St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-07

to his tobacco store and waited.
THE SUTRO TUNNEL.
His opportunity came in 1864. The
men who had control of the wonder
full Comstock mines had gone so
deep into the rocks with their shafts
that it cost more to work them and
pump them dry. SO that the work.
men could toll in safety from the in
coming waters, than the output of
the mines amounted to. Sutro made
a trip to the Comstock and closely
examined the shape of the mountain
in which it's shafts were sunk. After
several weeks inspection he decided
that the plan he had haIf-formed
before he went was feasible, and he
went to work at it. His scheme was
to bore hole under the mountain
to the lowest level of the mines
and let the water, whose pumping
was so costly, drain away of it's own
accord. 1t would take a lot of
money to bore the hole, to be sure,
but the owners of the mine would
gladly pay well for it's use as
profits rolling into the Sutro pockets.
Then began the really big fight of
his life; the first contest in which
the stakes were high. His acquaint-
ances pook-poohed his plans. Some
OF them even made fun of him, and
others said his intelleetuals must be
affected. But these things did not
trouble him, and he was so full of
enthusiasm that after while he be-
gan to secure subscriptions to the
stock. In 1866 he got a charter from
the legislature; shortly after that
he had 100000 raised, and straight
way he set men and drills and steam
engines at work on the tunnel
1t was years after that time, how
ever, before the last piece of rock was
Clipped out of the hole, and the early
fights for legislative charter and
100000 capital were as nothing to the
fight that began in 1870. In this
contest he had against him the Bank
of California, nearly the entire dele
cation in congress from the Pa
cific coast and the firms that worked
the mines and the mills, and the
scene of the battle was trans
ferred to Washington.
1t is possible that he would have
avoided this fight if he could have
done so, but to shrink then meant
ruin. His ready money and all he
could borrow had been absorbed,
and he had but one piece of real es-
tate left. 1t was in White Pine
county, but he sold it for $3.50 and
went to Washington, the proceeds
being his only available cash. A
bill had been introduced, the pas
sage of which would have rendered
the tunnel Of no value to its project
or. There were many charges that
money was used on both sides be-
fore the matter was decided, but, at
any rate, the bill was not passed,
and Sutro returned to the slope tri-
umphant. The completed tunnel
cost over $6,000,0G0, and soon after
it was in working order Sutro sold
out. The Comstock lode a little later
became less productive, and the
realized very little of late from their
investment.
SINCE THE TUNNELS BUILD
ING.
With the money realized from the
sale of the tunnel stock, Sutro
bought land in San Francisco right
IN <Nf
Sand Lot" Kearney that he hade
his real estate investments, and few
knew where or how much Sutro
bought. He secured 1920 acres, lit
tie of it occupied then, but now al
most all built over He still owns
1000 acres of it, and the possession
of this alone would make him a very
rich man. He is worth many mill
ions; just how much no one knows,
not even Sutro himself.
Among the other properties
bought by him at that time was the
famous Cliff house overlooking the
Pacific that was burned some time
ago. He desired to present to the
city the park surrounding the hotel.
and he requested the Southern Pa
clhc Railroad company, owner of
the only railroad from the city to
the park, to reduce the fare from 10
to cents. The company refused.
and then Sutro got mad and began
his present fight. It resulted in his
being put up for mayor last fall,
and his triumphant election, for the
people were with him, and he said
the other day that before he got
through there would be bankruptcv
for the Southern Pacific.
SPRECKELS JOINS SUTRO.
Claus Spreckels came into the fight
later than Sutro. Mr.. SpreckeIs' ire
mas been reused against the Southern
Pacific by reason of what he consid-
ers too high freight charges for carry.
ing his sugar.
Spreckels is an older man than Sutro
but, like him, is of German birth. The
sugar king came to America from West
| phalia, celebrated for hams. in 1870
twenty years before the man whose lead
he is now following. When he landed
In New York he had mighty little money
IN MS pocket, his mental training had
Deen OF the most rudimentary sort, and
| he had no knowledge of English. His
| most valuable possessions were robust
health, happy disposition and an
enormous capacity for work. He be-
| gan life here as laborer in a brewery
toillng early and late, spending little
and saving every possible cent. In
time he bought a small retail grocery
store down on Church street, and be-
gan to Accumulate money somewhat
faster. Then came the god fever, and
he disposed of his grocery and sat out
for the coast. There he decided, as
Sutro did, that the actual digging for
gold was not to his liking. He went
into the brewery business first, and
HE nTnNJ,rTS n