The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-08-24
RAILROAD NEWS.
Gould Is Now Aggressive on Mis-
souri, Pacific.
New Policy Wins Praise in the
East and West.
MANY IMPROVEMENTS.
Reconstruction Work Be Will Of
Great Advantage.
Other Items of General Interest
in Traffic World.


duct of the Gould railroads. The oper-
ating results in the past year indicate
to what an extent this new policy has
developed. Were it not for the fact
that the Missouri Pacific stockholders
have resigned themselves to a long
period without dividends, during which
surplus earnings could be put back into
the property, the surplus of $2,45O 900
shown for the year ended June 80 last
would be decided disappointment.
Inasmuch as this surplus will go back
into the property and in view of the
fact that this amount was shown after
expanding about 81, SOC, 900 more on
maintenance than in the previous year,
the showing for the year must be con-
sidered satisfactory. These figures in
dictate that where under the old regime
it WIS the policy more or less to starve
the property in order to maintain a
poor but respectable reputation as a
dividend-payer, the Improvement of the
property is now the first consideration.
A still further favorable DEVELOPMENT
has been brought about in the finaucial
Policy Of the management. The old
Gould method of raising capital has
been abandoned. New banking inter-
ests, which have become affiliated with
the property have instituted a new or
der of things. This has resulted in
consolidating the properties and Great
ing first mortga ge with which to at
tract investors. Formerly it was the
Gould policy to build extensions or
provide for imprOVem entS and better
ments by taking into Missouri Pacif1c's
treasury the first mortgage bonds of
subsidiary companies and issuing TO
investors securities representing a mort
gage on these mortgages
In the new $175.OOO,OO0 mortgage,
which provides for refunding existing
been made for improvement and bet
terments to the property. Out of the
total authorized issue of the first and
refunding mortgage bonds no less than
$82,O0O,OOO has been reserved for extern
sions. improvements, betterments and
equipment on the Missouri Pacific and
Iron Mountain lines. The present re-
habitation program, for which the new
bankers have become sponsors, involves
annual expenditures of more than $1O-
100000 per annum in improving the pro-
perty in the next six or seven years.
From the proceeds of $29, S06, 900 ser
les A, Of the new first and refunding
bonds sold early in the present year,
about 100000 was available for i'm
provemcnts and betterments, while So
100000 were reserved to purchase at not
less than 95 like amount of improve
ment bonds of the Iron Mountain rail-
way. Most of these available funds
have been spent in the past year, or
! will have been spent before the end
| OF the present calendar year.
Betterment Work.
improvement and betterment work is
being enargetically presented. Bal
lasting of 500 miles of track with gravel
or chat, crushed rock after extracting
the zinc, will be completed by Septem-
Der 30 next. These lines formerly had
n w. Ae1Io @A
have beer rebellasted with Stag or
gravel. This 900 miles of line is along
the Colorado & Central Kansas, North
ern Kansas, On aha, Wichita, Central
Valley Memphis, Eastern Missouri. Ar
kansas and Northern Kansas divisions
About 5000 tons of IS pound and
100 pound steel rail have been laid OF
this about 1872 miles of line between
Poplar Bluff, Mo-, and Little Rock,
Ark, have been laid with 100 pound
la1l, 100 miles from Atchison west in to
northern Kansas with s5 pound, so
miles of IS pound on the Valley divis-
ion, and % miles on the Wichita dlvis-
ion.
Severty-ive miles of second main
track have been laid on the Illinois d.
vision and So miles will be completed
| on the Missouri and Arkansas divisions
before the close of the year About 90
miles of new RAISING tracks on the Col
crado and central Kansas divisions have
been constructed. A new yard and
tenement containing ten miles of tracks
is in course of construction at Hoising-
ton Kan, and will be finished before
| the close of the year. A new engine
and car repairing terminal at Kansas
City has been built and also a new
| intermediate terminal at Falls City,
| Neb.' the latter containing about ten
| miles of tracks.
In addition, about 5000 tons of steel
| have been used in bridge construction
! for replacing light bridges with heavier
| construction for accommodating the
| heaviest class of power.
The company has purchased very lit
| tie new equipment with the funds avail
| able for rehabilitation purposes, but
! every effort has been made to bring the
| present equipment up to a high state
| Of efficiency. Sixty new locomotives
Thirty of these. have already been de-
| livered and 80 will be delivered during
| September, in time for service in hand
| ling fall business. Thirty new baggage
| and mail cars and 140 new coal cars
| complete the additions to the equip
| ment
| 1t is a long time since the Missouri
| Pacific has been on an even fighting
basis with its competitors but the per
! fornances of the past year would mean
| that this will not much longer be the
| case. The improvements already made
| and in contemplation will go a long
way in helping it get and retain it's fair
share of the country's increase in bust
| ness. This has been evident in the past
| year when month by month it was pill
ing up large comparative increases in
| gross earnings.
| Officials of other competing lines have
| been quick to take note of this and have
put their traffic officials on the grill for
| allowing business which they have ell
| joyed for years get away from them
and go to the Missouri Pacific. The
| latter is now securing business which
formerly it could not secure, SO different
was the service rendered. The present
Missouri Pacific is Il factor in the west
ern railroad situation little dreamed OF
a few years ago. AS the working out
of its rehabilitation and financial pro-
| gram progresses and it's new extension
| to the Pacific coast develops business
its importance in the west and or