The first-named company passed interest on a first-mortgage extension bond of $694,000 in April, 1873, and in June of the same year defaulted on another first-mortgage bond amounting to $750,000. In both of these cases settlements have been made with the bondholders without litigation, and the company goes on as before. The Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad Company defaulted in December, 1873, for non-payment of interest on a firstmortgage bond of $3,500,000, and has since been unable to settle. As a consequence its road was sold on the 10th of last December, under a decree of foreclosure and sale issued October 12, 1875. The road was bid in by a committee of bondholders. For an abstract of the records of the proceedings, see page 303 of Official Papers, etc. In January, 1875, the West Wisconsin company defaulted on one first mortgage bond of $3,900,000, and on a first mortgage extension bond of $640,000; total $4,540,000. Upon default being made, the company elected new officers, who have since been actively endeavoring to rescue the company from the dangers of foreclosure. The road appears to be managed with close economy, and hopes are entertained that it may recover its credit. COST OF ROADS. The total cost of the roads reported to the Secretary of State for the year 1874, and published in his report for 1875, was $146,747,251.88. But this statement does not include either the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western, the Wisconsin Valley, or the Madison & Portage Railroad. According to the reports made to the Commissioners, June 30, 1875, the Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western not reporting, the cost of all roads at that date was $165,938,592, or $34,038.68 per mile. The cost of road and equipment per mile, in detail, is shown be During the first portion of the year 1875 the unfavorableness of the season and the low price of cereals had the effect to reduce the amount of freight business done on our roads below the average of previous years. But the business of the whole year has undoubtedly been considerably above the amount done in 1874. We are not vet in full possession of the statistics needed to confirm this opinion, but such as have been gathered from various sources leave scarcely any room for doubt. Writing in the month of August, the president of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company says: "There is an improvement at the time of writing this report (report for year ending May 31, 1875,) in the traffic of the lines, the month of July showing an increase of about $264,000 over the same month last year.” Again, in the December number of the Commercial and Financial Chronicle and Hunts Merchants' Magazine, the editor remarks: "Railroad returns for November show the first general and decided increase in earnings that has been seen for many months past. Several of the most prominent roads given in the table below, show an increase in their gross receipts, compared with November, 1874, which is not merely nominal, but forms a considerable per centage of the whole amount. The leading western roads, Illinois Central, Northwestern, & St. Paul, are conspicuous for their large increase." * * Train mileage. The total number of miles run by freight and mixed trains on the roads reported during the year ending June 30, 1875, was 10,555,970, the train mileage of the several roads being: The total miles run by passenger trains during the same period was 4,323,930, as follows: For the year 1874-5 (ending June 30), no report was made by the West Wisconsin or Prairie du Chien and McGregor companies. Allowing them the same figures as in 1874, the total number for 1874-5 would be 4,775,767. The number of passengers carried one mile for the several years, 1873, 1874 and 1874-5, is reported by but three roads, to wit: As the dates at which the several reports were made up are not exactly the same, the comparison does not perfectly hold. It is apparent. however, that as the number of passengers carried on these roads in 1874-5 was greater than in the previous years, and the passenger milege less, the length of journey has somewhat diminished. The total number of passengers carried one mile was 175,559,428. Tonnage of the roads. The number of tons moved in 1874-5 was 5,920,494; the West Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western not being reported. The number moved in 1873 was 5,223,948, and in 1874, 5,019,388. Allowing the roads above-named their tonnage of 1874 the number of tons moved in 1874-5 was greater than in 1874 by 1,112,920 tons. Table XXXVIII will show the tonnage of each of the several roads. The number of tons of freight carried one mile in 1874-5 is reported as having been, 760,850,158, of which 232,530,091 tons were moved by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Company, and 454,546,468 tons by the Chicago and Northwestern Company. The tonnage of different classes of freight for 1874 and 1874–5 will be seen in Tables IX, X, and XXII. Force employed in doing the business. The Chicago & Northwestern Company does not report the number of persons in its service. The total number reported by the other companies is 7,050; of which number 5,240 were in the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Company. The details as to kind of serviee will be found in Table XXIII. The GROSS EARNINGS OF THE ROADS. gross earnings on all the lines reported January 30, 1875, estimating the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad the same as last year, amounts to $23,387,400.23; of which the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road earned $7,464,298.68, and the Chicago & Northwestern, $12,597,094.61.* The total earnings of the Wisconsin lines amounted to $4,946,687.26. This is a decrease as compared with the earnings of 1874, of $2,248,132.65 on the total lines operated, and of $818,313.52 on the total business done in Wisconsin. Of the $23,387,400.23, gross earnings for 1874-5, $15,771,268.10 was from freight, $5,625,281.07 from passengers, and $1,990,851.06 from other sources. The passenger earnings of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road in 1874 exceeded those of 1873, by $74,468.55; while the passenger earnings of the Chicago & Northwestern for 1873 exceeded those of 1874 by $82,874.03. The receipts of the Chicago & Northwestern Company for the year ending May 31, 1875, as appears by their published report to stockholders, were as follows: From passengers $3,205,059.68, or $2,211.07 per mile of road exclusive of proprietary roads, to-wit, on 1,499.6 miles; from freight, $8,837,828.49, or $5,096.74 per mile; from express companies, $268,284.46, or 185.08 per mile; from mails, $264,459.93; or $182.37 per mile; and from miscellaneous sources, $132,094.55, or $91.12 per mile; total, $12,707,726.51, or $8,766.38 per mile. The comparative gross earnings, freight-earnings, and passenger earnings on the total lines reported, and on lines in Wisconsin, for the years 1873, 1874, and 1874-5 are given below: *The earnings of the Chicago & Northwestern Company in Wisconsin not reported, being set down the same as in 1874. |