The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-05-15

BILE task Mr.. Grace, however. relleo
quite as much upon the natural re-
sources of Peru-for which he OBTAIN
ed concessions-as he did upon the
credit of Peru. which at that time was
practically extinct. His financing mace
it possible to complete the raHroae
over the Andes and to extend II 10 the
Zorro de Pasco silver and copper mines
After that had been done these mines
were bought by a syndicate, OF winch
the master mind was J. b. Haggln.
Mr.. Grace was also interested in the
syndicate which undertook to conplele
the international railway over TINS
Andes mountains in Chill, CONNECTING
with the transcontinental line built tc
the CHILEAN mountains by Argentina
These financings were successful, ana
as the risks were. great, the pronts
We're commensurate. Mr. Grace. WnS
had been for some Is years cltlzen Oh
New York, took up his permanent resi-
dence in England. He bought the his
toric Battle Abbey, near the battle
field of Hastings, and restored a por-
ton of it. 1t was his purpose to make
England his permanent home, and as
he was born in Ireland, he became, py
his own choice and without formalltS'
an English citizen again.
The agitation, political, social and
Industrial in Great Britain and tht
underlying apprehension by which sc
many men of capital or wealth. IN Greal
Britain are now dominated have leo
him to abandon his English home and
unless he changes his mind, to take up
his permanent residence in the United
States
Friends of Mr.. Grace report him as
believing, as the duke of Sutherland
does, that it is inevitable that capital
in large amounts be withdrawn. from
British investment and replaced IN oth-.
er parts of the world
a Reversed Movement
James T. MacRoberts, who is one
of the vice presidents of the National
City bank. will. If all goes WELL arrive
in New York some time this week III
early March Mr.. MacRoberts sailed foi
France purposing some financial nego-
tiations or understandings in Paris and
planning also to visit Spain. His pur-
pose was not a secret one. 1t became
known to Americans of large capital
who are now living in Paris that the
king of Spain had given the most en-
thusiastic approval to the proposition
that a railroad be constructed from
Madrid, or a point some miles north
of Madrid, to the Pyrenees and then
by tunnel work carried under the
Pyrenees to the French boundary line
There connection was to be made with
one of the national railroads of France.
From the engineering and scientif<
point of view the proposition has re-
ceived the cordial Endorsement of Mr..
John F. Stevens, who was at one time
the consulting engineer of the Panama
canal.
Competent business men, both of
Spain and of France, who looked into
the proposition reported that there was
no doubt that the railroad. could be
conducted at commercial profit. 1t be-
came known, too, that Spain was will
ing in some way to subsidiZe the pro-
position, or to indorse with her owr
n of .iaY-S In
ing to undertake the construction of
the road. The rough estimate was that
it would cost about 60 million dollars
to build and equip this railroad.
This proposition appealed very strong
ly to American financiers who are
prominently identif1ed with the Ma
tional City bank of New York. Vice
President .1acRoberts is returning tc
the United States from the negotia-
tons in Paris and in Spain prepared
to report that the proposition is pro-
crossing very tfavorably. Therefors
unless there be some setback, it is pro-
bable that a railroad. International
because connecting France and Spain,
costing not less than so millions, will
be financed with american capital.
While it is with great difficulty that
American railroads are able to procure
needed funds with which to improve
their plants and equipment or to con-
struct nSw lines, the disposition now
favors the investment of
American capital in some of the larger
railway undertakings of Europe SO
that it is now sometimes said, Can it
be that the unrest prevailing in the
Unit ID States and political agitation in
this country are beginning to force
American capital away, and will this
tendency continue?' The truth pro-
badly is that American capital finds
opportunities for more profitable in
vestment in some of the nation-spon
sored undertakings in Europe than in
the United States.
Vice President Kilborn, who is also
of the executive staff of the Nationa
City bank, is now in Russia for the
purpose of learning whether certain
Russian propositions for railway con-
struction or nationalized industries JUS
tify Americans in financing these pur-
poses. No definite reports have been
from Mr.. Kilborn or, if any
have, they have been confidential But
it would cause no surprise in financial
circles in this city if it were to be
disclosed within the course of a few
months that American capital has I'M |
iertaken to finance-and in large meas |
ure-some important railway PROPOSE |
tons in Russia. The Russians havcl
always had kindly sentiments for |
american railway builders. for it was
an American, Captain Whistler father |
Of the great artist, James Abbott Nc /
Neill Whistler, who surveyed and Their |
built the first national railway of Rus |
STA which connects ST. Petersburg wit. |
Moscow. HOLLAND.