The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-04-14
sALr.L.KE s. Los ANGEL rs.


been foremost and active in promoting
the Salt Lake d Los Angeles railway
have a<eally retarded matters; these
same grumolers would also like to have
it understood that the promoters were
liz some manner making money out OF
somebody by delaying the building oil
the road. In Friday issue OF THH
HERALD appeared a communication
from Gir. c. H. Roser, the chief engi'
neer, a gentleman who is not only more
familiar with the line than others, bui
ia also acc TAINTED with the financial me-
gO.iations and arrangements. Hi;
statement is clear and frank, and should
be sufficient answer to the carpers who
are criticising and censuring the pro,
motsFs.
Fault is found because the local Or
ganization of last fall was abandoned
and the business turned over tc
the gentlemen who are now
spoken of as if they were
scAemers ega,n3t the success Of the
enterprise, rather than Its friends. Is
there anybody here so verdsnt as to
imagine for a moment that the citizens
OF Salt Lake could if they would build a
railway to Los Angeles? If there are
any such, they cannot realize the truth,
that Salt Laka City and all the property
in it, could not be mortgaged for enough
money to build and stock the line for
more than one-half the distance. 1t
was and is idle to talk about Salt Lake
building the road, or even making an
earnest stagger towards it. The money
isn't here, the, security isn't here, and
neither the money nor the security can
be obtained by anyIpromises or show
ing We have to make. The plain truth
is al assistance had necessarily to
come, from the outside; all that any of
us could do was to offer good will
and encouraging words, and they were
given heartily. True, we might
have constructed fifty or hundred
miles OF railway, which would
have taken the line nowhere; and the
road would have no sooner been
opened, than somebody would have
been appealed to te take it off Our
hands, not at cost, bat st any bankrupt
figure which he might propose. We
have had enough Of that style of rail
road building, and have endured
enough of the scandals connected with
such enterprises. 1t ispot the way to
construct railways.
THE HERALD is familisr with all that
has bsen done in this railroad business
1t knows that the promoters went into
the scheme in good faith; that they
have been honest in what they have
done, and that they have worked ener-
geticaRy, faithfully and intelligently.
They understood the gi.antic ma
ture Of the undertaking, and knew
that it Wouldrequire industrious ''rust-
ling" to accomplish anything; twenty
or twenty-five millions could not he
obtained for the mere asking there
was only enc place in America where
the money could be had, which was
New York; and there were very few
men or syndicates OF men who con-
trolled such a SUM. The promoters
went to New York and approached the
parties through whom the money might
be obtained. and since, there has been
no cessation OF work. Data has been
collected, the country which it is pro-
pose d to traverse has been visited and
it's resources, possibilities and proba-3
bilities carefully noted, and all facts
possible to obtain have been faithfully
gathered and presented. And now the
negotiations are moving forward as
as anyone with intelligence has
the right to expect them to move. The
have done and are doing
their utmost, es everybody at all famil-
lar with what has been going
on these past six or eight months must
know. Money cannot bs had for the
asking. Capitalists, before they invest,
must he satisfied that the Investment
will be reasonably safe and profitable:
and inst at this time, when so many
railroads are in the hands Of receivers.
and so few are paying dividends on
their capital stock, it is no easy matter
10 convince men with money that there
aas not been excessive railroad building.
AS to the mean suggestion that the
promoters of the Salt Lake & Los Au-
yeles are not working regularly, II The
characters of the gentlemen themselves
we're not sufficient answer to the in
situation, the fact tlat there can
De no incentive TO OTHER than
straight work should he such an
Iwer. Their money will come from
he building of the road, and not from
its construction. But this
s too triaing to notice.
Engineer Roser stated the case fairly
Vhen he said that the route was open,
nd all were at liberty to make the