The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-20
NIPPED
FOR MILLIONS
Vice President of Standard Oil
Company 0verreaChed
Himself in Project.

New York, Sept. 1O,-Reports have been
current on Wall street for some time that
H. H. Rogers of the Standard Oil com
pany had beer heavily interested in the
tidewater railroad project in Virginia and
that he had lost heavily by the invest
ment- The Evening Post says today that
it can be stated positively that Mr.. Rog-
ers incurred a personal obligation in the
tldewater project much in excess of S40,-
Op,V0. The Evening Post says:
Confirmation was obtained in Wall
street today of reports to the effect that
Il. Il. Rogers was heavily interested in
tie tidewater railway project.
Forty Per Cent of His Fortune.
According to the stories previously
circulated upwards of 20 per cent of Mr.
Rogers fortune has been involved in the
tidewater investment 1t was reported
today that the personal obligation in
CURED amounted to S40.0000O0. 1t can De
stated positively that the sum is much
larger than the amount named also that
the situation has been entirely cleared
up.
'In order to meet the demands made
upon him in connection with the con-
structiOn of the railroad Mr.. Rogers was
forced to dispose of a large amount of
Investment stocks at a sacrifice All du-
ring the recent decline in prices the
vice president of the Standard Oil COM
pany sold gilt-edged stocks, such as
Standard Oil. Consolidated Gas. Union
Pacific and st. Paul.
Would Not Take Advice.
Some five OF six years ago, against
the advice of his friends Mr. Rogers
started to build in West Virginia low
grade road which would parallel the
Norfolk & Western. His object was to
carry coal and lumber to tidewater. The
me me was TO De IA miles long. Only Us
miles have been completed.
only few months ago, in order to
raise SIOOO0,OJ0 for the tideWater road
Fl. H Rogers issued his personal notes
secured by $4,000 600 first mortgage bonds
100000 stock and $4,000 900 dividend or
interest-paying collateral These ner
cent notes were endorsed by n II Rnr-
ers personally.
Project Doubtful.
Railway officials. who have watched
the construction of the road with in
tense interest from the beginning. saw
that the project, even at this stage is
more or less problematical- 1t is conf
IDENTIFY hoped, however, that with the
sacrifices already made in disposing of
high priced securities Rogers is in no
sition to gain his end and see the mile
age completed
ut was learned some mo0tbs 900 .ho+
the Standard Oil man and his associN
ates had bought UP all the avaiIa HE
lumber and coal lands in West Virginia
These purchases amounted to tho,,san5s
of acres and will at some futnpe s ILL
supply the tdewater road with traffic.
w. NJ. Page Is President,
Nv. n. Page is president of tbe tide
water railroad When completed tho roa5
will extend from Deepwater, w. V on
the kanawha river. to SewaITs Point
near Norfolk, Va The authorized Stn,i,
is S95.0o0,000. The first mortgage Der
cent bonds, none Of which have r.,
placed on the market. are issuable as
follows: s45, 600 for the constrI,ctyo,, -
the line from Deepwater tn SaH,a1Hs
Point, IA miles Of single track EoT
each additional mile Of single track on
the main line, $1,000 bonds may be is
so a. 1914 mile for branch lines, and