Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1914-07-24
NEVER a LOSING DAY.
RAILROAD THAT HAS MADE
MONEY FROM THE START.
Waterslise Railroad In washington
Has This Remarkable Record.
Which IL Surely Unparalleled
Never Had Accident

There Is one railroad In the United
States that has paid from the day 1t
began to turn wheels Not a single
dollar In bonds was issued to start 1t,
all the stock vas paid for and every
cent expended on honor. There Is not
and never has been one dollar Of In
~oebtedness 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
four years of operation the books
snow annual dividends OF a per cent
and a comfortable reserve fund.
In that time the road has nothing
In the accident classification on Its
records, not a broken cas, a mangled
pig nor injured passenger. Not q
single lawsuit has ever been tiled
against the road, II 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 Wateryille 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, ~s14,279.79: freight forwarded,
~$12,147.92; miscellaneous. mail, ETC.,
~S11,020.50; total, $51, 913.21.
The highest priced ticket on the
system is 80 cents, which covers the
whole line, and more thar $4,000 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
J freight is hauled at as low as one and
one-half cents per 100 pounds. More
than $4,000, 900 pounds had to be
brought into Waterville to earn $14.-
279.79.
AT rates on forwarded business
ranging from ~one-quarter up to ten
cents per 100 pounds the Waterville
line carried more than 100000
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 one day 1t woke up to learn 1t
had been left five miles away. Then
the old timers decided, 1t was time to
yet together. They held a mass meet.
ing In the spring of 1909 and resolved.
With scaDt ceremony. to build a rail.
road to the Great Northern.
They never did pay a great Zeal of
attention to ceremony.
When they needed a wagon road
hey built 1t, and when they needed
I, railroad they could build and oper,
lte that. To do SO they organized the
Wateryil1e Railroad company. procured
right Of way and launched the enter
prise.
Placing the capital stock at $50, 900,
the company divided its i've miles OF
Territory into Ave 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 Oh a promotion proposition
than that.