Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-04-02
WISCONSIN CENTRAL AND ST.
PAUL COMPANIES LOSE.
MUST PROVIDE SERVICE
State Railroad Commission Issues
Order Requiring Central to Accom-.
modate the Village of North Fond
du Lac-Relef Also Granted to ST.
John Village.
Madison. March 30.

l MdulSOu, MARCH oV-
! The railroad rate committlon We'd
nesday made decision, and an
! order was issued yesterday requiring
! the Wisconsin Central Railroad COM
pany within the next 80 days to estab
lish and maintain freight and passen-
| ger service for the village of North
Fond du Lac, by the erection of suit
| able station buildings, of necessary
| side tracks and the placing thereat OF
/ an agent. This decision was rendered
/ after hearing on petition Of A. j.
| Pullen, president of the village, and a
| large number of citizens of North
| Fond du Lac The petition described
| the population as 1000 and declared
that the village was growing norCh
| ward and westward and needed train
| service The tracks of the company
/ run through the village and many
| trains pass there daily but do not
! stop. necessitating that the people OF
! North Fond du Lac go to Fond du Lac,
four miles distant, when they need to
take trains or ship or receive freight
! The company answered that the viii
| lage had not enough business to war
rant the service demanded The ans
! wer denied the statement as to the
! distance from Fond du Lac, declaring
! it to be only about two miles. This
! discrepancy was caused by the differ
! ent routes measured. The company
said that car shipments could now be
made to North Fond du Lac, but that
! there was only about 20 tons Of freight
! there in six months. A hearing was
! held before the commission on March
%, at which T. H. Gill represented the
company. The petitioners set forth
that the less than car lot freigh;
traffic of the village was fully 5,000,Oo0
pounds in the six months referred to
in the answer of the company.
In rendering the decision the com
mission set forth that the discrep-
ancies of the petitioners and the com
pany, might be disregarded, for the
fact remained that there are in North
Fond du Lac Immediately
, zens, that they must be fed and
! clothed, that the tracks are conven-
lent, and that these people are reason,
ably entitled to train service. Iue.
commission gives the company 80
days within which to establish a sta,
ton and train service.
The Wisconsin Central shops are II
North Fond du Lac and the company
said that these shops entalled a cost
OF $4,000 month, and that the shoUs
made the village, but that there was
SO little traffic there that the erection
of depot and the maintenance of
service would be an unwarranted, I'M
necessary and unreasonable burden
upon the company.
Train Service for ST. John.
Another decision was rendered by
the commission against the Wisconsin
Central and the Chicago, Milwaukee
e st. Paul company, requiring them to
maintain limited service at St John,
Calumet county. The proceedings
were had on petition of Anton Loehr
and others. Complaint was made
January Is and a hearing had On
February 20. The petitioners. set forth
that the companies ordinarily stopped
their trains at st. John, but had dis
| continued doing so and it was killing
the village and injuring the country
of the vicinity The answer. of the
| companies declared that there was
only a population of 120 people at St
John, that there was a one per cent.
grade on eight side that there was
SO little freight and passenger traffic
| at the place as to make it unprofit,
able to give train service, that there
was station, Hilbert Junction, three
miles east and a station, Sherwood
two miles west. AT the hearing the
Wisconsin Central was represented bv
T. H. Gill and the Milwaukee road by
/ c. H. Van Alstyne. H. B. Earring
assistant superintendent of the Mil
waukee road testified.
The decision CT the commission was
that the train service of the villag.
CT St John and surrounding country
is inadequate that the companies T.
required to stop there at least one
train each day. going each way, th.,l
the company build necessary sac
tracks, and that the companies ana
citizens may unite in building a sta
ton, and that it is not necessary to
keep an agent there