The Uganda Railway 



and down the existing railway from Kisumu to 

 Mombasa, thereby enabling this line also to derive 

 great benefit from the goods traffic. 



When the original Uganda Railway was pro- 

 posed it was considered by some people a mere 

 Imperialistic fad, and openly condemned by certain 

 politicians, who stated that it could never earn 

 sufficient to cover the cost of working and interest 

 on capital expenditure. Their pessimism further 

 indulged its outcry on the publication of the figures 

 for the first year after its construction, 1903- 1904, 

 showing a loss of ^107,500. Since that year the 

 beneficial effect it exercised upon the development 

 of the country has enabled it to make such sub- 

 stantial progress that the line has now proved itself 

 a sound commercial investment. 



During the year 19 10- 11 a net profit of ;^98,500 

 (which to-day has risen to ^134,000) was earned; 

 compared with ;^65,900 for the preceding twelve 

 months this is a great advance. The cost of 

 working is still high, but it is gradually being 

 reduced, and has been chiefly caused by the uneven- 

 ness of the up and down traffic, which naturally 

 causes waste. The most important increase was 

 in the carriage of cotton. The shipments were 900 

 tons larger, a very satisfactory indication of the 

 growth of the newly-started cotton industry, which 

 has been more successful than was anticipated, 

 especially in Uganda, where the natives, highly 

 gratified at the prices they have received, are 

 planting further large areas. 



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