Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1891-04-16
DIAMOND JoE's RAILWAY.
The Unique One Man Concern Passes
to His Widow

| |0@A
to His Widow
Diamond Joe" is dead The news
| comes to New York in telegram an
nounciDg application for administration
OF an estate valued at 50, 800, 900 in
personally. One item is half interest
in the Crown Point Mine at Leadville,
the co tenant being j. ID. Morrissey.
Another item is railway, probably the
only existing one owned exclusively by
woman. But, says the New York
Times, there are funnicr things than that
about Diamond Joe's road. There is no
use looking it up in the Investors
Supplement- for the road is not men,
toned there. But on the proper pages
OF Poor's Manual may be found this
entry:
HOT SPRINGS RAILROAD.
President. Reynolds, Chicago, I'll.
Secretary. Reynolds, Chicago, I'll.
Treasurer. Reynolds, Chicago, Ill
General Manager. Reynolds, Chic
ago, Ill.
Information refused. No bonded debt.
Capital stock, 5000, 1000.
hSic suC SOIuc SluJ1SblCS uuueu IN
Poor's Manual, but the most interesting
part of the story is not there. Mr.
Joseph Reynolds-no one would have
recognized the millionaire when alive by
that name-was a physical wreck, and
none too wealthy, when he went to Hot
Springs, Ark, to recuperate. As he
became stronger he reflected on the
twenty-five miles of stage ride which
separated invalids from the healing
waters, and he applied to the Legislature
for railway charter. 1t was granted.
and i'll consideration of the limited
traffic he was authorized to charge ten
cents mile until the road reached Hot
Springs. Strangely enough the road
was very slow in reaching Hot Springs,
and the fare continued for over dozen
years TO be ten cents mile to point
just in easy reach of the town limits.
But the suspicion grew that the road
was making too much money, and the
heartless Legislators about 1886 COM
pelled the compile ton of the road, and
reduced the fare to five cents mile.
Even at that rate the road is supposed to
net about 800, 600 annually on cost to
build of $500, 600, so that the fact that
the road is probably the only one in
existence without one bond outstanding
is not very surprising.
1t was also to be expected that Dia-
mond Joe's envious neighbors should
covet such gold mine. So it was quite
in the course of nature that the Memphis
and Little Rock should undertake to
parallel it. But the Hot Springs Rail
road acnanal hninsr oh
by enlisting as its champion Mr.. Jay
Gould. Mr.. Gould's Missouri Pacific
system includes the Iron Mountain, which
connects with the Hot Springs Company.
Rival roads would divide the business,
and Mr.. Gould dearly loves monopolies
81 which he has Il share. So there was
race of surveyors and fight in court,
with the result that instead of there
oeing three roads to Hot Springs there is
still only one.
Considering that Diamond Joe started
his business career by earning 81 a day
as a bark peeler it must be admitted that
late used him not unkindly. He and his
surviving widow, nee Morton, were both
natives of Thunder Hill, Sullivan county,
N. y, made his first money by saving
ais wages; then he took contracts to
supply bark to the same tannery where
Jay Gould graduated before he began
tanning hides in Wall street. He Dor
lowed money from the same man who
started Jay Gould in life, to-wit, Zadoc
Pratt, who began steamboating on the
Mississippi. Soon he owned fleet, and
acquired experience which enabled him
20 speculate in grain. 1t was after one
Of his rounds with the wheat pit tiger
That fate brought to him the chance to
Guild his unique railroad
His nickname has nothing to do with
his fortune, or with diamonds. 1t comes
from his autograph, so to speak, which
he put on every piece of property which
would take it, Every locomotive or
steamboat or bill of lading or consign-
ment, so far as he could control it, bore
his name in this fashion: