New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-08-16
HISTORY OF TIE GREAT RAILROAD.
ITS VARIED CAREER UNDER J\i CpokE' NI
BILLINGS AND HENRY WILLARD.

For the second time in it, history the Northern
Pacific Railroad finds itself forced 10 the proto''o"
OF the courts ami confronting Reorganization. III
hath instances the downfall has been colncId'ht
with an extraordinary condition OF business ne
pression and financial stringcncy. although the rst
bankruptcy was the prelude of the credit panic
rho con,uany was chartered by act of Congress
.nprov.i Juy . 1851. with capital OF Sl~o"'Vo'
and the formal organization was coinPeu'p ic'''
Der s. 1884, with Josiah Perham as Inc llrSt P''''
dent Constructor was begun IN Jny' lN''' anu
ON October 3, ls,l. the road hai peeh co'"P''''"
from a junction with the Lake superior anu "'A
sissinni River Railroad NOW the 81. Paul ana
pu,n,b, 10 the Fed River OF the North. IA distance
., ,,S miles The failure Of Jay Cooke 'o' ol
Philadclpha. the bankers ana boomers Oh '''
cnterprise which started the panic OF 1873 'h'c"
the company into embarrassment ana IL ""'
forced TO default lis interest on January l. ht'
4, that time iel miles of road had been finished.
Foreclosure proceedings followed on April d. 800
and on August T.. 1875, the bondhoId'rs bought III
IN. road I'm the reorganization which followed
The now company was furnished with &lWlV" pre-
forrcd stock and <i9O00.GD common stock. VI 'he
,refcrr.I stock So. C0ugD was issued Tor the par
and interest of the old 1910 per cent bonds or
the common stock S29,?j2Go0 issued To the ola
stockholders and the remainder used for tn" old
.orr,e,,rv interest Of the original organizers.
In tho sprng of 1879 the company. then con-
,ro,lcd lv the Eings Philadelphia interests, was
able To recommencc construction In the carry
part of 1851 there was an extraordinary pun siNo-
ulatiou in the stocks Of the Northern faclhc 'oin-
many Wall Street wondered for long time what
tho significance OF the movement meant. me
street WAS also fun Of curiosity over "blihd
nool" which had been formed by some OF the
large speculators and houses with extensive Ter
man connections and left to the management or
Ucnrv Willard then "a new figure downtown ana
fresh from a successful contest with Jay 'ouiu
over the Kansas Pacific Railroad Mli''o"s VI
money had been intrusted TO Mr. Nillarn > MINUS
uI,hout hint as 10 the direction In which Its manip
ulation was to make handsome prohts io' ''e
confident investors. The transaction was unique IN
the history OF Wall Street. but at last the scr.
= the blind pool" came out Mr.. Willard had
organized the oregon and Transconuheh'ai ON"
many for the purpose OF uniting the interests Oh
the oregon Railway and Navigation Company ana
the Northern Pacific Railroad under one control
He achieved his end and In September 1851 DC
came president OF the Northern Pacihc' WIN
board ready TO execute his future plans
The Willard regime in Northern Pacihc hau Il "'s
astrous end The road was completed III septem-
her lSs1 and ON Sep;ember OF that year the
yolden sriI,e uniting the eastern ana western
divisions was driven with pomp ana ceremony
Ju; Mr. Wizards schemes were at that H'o"e'i'
on the verge OF collapse. The competitor vi Tue
road had involved expenditures lar III eAc.ao vi NV
estimates: the company became iinahca''y cru
barrassed, and the stock fell with crash 'ir
Wizards fortune was swept away ana ne went
into retirement In Germany Tor se'e'"
Robert Harris succeeded him as presue"t Vi '''e
Northern Pacific.
But MIR Wizards spirit was by no means uau,'e ',
He spent his time In Germany IN ""'"'"s ~