantly making
new demands upon the company and
there will have to be new car added
in the near future in order to handle it
properly. This showing will undoubt-
edly cause smile of satisfaction
among the men who have been firm
supporters of local railway in the
city.