APPENDIX NO. 1.

CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY CO.

Statement of receipts at and number of messages sent from stations closed.

APPENDIX NO. 2.

WISCONSIN CENTRAL RAILWAY CO.

Statement of receipts from messages sent and received at closed stations:

ED BLASER ET AL.

VS.

CHICAGO & NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY.

Submitted Feb. 11, 1908. Decided Feb. 27, 1908.

Petition of the citizens of Krakow demanding the establishment of a railway station, a side track and the maintenance of an operator.

Held: That the conditions at present existing at Krakow do not warrant the establishment of a regular station and the maintenance of an agent thereat, but it is ordered that the respondent company construct a spur track at a point to be approved by the Commission, and that it also construct a suitable platform at a convenient point, and that it stop one passenger and one freight train daily in each direction at said platform for the transaction of such business as is customarily done at railway stations.

The petitioners set forth in their petition that they reside at Krakow, an unincorporated village, situated in the northeast corner of the town of Angelica, Shawano county, Wisconsin; that Krakow is located about six and one-half miles from Pulaski and five and one-half miles from Green Valley, being the nearest stations on the Chicago & North Western, to the south and north respectively; that it has a population of about seventy-five. The petition further enumerates the industrial enterprises located at Krakow, recites facts regarding the population, schools, churches, describes the surrounding territory and suggests the probable volume of business which the railway company would receive at that point in the event of a station being established there. It alleges that the failure of the railway company to stop its trains has resulted in large loss to the inhabitants of the village; that it has caused them much inconvenience and extra expense and that for the reasons given the respondent railway company should be compelled to establish a side track and station at Krakow, and transact freight and passenger business thereat.

The answer of the respondent railway company avers that there exists no occasion under present conditions for the locating of a station and the stopping of trains at Krakow, which is a very small settlement having a population not to exceed fifty, at which but little business is transacted and from which only a small amount of revenue is derived. The answer further avers that

there are now being constructed by the local authorities a number of highways, especially a highway from Krakow to Green Valley, which will greatly increase the convenience and facilities at the disposal of the citizens of Krakow, by reducing the distance to Green Valley to about two miles and thereby affording the inhabitants of the village of Krakow the station and other facilities of Green Valley.

The hearing upon this petition was held on Feb. 11, 1908. Kittel & Burke appeared for the petitioners and II. E. Corneau for the respondent.

The testimony shows that Krakow is a village situated as stated in the petition and having a population of about two hundred and fifty within a radius of a quarter of a mile. It contains a church with a membership of eighty-six families; a parochial school with an enrollment of one hundred and twenty pupils; a district school; three general stores carrying about $2,500.00 in stocks of merchandise each; a cheese factory with a daily capacity of from three to five thousand pounds for eight months in the year; a saw mill with a daily capacity of from twenty to twenty-five thousand feet of lumber, about the same for shingles and about twenty thousand lath, while the planing mill has a capacity of about ten thousand feet per day. The distance by wagon road is five and one-half and six and one-half miles to Green Valley and Pulaski, respectively, and by rail about three miles and six miles, respectively. The surrounding country is well settled and produces timber, hay, grain and live stock. A meeting called at Krakow for the purpose of considering the establishment of a station at Krakow was attended by about one hundred and fifteen farmers. About three miles east of Krakow is Samson, a small village, containing a church, a large general store, a hotel and several minor places of business. The distance from Samson to Abrams, a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, is about six and one-half miles, to which and from which latter place, according to the testimony, a large part of the freight from Samson is at present hauled. There was some confusion in the testimony regarding the exact location of what appeared to be an important new road between Krakow and Green Valley, as well as regarding the condition of the highways in the vicinity of Pulaski as compared with those in the vicinity of Krakow. The country surrounding Pu

laski appears to be relatively low and swampy, while that surrounding Krakow is said to be relatively high and well drained and of a composition conducive to the naintenance of good roads. There was some conflicting testimony on matters of detail connected with the population, the character of the soil and the condition of the highways, but the facts bearing on this case, which appear to us to be most material, are not in dispute regarding essentials.

The Chicago & North Western Railway Company at present operates one passenger and one mixed train daily, except Sundays, over the new line near which Krakow is situated. The freight shipped out of Krakow is shipped and billed from Pulaski and incoming freight is generally received at the same station. Under present conditions all freight must be hauled by team from about three to five or six miles. A village of the size of Krakow naturally requires a considerable amount of package freight and the mills alluded to above furnish considerable quantities of carload freight, all of which has to be hauled relatively long distances over country roads. Under other circumstances and in cther localities this might, in specific cases, not be unreasonable in itself, but in the present case we are inclined to believe that the respondent company can justly be asked to provide some relief. Counsel for the railway company argued forcefully that the establishment of stations was primarily a matter of discretion with the railway company. To this proposition we are inclined to assent fully. However, it is probable that if all the facts brought out at the hearing had been fully before the officials of the railway company at the time when the stations on this branch were first established, its discretion would perhaps have been exercised somewhat differently. The mills at Krakow had been in operation before the railway was constructed through that territory and the village appears to have been founded more than a quarter of a century ago. In other words, long before a railroad came into this country a village of good size, especially when the development of the northern part of the state is considered, had grown up and substantial industries founded, which appear to have been somewhat neglected in the establishment of the original stations on the line. According to the testimony there are no physical conditions connected with