, 1883-09-22

'HC 4Oiost, in4iaui0u " perhaps hundred
people. Ii had nC harbor, but coed one
was obtained by cutting canal across a
long, narrow sandbank enclosing the Bay
Of Superior Construction was also begun.
Ia the same year. on the extreme western
division Of the road, running from the Co,
lum5ia river at kalanla nOrthward 10 Puget
Sound In 1871 the road was finished across
Minnesota to the Red River If the North,
and IN 1928 il vas built as far as the Mis-
sCGrl river, where Town was laid out and
named Bismarck On tie Pacific side l0J
miles OF road, between the Columbia river
and Puget Sound, were completed by the
fall ii 1913 and terminal city was laid
out IN dense fir forest, o. The Sound, and
named Tacoma
BANKRUPTCY AND REORGANIZATION.
The panic Of 1873 destroyed the banking
house of Jay Cooke & Co. and paralyzed,
for the time. the Northern Pacific enter
prise. The company was left with bond
ed debt OF about $50, 600. 600, drawing in
terest u. the high r2ie of : $40 per cent,
End with considerable floating debt
The earnings on its completed diIisiou
were barely sufficient To pay operating ex-
peEses. IRe country t-ayersct by Its line
had scarcely begun 10 attract settlers. Presi-
dent Smith resigned and VAS succeeded BY
General George ". Cass, and he, in turn,
by Charles B. Wright, Of Philadelphia.
Nothing could be done for 4 time but TO
persuade the creditors Of the company rot
10 press their claims, and 10 wait for the
storm 20 blow over In 1879, however, the
finances Of the company were reorganized
in 4 very successful manner. The bond
hoidCrs agreed 10 take preferred stock in
lieu Of their bonds. and the directors put
the company through 1. bankruptcy court
in an expeditions and inexpensive manner,
fighting of all the sharks and railroad
wreckerS that hang about great corporations
in distress The success Of this achieve
ment vas largely due to the Hon. Frederick
Billings, Of Vermont, who afterwards be
came President. During Mr Wright's ad-
ministTati0n. which lasted iiom 1873 10
1870, the company maraged TO pay off Its
floating deD;, and 10 operate the completed
portions OF lis road, so rs 10 gradually ac
cumlate 4 little surplus over running eX-
penseS-
IL also built thirty miles Of road on the
Pacific coast, from Tacoma 10 the extensive
coal field on the western side Os the Cascade
mountains. Mr. CasS and Mr.. Cheney, two
OF the directors, opened wheat farms IN The
Red River Valley Of the North, which de
monstraiei that tha. region was peculiarly
adapted for wheat culture Settlers began
10 come into northwestern Minnesota and
northern Dakota along The line of the road /;
new towns spTang up, and with this influx
OF population, the affairs OF the Northern
Pacific wore, year by year, brighter look.
WORK BEGUN AGAIN.
In 1879 the company had SO far recovered
its credit that 1t was able 10 borrow mOrey
10 resume construction operations on large
scale. Ii began to build from ;hc Missouri
river westward, and from The Columbia
river. in eastern Washington Territory, near
the junction Of the Snake river, northeast
wardlv i0xard Lake Pen d'Oreillc, in north
e7n Idaho. The company did rot feel strong
enough 10 put forth any financial scheme for
completing the entire road, but only asked
for money enough to build TWO divisions,
which il mOrtgaged separately, with the
land grants attaching to them. IN 1880,
after Mr.. Billings had succeeded 10 the
presidencv, negotiations were completed
with a syndicate of bankers, including the
New York houses Of MInslow, Lanier X
Co. Drexel. Morgan & Co, and August
Belmont IL Co. ami the London house Of
j 5. Morgan & Co. by which q loan OF
$40, OC0 600 was placed during that and the
two following years, ard money thus Sc
cured for completing the road across Mon
tana and filling the sap in the track, which
then amounted to over 500 miles.
HENRY WILLARD OBTAINS CONTROL
plI.N too n
place in the management of the Northern
Pacific's affairs Henry Willard, German
by birth, who came - this country at the
are of eighteen, and won considerable repu-
tarion asa newspaper correspondent during
and afteiSSe civil war, and who had be-
come intes Scd in railroad management IN
Kansas anJDregon as the representative OF
Large Ge1FIan financial interests, had grad
ually obtained control during the SIX years
following the panic of 1873 of the trans
portation lines by rail, river and sea IN the
State of Oregon. These lines he had con,
solidated ana greatly extended, so that they
represented what, for a new country, was 8
remarkably efficient transportation system.
In 1880 Mr.. Willard determined, il possible,
| TO secure a harmony of interests and control
between his Oregon lines and the Northern
Pacific line, so as to make the former the
western extensions and feeders of The latter.
| In 1881 he organized what was known as
| the "BIind POOL in New York, and oh
tsined within few weeks, from Subscrp
| tions. over IS. coo, 900 of money, without
disclosing the use which he meant to make
| nf This large sum. and without giving any
| other security than his personal receipts,
| With this money ard other means Of his
| own he quietly purchased a controlling IN
| teres; in The stock OF the Northern Pacific
| cornspy. and was ele2ued It's President in
| September of that year, placing his friend
| and former associate in railroad manage
| msnt IN Kansas and Oregon, Mr. Thomas
F Oakes, in the vice presidency, as the
| chief executive officer of the company.
INTERESTING FEATURES OF CONSTRUCTION.
| Construcijon operations went on rapidly
| duriuq tine wears 1880, 1881 and 1882, from
| both ends of the line. and at the beginning
| of the wear 1888. the track remaining 10 be
constructed was reduced 10 about 3Oo miles,
on which the grading had been manly
done. This gap was closed up during the
snrin- and summer of 1883. so that the
tracks were ready 10 be united on the eth o'
Senternher. The heaviest construction work
on the entire line Was In the valley oi the
CIarke's Fork of the Columbia. for about
I00 miles from Lake Pend d Oreil.e, where
the river runs through a narrow gorge.
fsnked on both sides by lofty and preclpi-
tens mountains. here was also consider
able difficult work in the valley OF the 1ei-
lnwstone in obtaining permanent roadway
along the face Of high bluffs Of disintegrat-
inc rock. and in managing the current OF