[milwaukee-electric] On this day in 1945: Interurban abandonments blamed on bus losses.

[Louis Rugani]

1945: Bus Line Losses Cited as Factor in Traction Deals. 

MILWAUKEE - Lawrence F. Seybold, vice president of the Electric company and the Transport company, testified in circuit court today that the firms went into a program of interurban abandonment because the lines experienced their worst losses in history between 1937 and 1943.
Seybold was a defense witness in the $1,500,000 damage suit brought by E. M. Goodman to recover alleged losses to stockholders.
In the thirty-ninth day of the suit, Seybold said that the Racine city traction system was sold because it had an aggregate net deficit of $216,589 from the beginning of 1932 through 1939, during which time that system earned only 40 per cent of the required depreciation.
The Kenosha city system was sold because it had a deficit aggregating $39,399 through 1941, Seybold testified. 

Links:  

Kenosha Streetcar Society:
http://www.KenoshaStreetcarSociety.org 
Kenosha Streetcars:
http://www.onelist.com/group/KenoshaStreetcars
Wisconsin Railroading:
www.onelist.com/group/WisconsinRailroading
East Troy Line:
www.onelist.com/group/EastTroyLine 

=Lou=

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The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.       Robert Anthony