The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-11-29
ROCKEFELLER IS AFTER GOLD
Oil Trust Magnate to Build a Rail
road Into RAINY Lake. {

road into Rainy Lake.
John D. Rockefeller has the gold
fever, it is believed, and seriously con-
templates extending his operations be-
yond the plebeian fields of oil and iron
INTO the aIluring realm of the yellow
metal. The reason for this belief saws
the Chicago Tribune. is found in the
actlon OF the board of directors of the
Duluth & Iron Range railroad which
Is generally considered TO be controlled
by the Rockefeller interest, in voting
TO increase the stock from 100000 to
$le,000OC0 at a, meeting held in this city
yesterday. This followed as the result
OF the action of the stockholders at a
meeting held in Duluth the day before.
Inc connection between this action
and operations in the gold fields is
found IN the Well-grounded suspicion
mat large amount of this unusually
large increase of stock is to ~be de-
voted to the construction of a branch
Inc OF the road extending up into the
Rainy Lake gold regions lying on the
American and Canadian border. which
are likely to become very rich pro-
ducers.
There was disposition on the part
OF the directors to deny that any such
movement was contemplated, although
admitted that the officers of the road
had been approached in regard to the
matter of building road into that
region and that it might be done if it
could be done to advantage
Those present at the meeting were H.
II: Porter of the Chicago & Eastern
Illinois road: Marshall Field. j. l..
Greatslnger, Duluth, president of the
Duluth Iron Range road; D. e. Ba-
con, of Tower. Mimi, president of the
Minnesota Iron company, which is the
heaviest stockholder of the road; C. w.
Holland, OF Duluth, secretary and
treasurer of the road; M. j. Carpenter.
Chicago, chairman of the board of di-
rectors; G. P. Coffin and James Belden
OF Chicago; and j. H. Chandler, Chi
cago, general solicitor of the road.
Other directors not present were D. o.
Mills and George S. Brewster of New
York
The present mileage of the road is 1854.
extending from Two Harbors, on the
northern shore OF Lake Superior. q
miles east OF Duluth, in Il northeasterly
direction to Ely, MINI. It lies entirely
along the Mesaba range, and, in CON
nect1on with fleet of II steel boats,
nine steamers, and five barges is en-
gagged IN transporting the ore of the
Minnesota Iron company to market.
The two corporations. While distinct
in name, are in fact identical in their
interests. and both are supposed to be
dominated by the Rockefeller interests.
To build into the Rany Lake region
would involve the construction of about
80 miles of road, and it is difficult to
reconcile the large increase of stock
just voted with any other scheme of
improvements. It Is admitted that it's
purpose, in addition to making extern
sive improvements along the range in
the way of added mileage and increase
of rolling stock, is to put the corpora
ton in position to take advantage
Of any contingency which may arise,
which, under the circumstances. it is
not unreasonable to assume, lies in the
direction of Rainy Lake branch.
]. H. Chandler, general solicitor of
the road, speaking of the action of the
directors said that under the laws of
Minnesota, no stock can be issued ex-
cept it be fully paid up either in money
property, labor or material, and that
the new stock will only be issued and
used from time to time as required in
making necessary extensions of the
road and improvements. a large sum
would be spent he said, in the construc-
ton Of additional docks at Two Har-
bors, While s1,000,000 will be spent in
the new equipment during 1898 The
road has a charter, he said, to build
to the Gun Flint lake country, about
GO miles distant In a northeasterly di-
rection on the border, but nothing
would be done until it became apparent
that it would prove a paying invest
ment. He said the road had been So
licited TO build into the Rainy Lake
region and might do so