North Western Railway and of the Wisconsin Central Railway, and also the constructions of the La Crosse & Southeastern Railway, and the Wisconsin & Northern Railroad, which roads. were under construction during the year ending June 30, 1906, and consequently made no report.

COST OF RAILWAYS IN WISCONSIN.

The total cost of the lines of railways in Wisconsin, as shown by their reports to this Commission and to the state treasurer, for the year ending December 31, 1906, is $255,389,944.01 as against $247,069,462.54 reported for the year 1905, showing an increase of $8,320,481.65. The gross receipts for the same year increased $5,392,086.85 over the preceding year, while the net receipts increased $1,488,171.22. Other comparisons might be made and reference is made to them in Part IV of this report, in which figures in detail are given.

PASSES.

The requirements of chapter 362, Laws of 1905, relating to the reports of passes issued were found by the railway companies to be burdensome for the reason that they were required to report to this Commission all passes, including trip passes issued to persons regularly and exclusively in their employ. The number of trip passes issued to their employes was so large that they applied to the legislature to be relieved from the necessity of reporting them, and in response to this request the law was amended permitting this Commission, in its discretion, to exempt the companies from reporting trip passes issued to persons regularly and exclusively in their employ, but requiring the companies to preserve a record of such passes for a period of two years after their issuance, which record should be open to the inspection of the Commission. Under this provision of the law, a number of companies have applied to be exempted from making such reports, and upon proper showing they were so exempted.

NEWSPAPER MILEAGE.

Since January 1, 1907, the railway companies doing business in Wisconsin have discontinued the issuance of mileage tickets in exchange for advertising. This report contains a tabulation showing the mileage so issued from July 1, 1906, to January 1, 1907, but nothing has been reported since that time.

NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS.

The number of complaints filed in the period covered herein has increased materially over those filed in the corresponding time covered by the preceding volume.

There were 72 formal complaints filed, 30 of which were heard and decisions and orders made therein and published. There were 413 informal complaints and other informal matters filed, which were disposed of without any affirmative action on the part of the Commission, making a total of 485 complaints presented to the Commission. The distribution of these complaints by months is shown in the following table:

The informal complaints and other informal matters, as shown above, are 413 in number. The complaints related to a wide variety of subjects and frequently questions of great in

portance to localities were disposed of by correspondence, the Commission acting as intermediary between the parties. The other informal matters spoken of consisted of investigations regarding certain railroad accidents, applications for approval of interlocking plants, applications for authority to put emer gency rates into effect, etc., the details of which are given hereafter.

FORMAL COMPLAINTS FILED WITH AND INVESTIGATIONS
BEGUN BY THE COMMISSION.

The formal investigations begun by the Commission all related to rates and were five in number, on three of which formal orders were issued reducing rates. The formal complaints and the investigations of the Commission can be roughly classified as follows:

In considering the questions presented by the above complaints, the Commission was able to call to its assistance Prof. W. D. Pence, its engineer, under whose direction some important investigations relating to its work were undertaken.

INVESTIGATIONS.

In addition to the investigations included in the foregoing table, the Commission has, on its own motion, undertaken others which relate in part to the weighing of freight in cars, the testing of scales, the sanitation of stations and cars, express rates, rates and service of sleeping car companies, rates charged on milk and cream between points in the state including concentration rates on cream, and rates charged on pulpwood.

* One case classified under two heads.

None of these have been concluded, but it is expected that decisions affecting most of them will be included in the next annual report of the Commission.

In Part II of this report will be found some mention of the decision of the Commission relating to its investigation of the rates charged by the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company for passenger fares, the rates charged by certain railway companies on potatoes, and the rates charged by certain railways on live stock, in all of which substantial reductions in rates were ordered, and all of which were put into effect.

ENGINEERING QUESTIONS IN RELATION TO COMPLAINTS FILED.

Cost of track wear.-An engineering question of unusual interest arose in connection with passenger rate investigations involving the relative wear and tear produced in a railroad track by high speed passenger trains of comparatively light weight as contrasted with the wear due to heavy freight trains operated at slow speed. The investigation of this matter brought forth many phases of the subject which had hitherto received but meager consideration in similar investigations, and the conclusions reached proved to be of much importance in the rate decision since they involved the apportionment of large expenditures for track maintenance between passenger and freight

traffic.

Measures of safety in railway operation.-Early in the present year an inquiry was made in relation to measures employed to insure safety of train operation on the principal railroads of the state. This inquiry included the following phases of the subject:

(1) Tests of eye-sight of trainmen; (2) Block signalling; (3) Rules for the installation of interlocking plants; (4) The protection of trainmen against overhead obstructions.

As a result of this inquiry it was found that the examinations for eye-sight on the principal Wisconsin roads include tests for distinctness of vision and color perception which ac

cord with the standards observed by representative roads in other states. In the matter of block signalling it may be said that a substantial beginning has been made on the busier portions of the principal trunk lines of the state and that the signalling practice in vogue on the representative Wisconsin lines is, in general, abreast of the times. The investigation of the subject of interlocking was directed primarily to the formulation of a set of rules to govern the installation of interlocking plants at railroad crossings and at drawbridges throughout the state. After some further consideration of the matter it is intended to issue these interlocking rules and also a set of regulations to provide for the installation of warnings at bridges and other overhead obstructions which menace trainmen in freight train operation.

Highway crossings.-Field examination and reports have been made in a number of cases involving the protection of traffic at highway crossings. In one case crossing alarm bells were installed at a dangerous crossing within station limits upon complaint by the village board. In another instance, where the examination developed the fact that the grade crossing should be eliminated, the Commission, by the advice of the engineer, ordered the construction of a subway, with the recom mendation that under existing conditions the local authorities should co-operate in the work. In a third case the engineer examined a series of railroad street crossings at grade in one of the principal cities of the state and reported to the Commission as to the efficiency of the watchmen provided by the several railway companies involved. At one of these crossings, where there had been a serious accident, it was recommended that. gates be installed as an additional precaution.

Side track locations.-In several cases involving the construction of side tracks, examinations have been made on the ground by the engineer and reports submitted to the Commission concerning the practicability of constructing the side track at the desired location and the effect of such track upon the safety of train operation. The engineer has also been called upon in a number of instances to verify estimates of cost of