Henderson gold leaf., 1911-08-31
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
CONTINUED from page one)

valley. with Pittsburg and Buffalo "T
the east and Cincinnati and Chicago OF
the west. forming trunk line from th'
Croo+ I .akes tO the South Atlantic sea
board"
Work is being rapidly pushed Oh
the Ohio division to effect "hlch COZ,
uection a tunnel one mile in length
under the Big Sandy had to be h2-
ured in the calculation. But even
with mile tunnel to be bored that
part of the construction work IN lInK-
mo no the Clinchfeld road and the
Seaboard Air Line into great trunk
line from Chicago and Cincinnati to
tha South Atlantic seabOard Is not
as heavy as what has been accom-
plished at this end.
In addition to what ! had to say
last week about the road, the follow
ing is interesting and informing.
Writing about the Carolina, Cllnch-
field e Ohio Railroad and it's builder
Charles J. Harkrader said this:
"To build this road required nerve and
millions, coupled with the highest order
OF ability. George l.. Carter, VINO con
ceived the scheme, possessed much money
himself, but not enough by any means
to build the road he had planned. lie
saw the money kings OF New York. The
engineers made their reports, saying
that it would cost an almost fabulous
sum to build the road, and almost as
much as would be necessary to build an
average railroad thousand miles IN
length. The money men would have
none of it. TO build a railroad straight
through the toughest mountain section
Of the Appalachian system was too big
oven for Wall Street to tackle But lie
was undaunted. -,
"Mr Carter persisted, and it is said
that he spent nearly SlOOO,oOO out OF
his own pocket to get help. upon MS ms
own responsibility he bought 3eO, ,ooo
acres of coal land in the Cllnchheld dls-
trict. It's value could be realized only
on construction OF the proposed raii-
road. He secured experts to make estl-
mates. lie saw that the world was
consuming coal at the rate OF about SIX
billion tons a year and that there must
be more fuel. He got options on much
more virgin coal property. The owners
gave them without hesitation, as they
had given options before and no sale
had resulted.
with the coal property clinched Mr..
Carter obtained data that caused the
financiers to take notice. Here was
something the world must have that
factories and railroads and lighting
plants may operate, that steamships
NAV run and the world keep warm.
Again work had been begun on the Pan
ANA canal and Mr.. Carter realized that
many million more tons OF coal would
be needed for ships bound for the canal.
cSaling station would be needed. The
tinanciers gasped when the figures were
presented. They sent experts and other
experts and they all reported the coal
supply inexhaustible The fuel could be
marketed by building Mr.. Carter's road
and he alone had the key to the situa-
ton. There were the railroads and cot
ton factories in the South crying for
cheaper fuel which the new road would
make possible by reducing the haul sev-
eral hundred miles
1T was Thomas Fortune Ryan, the
most daring capitalist probably in the
world, who saw the opportunity He
had some large railroad interests in the
bouIhy hll VI Nhltu were COLhlutltb
This was another inducemcnt for him t,
take hand
In the world of finance. where Ryar
leads Others quickly follow. He organ
lied syndicate and included in it Nor
man b. Ream, of Chicago, late owner o
the Erie, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, o
Boston, James A. Blair and others O
New York. They started Mr. Garter tC
work, giving him money as fast rs h
could use it. For four years he almos
Ghoveled the money out and accom-