Source: Tne Mining Journal
Marquette, Mi.
December 24, 1887 Saturday

The Duluth South Shore & Atlantic

The DSS&A is practically completed. 250 miles of the east-
ern part of the line has been operated during 1887 as a local
road, and taree weeks of December, being estimated, it earned
$1,500,000 gross and $600,000 net. The line when opened as a
through line in the spring of 1888 will have maximum grades of
52 feet to the mile, as against grades of 78 to 80 feet by any
other. line from St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth. It will have
the same sources of local business as in 1887, with the addi-
tion of the entire local business to be derived from the great
Gogebic iron range, estimated at 500,000 tons per annum. It
will have a lumber traffic on the new portion of this line of
$2,000 per mile gross, and it will have through traffic of
grain and flour from its connections at Duluth, Superior, St.
Paul and Minneapolis of from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 tons, all
of which will go over the entire length of the company's road.
On the completion of the entire mileage of the line it is ev-
ident that the estimate of the promoters of gross earnings of
$3,000,000 and net earnings of $1,200,000 with charges of not
above $700,000, is amply justified by the operations of the
road.to date, and warrants the expectation of dividends of
from 4 to 6% on the preferred stock the first year. The con-
struction of the Washburn road and the extension of the DSS&A
to the Sault have opened large tracts of the DM&M lands. It
is stated that valuable mineral lands have been prospected
and the company has leased them at a royalty of 30¢ per ton
on the ore taken out. At the present time there is over
$200,000 in the treasury and the company is considering whether
to invest it in the land grant bonds of the company, or to ex-
pend the funds in dividends. The lands were granted by the
state of Mi., are exempt from taxation and are not subject to
interference by Congress.

Mosse
MSSH&A