Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-07-28
SMASH ENDS
DR.. PEARS0h'S
BIG PROJECT

New York, July 2s-Back of the
Tuesdays stock market smash, and
one of the contributing causes of the
financial unrest, was tie sudden end
ing of the Napoleonic enterprise Of DR..
It. s. Pearson, who for nine months
had engineered a most spectacular and
unfortunate effort to dominate Ameri-
can railroading. DR.. Pearson was
backed by a syndicate of English and
Canadian capitalists. The bulk of the
railroad stock held by the syndicate
has been transferred to a New York
syndicate headed by Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
The project was a reminder of
Hartman in conception, however I'M
like him in execution The men behind
it, from the manner in which they car
ried on their operations, contemplated
nothing more nor less than obtaining a
dominant interest in a chain of rail
roads extending from the Atlantic to
the Pacific coast.
DR.. Pearson, a Canadian who is said
to have been a professor of engineer
ing at Tufts college, is an engineer as
well known to British and Canadian
tinanciers from the success Of his oper-
atoms in Spanish-American railroads
as is that other Pearson, Sir Weetman,
from the profit derived from tunnel
building in Great Britain and this
country. DR.. Pearson, who Is not re-
lated toy the other engineer of that
name or associated with him in bust
ness, attracted the attention of British
and Canadian Investors principally by
the organization and operation of tram
way companies in South America and
Mexico. Investors and bankers derived
remarkably handsome profits from
these enterprises, so that ON embarking
in business in this country he had pow
erful financial backing.
The first big venture of DR.. Pearson
and his associates in this country was
made.in the latter part of last year. 1t
was in the stock and bonds of the
Rock Island company, which owns the
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Rail-
road company, which in turn owns
practically all of the stock Of the old
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Rail-
way company, one of the best Of the
granger lines. %
Next the Pearson syndicate turned
its attention to the Lehigh Valley rail-
road. Lehigh valley stock, which sold
as low as 81 In the early part of last
year, SCARED up to 12lA IS a result, in
part, Of these purchases.
DR.. Pearson and his associates went
further until, as it became known yes
terday, they had bought into COM
panies with a stock capitalization of
fully $485, 900, 600 par value and con
trolling 1897 miles of road extending
from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Lehigh valley runs from New York
to Buffalo and Rock Island from Chi
cago west. to Denver. Here vas a big
gap between Buffalo and Chicago and
the syndicate bought into Wabash, a
road loosely controlled by the Goulds
which connects these two cities. From
Denver to the Pacific coast the best
available route was by the Denver
and Rio Grande which owns two-thirds
of the stock of the recently completed
Western Pacific. But 40 per zen of.
the Denver and Rio Grande stock is
owned by the Missouri Pacific, so that
In order to acquire substantial infiu-
ence in Denver 1t was necessary also
to acquire substantial influence in
Missouri Pacific.
But the ambitious plan Of the Anglo
American syndicate was not realized.
The transfer of its stock to the New
York syndicate followed the violent
stock market smash here ON Tuesday.