STATE OF IOWA, OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS, DES MOINES, June 30, 1886. To the President and Directors of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Company: GENTLEMEN-Blanks for the annual return of your corporation to this Board, as required by sections 4 and 5, Chapter 77, Laws of the Seventeenth General Assembly, are herewith transmitted. The value of the returns, not only to the legislature and the public, but to the corporations themselves, depends upon their accuracy and completeness. The Commissioners would, therefore, again urge upon the managers of the roads that they take special pains to make their reports as perfect as possible, so that they may be more valuable for the purpose of comparison, and that all deductions from them may be reliable. The Commissioners, in arranging their blanks, have endeavored to modify their questions to meet the distribution of expenses and classifications of accounts as adopted by the Convention of State Railroad Commissioners, held at Saratoga, in June, 1879. They publish in this blank the distribution of railroad expenses as adopted by the auditors and accountants of the railway systems of Michigan. In his preface to the publication, Commissioner Williams says: "For the purpose of securing as nearly as possible uniformity in the charging of expenses to the same general head of accounts by all the companies doing business in the State, a meeting of the auditors and accountants of the different railroads was called by the Commissioner of Railroads, at Detroit, on the 19th day of January, 1882, and their deliberations resulted in the adoption of the distribution that follows. "It is believed to be a comprehensive and logical distribution of railway expenses, and it is desired that it be closely adhered to by all officers and employes having relations with the accounting departments of their respective roads." This Board would respectfully call attention to the paper referred to, which is published as an appendix to the blanks, and would ask for it a careful examination on the part of those to whom the keeping of railroad accounts are entrusted, feeling assured that if this arrangement is followed, the making of the annual returns to this Board by the several companies will be simplified, and the information furnished by all the companies will be uniform. Every question asked has been for specific purpose. In case it cannot be answered please so state. It is too often the case that the questions are passed by without any effort to understand or answer them. You are respectfully reminded that the law requires that the annual return shall be made on or before the fifteenth day of September, under a penalty of one hundred dollars a day for each day's neglect. Should you for any reason, be unable to complete your report by the fifteenth, please send what you have, and let the full report follow. Attest: E. G. MORGAN, Secretary. PETER A. DEY, L. S. COFFIN, 1 Amount of preferred stock issued and conditions of preferment. None. 2,000,000 18,000,000 605,000.00 Under the contract and lease with the leased lines, the controlling amount of stock is issued to the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway, out of which from time to time the stock is to be issued on the certificates of the county treasurers for the local aid under the law governing such. Amount of debt representing the road in Iowa, on mileage Passenger and freight stations, coal sheds and water stations............................... 7,117.63 2,092.37 Old right of way claims on Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minn. R'y....... 11,308.76 38,605.47 Total expended for construction.................. 19,455,675.65 Average cost of construction per mile of road (979.27 miles).............§ 19,867.52 16,389,521.29 |