The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1883-12-21
The First n. p. r. 4. President.

Josiah Perham, the first president OF
the Northern Pacific Railroad company
was man of great energy, integrity and
singleness of purpose. He was an en-
thusiast, but at the same time practical
man of business, and he had the rare
faculty of communicating his enthusi
asm to others. He was born in 1903, in
Wilton, Maine, and in his early business
career first country storekeeper, and
afterwards the proprietor of a small
wooden mill. Going into land specula-
ton In Maine, he failed, but afterwards
as a wool merchant in Boston, he was
successful, and honestly discharged in
full all the old debts from which the Law
had released him.
In Boston he exhibited a panorama
known as Perham's Seyen-Nile Mirror,
and organized cheap excursions from
country towns into the city and back,
selling the railroad tickets and tickets 10
his show at the same time. These excur-
sions became so popular that he devel-
oped his system greatly, sold out his pan
Drama and organized excursion tours 10
New York. Washington, the White
Mountains and other places. He may
justly be called the father Of the cheap
excursion system. He became interested
IN the general project for z Pacific rail-
road at an early day. In lSGO PeTham
obtained from the Maine Legislature a
charter for the Peoples Pacific Railroad
company. and organized the company in
Boston. This was the predecessor of the
Northern Pacific company. Perham's S
plan was to have his company adopted by
congress as the one TO build the road 10
San Francisco, and, failing IN this, he
fell back upon the Northern route, of
which he became an ardent advocate af-
ter the passage Of the Union Pacific bill
in 1862
In 1864. after two serious Efforts IN
Washington, Perham secured the passage
Of bill creating the Northern Pacific
company, and naming him and his friends
of the Peoples company, with others,
the incorporators. This result was tri-
umph of perseverance, enthusiasm and
devoted personal exertion.
The company was organized in Boston,
in the fall of 1861, end Perham was
chosen president. He had made the seri-
Gus mistake of inserting a provision IN
the charter act prohibiting the Is
sue of bonds. thinking that
this would popularize the scheme
AuaN Couiu AuC
millions of capital needed by subscrip-
tiOns to the stock. He believed that one
million of the people could be persuaded
to take one share each.
This was the lame spot in his plan.
The subscriptions were not forthcoming.
he was involved in debts contracted to
obtain the passage of the charter, and
in December, 1865, he was compelled to
turn over the franchise to an organiZa-
ton of New England capitalists and re-
sign the presidency. II was alleged
afterwards that the agreement with him
was not fully carried out. However this
may have been, the considerations he
received for sarrendering the control of
the franchise was barely sufficient TO dis
charge his debts.
Perham did not live to see the work Of
building the Northern Pacific begun. He
died in 1868, poor man, dependent upon
his son for support. His last days were
embittered by the reflection that he had
spent many years of his life in an enter
prise from which he had derived no bene-
fits, although he knew it was destined to
make the fortunes of many who had
borne no part in its early struggles.