The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-02
4 MAGIC RAILROAD BUILDER.
,o1. Fl. f. MACHEN, WHO is KNOWN
IN GEORGIA.

min Man Who Proposes to Build the
y.rrs1vicIS and Birmingham Rail-
rood and How He Went About it.
poid Dollar for Dollar TO the Cred
,tors of the Macon and COvingtOn.
No,y Proposes to Stretch a Line
Across the COntinent-Captured
prunswicI< by Storm and Now the
whole Town Swears by Him.
brunswick, Ca, Jan. 1.--Col. Machen is
,,n from his sick bed,and once more again
,n Georgia with millions behind him
nusbing the Brunswick and Birmingham
Railroad from this great Deep water sea
mort to the immense coal and iron fields
Of Alabama. When, Machen, the indomi-
liable, came back from Europe this last
aims he was the Machen of old-one whom
the prefix Magic but added to his fame
and who as Lord of Hutchinson
Island" now the Seaboard Air Lines Sa-
vannah terminal had done his share to-
ward the South's commercial develop
1nent Machen had come to Georgia from
the North. He was unknown then, but
in a few short weeks his name was on
everyone's lips in Middle Georgia as he
,lnfolded plans for the building of rail-
road direct from Macon to Athens. Peo-
p,e laughed him and railroad folks said
If could not be done, but the road is there
to-day and in operation every hour. Then
again the Middle Georgia and Atlantic
possibilities fell under his eye. He began
to talk that route and people laughed
again, but the railroad is there. and
Georgians reap the yearly benefits. Then
came the developments of the vast North
Georgia marble quarres and all through
1t we see the magic hand of Machen, who
directed 4he destinies of these enterprises
involving vast financial capital
Suddenly Machen turned up missing.
Where he had gone and when he would
return no one down in these parts
knew. His property was here and those
who had it in control were rapidly letting
it go to ruin. Thousands upon thou
sands of dollars of unpaid bills were be-
ing piled up against the then Macon and
Covington, now Macon and Northern
Railroad. The road was placed il the
hands of a receiver and the cry went up
for Machen. Machen was then in Europe
and the financieEs of the, East found him.
They explained the status and asked
Machen what he could do to save their
money. --,,,.-.-- .-4-
Take the Macon and Covington out
Of lie hands of the receiver and turn 1t
over to me untrammelled and l will see
that it's debts are paid dollar for dollar
The financiers proposed this to the cred
itors. The creditors refused, but said to
Machen, who by this time had fastened
home from his London home and was
then in New York. They said IF you will
nav us % cents on the dollar we will turn
the road over to you and release to you
all our claims This was from such
firms as the Tidewater Steel Company,
the Baldwin Locomotive Works and the
Rogers Locomotive Works, the richest
and largest firms of their kind IN the
world. Machen laughed at them and re-
piled in substance: THE Macon and Gov
ington owes you three a total of $3.50, 900.
If YOU will take that road out of the re-
ceiver's hands and turn it over to me
will nav YOU dollar for dollar, but l will
not compromise with you at any price.
NV debts are worth their face value with
interest" The creditors came to Mach
ems terms. Within ninety days Machen
had paid the firms named above and all
other creditors 100 cents on the dollar
win interest.
This is a brief extract from the history
road from Brunswick to Birmingham,
who has millions at his back and whose
ultimate aim is to stretch a line acrosc
the continent from Brunswick, Ca, 20
San Diego, Cal, and sweep through
Brunswick the trade from the Eastern
Hemisphere while he exports through this
deep water South Atlantic port the pro-
ducts of the Souths cotton, coal and iron
fields and the corn lands of the West.
L. % Init a
when first he set foot on Brunswick ter
ritory. but when he stated what he was
after and some inkling of the manner OF
man that had come among them got
abroad. there was nothing too good for
Machen in the entire town. He went
away and in few weeks came back. he
knew then what he wanted and pro-
ceeded to pick 1t out. Mayor Atkinson
called Council together and 1t gave MIN
all that he asked for and offered more.
Then Machen went back and exhibited
to his financial bael1AEseueeraAed copies
of what Council had donated to his pro-
posed road. The next train out from New
York brought Machen again. He hit
Brunswick ON q bright October morning,
and in six hours had his attorneys at
work getting UP an application for
charter, organizing his board of incorpo-
rators, and by night had advertisements
mailed 10 every paper IN every county
seat along the proposed route. His incor-
porators were men of wealth and well
known business ability in Georgia and
Alabama, headed by Congressman w;
G. Brantley. =
Then Machen went North again and
four weeks rolled around. The specified
time for advertising the incorporators
having expired, the charter was granted,
and the next day Machen was in Bruins
wick again. Twelve hours afterwards the
temporary organization was perfected ana
twenty-four hours after the engineer crops
was in the field. Then Machen went to
New York again and the wires out OF
that city were kept hot with orders for
steel rails, machinery and other para
phernalia of a railroad construction com
pany Contracts were closed and men
rushed forward with laborers until on last
Monday afternoon Machen had men at
work throwing up the road bed.