Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1914-06-22
NEVER A LOSING DAY
RAILROAD THAT HAS MADE
MONEY FROM THE START.
w%atervlIIe Railroad In Washington
Has This Remarkable Record.
Which 10 Surely Unparalleled
Never Had Accident.


There is n railroad in the United
states thai has paid from the day 1t
oegan to turn wheels. Not a single
dollar In bonds was issued to start 1t,
all the stock vas paid for and every
n expended on honor. There is not
ana never has been one dollar Of in
~oeotedness against the property. Ev-
cry bill is paid on presentation and
all current accounts and wages are
met at the first OF each month. In al
most four years of operation the books
snow annual dividends Of 4 per cent
and a comfortable reserve fund.
In that time the road has nothing.
In the accident classification on its
records, not a broken car, a mangled
PIE nor injured passenger. Not q
single lawsuit has ever been filed
against the road, 1t has never had to
answer a legal complaint. And this
paragon Of transportation systems 'is
purely an inland empire development.
1t is the Waterville railroad, running
from Waterville to Douglas Junction,
Wash. The distance traversed and
the traffic carried demand five and
one-tenth miles Of main line and two
miles Of sidetrack.
For the three years ended December
81, 1913, passenger earnings Of the
Waterville road were $14,465; freight
received, $14, 279.79 freight forwarded,
~s12,147.92; miscellaneous. mail, etc.,
$11,020.50; total, $51. 91S.2 81.
The highest priced ticket on the
system Z: 25 cents. which covers the
whole line, and more than 5O,OU0 pas
sengers had to be carried with a sin
gle engine and one coach to make the
earnings shown. Ten cents is the first
class freight rate OF the line and much
freight Is hauled at as low as n and
one-half cents per 100 pounds. More
than As, 000,0 900 pounds had to be
brought into Waterville to earn $14,,
279.79.
AT rates on forwarded business
cents per 100 pounds the Waterville
line carried more than 75.000,0 900
pounds out.
One may ride In many q finer pal
ace car than the Waterville coach,
but never on one more systematically
Industrious.
The story of how the line was built
and is managed is another instance
Of energetic and successful Big Bend
pioneering. When the Great North.
ern announced the prospective build
ing Of a branch through the country
Waterville expected to be on the line,
but n day 1t woke up to learn 1t
had been left five miles away. Then
the old timers decided II was time to
get together. They held q mass meet.
ing in the spring of 1909 and resolved,
with scant ceremony, to build a rail,
road TO the Great Northern.
They never did pay a great deal of
attention to ceremony.
When they needed a wagon road
they built It, and when they needed
a railroad they could build and oper-
ate that. To do 80 they organized the
Waterville Railroad company. procured
right Of way and launched the enter
prise.
Placing the capital stock at $50, 900,
the company divided It's FIVE miles Of
territory into five zones. The first
zone Of a mile radius from town was
valued the highest, and the stock Of
fered was proportioned on this basis.
Within a few days the stock had been
subscribed and paid for In cash. j.
P. Morgan probably never got quick.
er results On a promotion proposition
than that.