Omaha daily bee., 1905-04-18
BURLINGTON RAILROAD PAYS
Statement Shows Net Earnings in Nebraska
Almost Six Millions
TOTAL FOR ENTIRE SYSTEM NOT GIVEN
Statement of 81. Joseph q Grand
Island shows Decrease in Assets
and Earnings, hut Higher
value for stock.
TOTAL FOR ENTIRE SYSTEM NOT GIVEN
(From a Stan Correspondent.)

LINCOLN, April 17.-(special.) THE Bur-
lington railroad in Nebraska during the
last year cleared above all of its expenses
5,sSo, ,654.5s What the system cleared
throughout the United States the report
does not show, the financial statement
showing merely the Nebraska statement,
except the capital stock. This statement.
together with the statement for the entire
system, has long been wanted by the state
board. but heretofore the roads have made
the financial statement merely for the sys-
TEN and claimed to be unable to secure a
statement of the Nebraska earnings. This
year, however, it omits the earnings of
the system outside Of the state. The state
ment shows this:
Gross earnings in Nebraska. E. SIS, ,464,e7s 06
Operating expenses in Neb. .... $3.50, ,037 SO
Taxes paid In Nebraska.......... 539, 2&5 80
Net earnings in Nebraska........ 5,995 654. 5S
The report does not say whether the
amount spent in taxes was actually paid
out or whether some of It is that which is
still in litigation and the payment of
which 1t is contesting. The report states
that none Of the stock has been on the
market for three years and quotes no
value. The capital stock all paid up
amounts to S11O,SS9,1O0.
Bonds have been issued for 2,16S6 So miles
in Nebraska and 6l0.9S miles in states west
of the Missouri river to the amount OF
$58, 10000. less siG,s19,6 6S74S in the sinking
fund, leaving the net debt of the system
west of the river $26, 437, ,96257 The Ne
braska proportion of that debt is 1902 per
} cent, or S2s,42S, 429.2S. or making the bonded
debt for Nebraska S1O.sS7 mile.
The report says nothing of any dividends
and neither does its author make any
! totals of the value Of it's tangible prop
erty.
One item in the report which, if the mem
bers of the late legislature and members
of previous legislatures would look up, it
would show them that the argument urged
by the railroad attorneys that to tax the
Omaha terminals for city purposes would
be to take away from the school funds of
the western counties Just that much
money was delusion and a snare. The
Burlington depot in Omaha is returned to
the state board at a valuation of $500 900
and 1t is credited to the Omaha & South
western railroad. which has a total mile
age OF 51.79 miles. That is how far the
Burlington depot and the Burlington ter
minals in Omaha is scattered over the
state, just 51.79 miles. And, according to
the records it has always been scattered
over that small portion Of the system II it
was ever scattered at all. This mileage is
distributed among the counties as follows:
Douglas. 4s6; Sarpy, 14S7; Cass, 1.02; Sa-
line,V a 1902 and Gage 1902. Five counties
out Of the ninety in the state get in on
! the distribution.
The three classes of locomotives are re-
turned at $4,000, $500 and $500 respect
lively.
Mileage of the system.
While the financial statements cover the
entire system in Nebraska, the tangible
| property is returned according to the lines
that go to make up the system. In the
I system there are seventeen lines and their
mileage is divided among the various coun-