Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-03

Chicago. Iowa & Dakota sections OF the
New York Susquehanua & Western; St
Louis & Hannibal Bangor & Portland,
Kansas City & Southern. Cayuga & Sus-
puehanna. Cedar Rapids & Missouri River
Green Bay, Winona & st. Paul; Green Bay
& stevens Point. Sioux City & Pacific, Iowa
Falls & Sioux city, Chicago. Iowa & Ne
braska: Fremont. Elkhorn & Missouri VAL
ley; Maple River, Sussex & Mount Hopei
Kansas city, Osceola & Southern.
From the first railroad which he built Mr..
Blair. with others, developed what Is now
the Delaware. Lackawanna & Western sys-
tenn II was not uHti 1860 that he under
took railroad building in the west. In that
year he was sent as a delegate to the Chi
cago convention which nominated Abraham
Lincoln for the presidency. After the con-
vent!on he and other delegates were invited
to ride over the lines OF the Chicago, Iowa
& Nebraska railroad. The railroad officials
were anxious to extend the line further
west, and, knowing that Blair was a very
wealthy man, they wanted to interest him
i'm the road If possible lie looked the road
and tho country over, liked what he saw
and decided to put money into the scheme.
one Of the railroad officials asked him who
he thought would be the best man to look
after the building of the extension of the
road to Omaha.
Railroad work in the West.
Soon after that Mr.. Blair took all the
construction work Off the company's hands
and built the road. That road Is now part
of the Chicago & Northwestern system.
few years ago Mr.. Blair with considerable
pride made the statement that he had built
every road with which he had ever been
connected for cash and without putting
dollars worth of its stock on the market to
.f4,.f t.1s H., l.
road operations he had spent S26,OOo,OOo all
of which he either advanced himself or
raised among his friends In the building
Of all his western roads Mr.. Blair secured
enormous land grants as premiums. In
connection with his work on the Union Pa
ciiic he got 100000 acres of land in Iowa.
For finishing the Iowa Falls & Sioux City
road he got 100000 acres. For building the
Sioux City & Pacific road, from Sioux City
to Omaha, and the Blair cut off from Mis-
souri, Valley junction, on the Chicago &
Northwestern. connecting 1t with the Union
Pacific at Fremont, he got $4,000 acres of
land He built railroad up the Niobrara
valley in Nebraska and took the premium
offered by the state of 100000 acres of land.
With all this land on his hands, received
as premiums for building railroads, Blair
had to do something with it, He formed
land companies and these companies, under
his direction, have laid out the sites for
what are now more than 100 fourishing
cities and towns in the west. In his rail-
road building it was usually Mr.. Blair's
custom to take a road that somebody had
begun and failed to complete, rebuild 1t
entirely or complete it and then lease it or
sell it to trunk line In this way he made
a profit on the railroad building acquired
great quantities of valuable land and made
more money by selling or leasing the road
he had thus rehabilitated.
The last road that Mr.. Blair built was the
kansas City, Osceola & Southern This
road was completed only last year, and the
finishing touches were put on under direc-
tion other than his Before the road was
completed Mr.. Blair leased it to what rail-
road men call the Frisco line, and he
terms of that lease show what kind OF
bargain he was accustomed to drive. No
one else owns a dollar in the road The
Frisco line wanted it for connection, and
he told the managers that his property was
not for sale, but that he would lease it to
them at monthly rental of 1000 with 40
per cent of the gross receipts in addition.
The road is 10 miles long and connects
Kanoche Junction with Osceola, Mo. The
directors of the Frisco line laughed at the
old gentleman, and he told them that he
didn't care a hang whether they took his
road or not. They took it.
Mr.. Blair has not been particularly active
in business affairs for the last four years,
but not until year ago did old age compel
him to give up his business. His vast business
interests are now entirely looked after by
his son, Dewitt Clinton Blair; his private
secretary and nephew, Dr. w, H. Vail, and
Conrad Miller, who lives at Nazareth, Pa,
and succeeded Mr.. Blair in the active man
agement of the railroads in which he is
Interested Most of Mr. Blair's business is
now transacted at the banking house of
Blair & Co., of which firm he is the senior
member, at SO Wall street. Up to 1887 he
was a director or president or both, of all
the roads that have been mentioned