Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1913-02-05
NORWAY LAKE
CITIZENS REPORT
Give New Electric Line Promoters
a Searching Inquiry at
Minneapolis.


Minneapolis.
Your committee selected to inves-
tigate the Electric Short Line Rail-
way Co., make the following report: !:
The undersigned, realizing the I'M
portance and responsibility Of the
work assigned to us, before starting
to Minneapolis, engaged the servic-
es Of E. L. Thornton, County At
torney of Swift County, to assist
us in making the investigation es-
pecially that part Of it covering the
plan or organization, method Of SELL
ing stock and the general business
and legal end Of the enterprise.
We met in Minneapolis on Janu-
ary 18th, 1913, and first spent con-
siderable time at the Offices Of the
Company talking over the general
policy and plans of the Company
with W. l.. and E. D. Luce, the
President and Secretary. We were
informed by them that the Electric
Short Line Railway Co. is a corpor-
alton organized under the laws of
the State Of Arizona, the general
purposes of which are to conduct
and operate an Electric Railway
from Minneapolis to Watertown, S.
D., with such branch lines is may be
found advisable.
The authorized capital is one hun
dred million dollars divided equally
as to value between common and
preferred stock. Of the authorized
capital $7,500,000 has been deposit
ed in the Treasury Of the Company
to be sold and it is expected that
additional stock will be similarly
deposited in the Treasury to be sold
as needed. At this date the Luce
family are the owners of 100000
Of common stock and $238,700 Of
preferred stock. About $4,000
Of preferred stock has been sold and
delivered to other investors. Stock
has been sold for the past sixty
days and about $4,000 worth of
stock has been subscribed for,
but which has not been delivered on
account Of the payments not having
yet been completed. For each share
of preferred stock sold a: bonus of
one share Of common stock is CIV
en- and we find no other indication
Of any stock having b. en- given away
or sold at a price below par except
1000 shares of common stock sold
to W. L. Luce at one third of it's
value in the early stages Of the or
ganization. No promoters stock has
been sold or given away so far as we
were able to find. The, stock is non-
assessable and on-accumulative.
The common stock has the voting
power and no provision is made for
voting by proxy. It is therefore be-
lieved that the Luce family will con-
tinue in control of the corporation.
The Electric Short Line Railroad
| Co., separate and distinct corpor-
alton from the Railway Co., has dur
ing the past seven years acquired
a valuable terminal near the center
Of the city with a right -of-way of
three and one-sixth miles, from the
site Of the terminal station to the
outskirts Of the city, where connec-
ton is made with the railway COM
pany's tracks. All Of the stock of
this terminal corporation is owned
by the Luce family. This terminal
company has paid for it's land and
the value Of it's properties has been
estimated at over a million dollars.
A contract has been already entered
into between the terminal company
and the railway company by which
the latter has acquired a lease with
a one-ffth right to the use Of the
terminal. The lease is perpetual and
the charges are fixed for all time by
the lease. The company will be
charged for the terminal rights at
the rate Of $2.40 a round trip fol
train Of ten cars with additional
charges for longer trains. The ter
minal company has made a similar
contract with the Dan Patch Elec-
trio Line and it expects to furnish
terminal facilities for any other lines
coming into Minneapolis. Consider
able work has been done by the ter
minal company and they expect tc
have the terminal in operation dur
ing the latter part of the present
year.
The Railway Company which We
are being offered stock in has also
done considerable work between the
lend Of the terminal lines and Lake
Minnetonka. We were taken along
the work by W. L. Luce in an auto.
mobile and find that about II miles
have been graded and bridges put il
and of this strip about 6 miles have
been laid with rails. We examined
the grades and bridges and find th'
work substantial, permanent and ap
parently equal to the standard steam
railroad construction. We fount
; tha work was ha;nr 1one IN contra cts