South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-06-03
THE LOCAL TRACTION LINES AMONG
BEST MONEY-MAKERS IN STATE
DESPITE WALLS or POVERTY.

Railway Co. is OF the best money-rnal<inE el.o
trio traction properties in the state its seIf-pre
tended financial inability 70 provide the city NJ south
Bend with a decent and respectable street railway
service. because Of lack OF the roads earning DOW
would be miserable fraud II accepted and b.
neved. This be proven by any person who viii
take the trouble to investigate reports and md
ing Of the Indiana public service commission The
commission he's this information all Serore it and on
such basis. would doubt gladly compel respsctabIs
service, either by the company nanasenent or under a
recevershp. the matter properly brought before
it, We propose to do the interests the favor
by informing the public protecting those inter
ests from themselves
This is the thing that is interested IN; q
decent and respectable that is not disgrace
TO the city that Will enable popuIace 20 get down
town to trade; get down to trade without being Ia
ugued by long waits by OF an inabil-
ity to get back-not very good attitudes for
shopping South merchants in the down town dis
trict getting tired of having so much OF the un-
automObfed trade stopping at the little outlying
stores merely because Of monopoly Of cur streets
having been vested in a greedy corporation with a
public be damned policy, and intent only on keep
ing up the income Of its big salary grafters and the
interest its S42S3,5OO of near half water bonds
Add to this bonded water. to be more explicit. %
upwards Of S1SOO,OOO, the 100000 common stock
and S2,5O0oO0 preferred. you have the total wa
Is
capitalized against the franchises been lit
orally given away by the people without a cent OF
return, save in their expec tatons OF respectable
service which they getting. have not ha
almost from the start
Understand. we are taking the company's own word
for it. this. plus our absence of blindness There
only four electric railway companies in the state
with operating smaller in proportion TO in
come than that of this operating through South
Bend 1t spends $3.50 per its operating income
as operating expense. The Indiana Railways & Light
Co. spends 1897 per cent; the Lebanon & Thornton
Traction Co. $3.50 per cent and the Southern Miohi-
gan Railway Co., operated by the c. S. b. & y. l. 54s2
cent. OF the other in the state
the comparative cost of operation and income runs
along all the 1O2.S4 Indiana Utilities Co.
10000 for the Louisville and Northern l554S for
the Goshen and Chicago-whatever that is The aver
age for the II lines is in the vicinity of 20 PEI cent
These figures for 1915. the report not being
as yet available, though have assurance that
there is not much change in general proportion One
of the principal changes that management is not
SO very particular about furnishing all
that the report blanks seemingly apprehensivs
that they be called upon contest before tho
commission if not for reimbursement rates at least
for readjustment OF service
Think Of it, "$3S3,6O2.17 for street Improvement
since the company took the city lines according
to Of their advertisements One would think that
rich people, the way they have been improving" our
city streets When they a street that needs i'm
proving they just improve" IT, we suppose
No benefit 20 them to be no possibility that many
a street would need improving were il not for
the street lnes,-and besides holy horrors! They
have paid $2s9oS239 the awful hard
ship of
They have held the lines 1907 they say-and
here $2S9OS239 in taxes property that they have
capitalized s11733,5oO. and on which the people
along the lines have paying an annual net revenue
net revenue, mind you-of not less than t3ls-
10115 since 191Oas back as the figures are avail
able Out of this they paid the interest on their
s4,233.5OO of bonds. eight years accumulated a
surplus Of S653,43347. They don't need TO pay dvi-
dends fact that they use excusing them Tor
the sins of omission with which they are charged They
admit that their expenditure for road and equip
ment is only S23s9,sS722-a trfe over half the bond
issue. The report Of 1915 gives it as s213s1O01s.
When they have paid the on their outstanding
bonds they have already paid Interest or nearly
all they have invested and either the bonds or
the capital stock both common preferred being
water what more do they want or at least deserve?
It is a beautiful high finance story the financial
career OF the Chicago South Bend & Northern Indiana
Railway Co. the calm assurances OF Mr. F. T. Hardy.
general manager and the Murdocks that respectable
service for South Bend would mean bankruptcy all
Notwithstanding