The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-09
THE PEOPLES RAILWAY.
A Phladeiphian's View of the Great Ocean
to Ocean aud Lake to Gulf Route
PHILADELPHIA Times.

Philadelphia Times
1t is reported from Indianapolis that only
$3.50 98S, 900 are yet wanted to make up the
capital stock of the Peoples Railroad Com
pany of America" The entire remainder of
the 1850, 600, 900 needed to capitalize the road
has been subscribed and enough paid in to
hire hall and print 1000 circulars, one of
which reached this city yesterday. The
double tracks of this corporation are to
stretch from New York to San Francisco and
from Chicago to New Orleans The articles
OF association provide for II, 900 miles of
road, with a bonded debt of 1920 to the
mile, insuring an issue of $133O0O,-
600 worth of bonds. The stock
is to be divided into 1900, 600 shares of
S. each. This is to enable the poor man
to subscribe and is intended to suppant the
savings bank system of the country. From
the entire body of eighty-three stockholders
syndicate of two hundred and fifty is to be
elected. Of the eighty-three stockholders
forty-fve are residents OF Indianapolis and
represent an aggregate capital of $4,000.
From these the president and treasurer are
to be elected The latter is the well-known
terror of Wall street, ]. H Stewart, or Stu
art. The former is noted for the daring and
skill with which he doated the water-works
bonds of Waukeshaw and procured the list.
ing OF the securities of the Oshkosh Lumber
Company at the Podunk Stock Exchange
Freeman Wright, of ST. Louis, name whose
mention is heard with respect by the "old
lady in Threadneedle street." and with fear
by the spectators of the bourse, is to be the
auditor.
The plan was first presented to a syndicate
OF Cheyenne financiers, who refused TO touch
1t. Then the large-minded promoters of the
enterprise laid their plan successfully before
the millionaires of Laramie. Butte City,
Tombstone Gulch, Dead Horse Gully,
Skunks Hollow Painted Post and Penn
Yam. The timorous Shylocks of trade
were afraid of it. Then the scheme was
taken across to England, but the thing was
too big for them. 1t was an easy thing to
pocket Russian loan and put an army
across the Balkans, but to float the Ocean to
Ocean & Lake to Gulf Poor Mans Railroad
Company was quite another matter,
Three provincial bank officials, with COM
bined salary of 81, 500 a year and an expert
ence derived from shaving notes aud fore
closing mortgages, have tackled the enter
prise before which the money kings held
their breath. Though daring, they are still
cautious They do not propose to build the
whole road at once; neither do they intend
to lay out all their capital immediately, and
only portion of the $112, 900 subscribed will
be expended at present. This amount-ex-
actly how much is not stated-will be used
in laying tracks from San Francisco to Indi-
annapolis, bridging the Mississippi and Mis-
souri, rivers and tunnellng the Serras. The
management will at first chiefly depend for
revenue on the import of quinine for use in
the Ohio river bottoms To facilitate this an
abandoned enterprise will be revived on the
Pacific slope. This is the nearly forgotten
Helpers Alaskan and Patagonian Railroad
Company, which was a few years ago pros
pected, to be run from Sitka to Cape Horn
along the western coast of the North and
South American continents. The California
friends of the new Ocean to Ocean" road
now intend to complete the Helper line from
San Francisco to Lima
The financial strength of the company is
best indicated by an analysis OF the director
ate as far as completed Three members, J.
C. Shoemaker, ], H. aRice f. Kennedy are
Indianians three Messrs. R. j. Breckenridge,
W. B. Hake and B. F. Nelson, are Kentuck-
ians. Michigan is represent ted by David Par
sons, New Jersey by c. M. Schroeder and
Henry Traphagen, California by c. f. Messy,
Illinois by G. A. Broughton Massachusetts
by W. f. Lander and Pennsylvania by Jacob
Roberts 1t will thus be seen that the en-
terprise is backed from the great money cen
tiers of Bowling Green and Michigan City,
while the grass-grown abode of squalid pow
erty Known as New York city is entirely eX-
cluded. The same may be said of the pauper-
lied agricultural region of Philadelphia, since
Jacob Roberts, the Pennsylvania delegate is
not resident of this city.
Among the friends of the road is a promi-
nent Philadelphia financier, who was seen
yesterday by reporter.
Where will this hit?' was asked of the
plutocrat
"You will see the bottom drop out OF
Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio, New York
Central, Lake Shore, Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy, Wabash and Union Pacific in less
than thirty days. was the reply.
Won't Vanderbilt and Gould get hold
of it?'
How can they? If they put their for
tunes together they couldn't handle it, and
which they could spare wouldn't be drop
in the ocean of capital stock. Why the old
roads will be calling on the monopolists to
help EN- in no time"
what do you chiefly rely on for bust
ness?'
1.-THE whole world, dear boy-the whole
world. We shall shut up the Suez canal in
three years. The china tea trade will come
by our route, and all the traffic now passing
from the British Isles to British India by
the Mediterranean. On the Chicago & New
Orleans we shall rely on lumber one way
and tropical fruit the other. We will drain
South America like an orange"
"How much stock have your"
"One share" was the answer.
"Why not moreY'
"Givin' the poor man a chance, dear boy
This scheme is to benefit the masses. Poor
men want it ALL"
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