The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-25

he coniured with. No better man
could have been selected to handle the
affairs Of the company, because the
colonel has q host Of friends, who not
only believe in his honesty and integ
rity, but has ability as a railroad man.
| He. with the late General Palmer, was
one of the worthy moving spirits of
the old Denver G. Rio Grande in its
narrow gauge days
An Empire Builder.
"When Mr. Moffat was made presi.
dent the road was broad gauged and
Colonel Dodge built tho Denver & Rio
Grande Western on from Grand June
tion to Salt Lake City. When Moffat
was the president of the railroad Gov
ernor Evans was building the old Den
vcr & New Orleans that paralleled the
Rio Grande railroad from Denver TO
Pueblo. The fight made by the Rio
Grsnde on this enterprise ruined Gov
crnor Evans, and he died with an cs
tate badly tangled up and on the bor
der of bankruptcy. In course of time
Mr. Moffat lost the presidency of the
Rio Grandc and conceived the PROPOSE
tion of building the Moffat road from
Denver to Salt Lake City, and started
II once TO carry out his plans.
William G.. Evans, the son of the
governor, was taken into the confidence
of Moffat and grew TO be his right |
hand man, which has led some people
to think that perhaps Mr.. Evans did
not work as hard as he might have
worked to make the Moffat road i
success. but that is another story.
"Thc men who are now behind the
road are heavy bondholders in the
Moffat enterprise, and secured their
bonds in settlement for building the
sixty-six miles from Gore canyon to
Steamboat Springs After the road |
was complete TO Steamboat Springs Mr.. |
MofTat borrowed S4,o00,000 from the
Hailgarten Banking syndicate. and
hypothecated $S.000.000 of the Motfat
company's bonds as collateral. This
put the holders of bonds in the Dodge
syndicate in hazardous position, and |
they formulated plan to create what |
is known as the Motrat Securities com
pany to take over the Moffat road and |
save AS much as possible for the widow !
of Mr. Moffat
Colonel Dodge's Plans.
cit is generally understood that the
widow disposed of her bank holdings |
to meet the obligations to the Hall |
garten syndicate, and thus enable
Colonel Dodge 10 carry out an arrange
ment to pull the road out Of the mre |
That he will do il if human ingenuity !
and brains can accomplish anything, |
goes without saying Probably about
the first thing he will do is TO build |
short connection between the Moffat |
road and the Rio Grandc. distance of
thirty miles. which will enable the Rio
Grande to use the Moffat tracks into
Denver, saving eight hours on passen
ger service and from fifteen to seven
teen hours on freight service, and up |
wards of 200 miles in trackagc. BY
this act Denver will be put on the
transcontincntal line for the first time
i'll its history
"What about the extension OF the
Moffat road west of Steamboat Springs
into Utah?' - was asked.
81 can only volunteer an opinion in
that matter. replied Mr.. George, "but
realize that Colonel Dodge, who is at
the head of the COMPANY has bad exper
fence and rather favors an intrastate
proposition rather than an interstate
proposition. In the old days when the
Rio Grande ended AT Grand Junction,
there was no howl about freight rates.
They compared very favorably with OK
teams and staging rates, and not until
the road was built from Grand June
tion on to Salt Lake did the fact be.
come known that the interstate com
merce commission was in the way to
force rates that dcmoralized local
roads.
''The colonel can build the Moffat
road on to the Utah line, and with the
aid of spur tracks reach the Gilsonite
fields, the coal fields and the agricul-
tural country around Vcrnal, without
subiecting his road to the jurisdiction
of the interstate commerce commission.
BY so doing he can create railroad
proposition that Will he one of the
best payers in the state of Colorado.
because the country that the Moffat
road is opening up is unquestionably
the richest agricultural country. graz
ing country and fruit country within
certain limitations in the state. Be.
side. there are tremendous deposits of
anthracite coal. said TO be far in ex.
cess of the old original coal fields of
Pennsylvania. and bltuminous. Ignite
and coking Goals around everywhere,
Thinks Utah Should Help.
Without doubt the colonel will II
build the tunnel without asking the
to do so, because he is bright enough
to realize that he wants to own and
control that tunnel for his road, and
he will do so. The colonel is very
active man for man of his years,
and will no doubt live to see the tun-
mel completed -
"Well how about building the road
into Utah?" was asked.
If there is any building into Utah,
the building, think, will have to be
done by the Utah people, replied Mr..
George. "There was syndicate here
once TO build that road. and no doubt
they will now be given an opportunity
to do so. am told the survey is not
L u. "A /