The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-11-26

his line. People laughed at him and
belittled his enterprise. Fnanciers
would not listen. The treatment he re-
ceived was not contempt, but it was
close to it, Men who now are giving
him hearty encouragement and money
aid admit that they once thought his
enterprise folly and him joke.
Faith and Persistence.
Great faith in himself is Johnson's
greatest asset. He is not egotistical or
aggressive, but on the contrary he is
timid and speaks almost in a whisper.
But If he Is not heard the first time
he says it again and again, until per
sistence wins first a hearing and then
confidence,
When no one thought such railroad
possible, he commenced selling his
property, First he disposed of the
Nez Perez flour mills to l.. w. Robin
son and put the proceeds into grading.
Then he sold to A, Welch of Portland
the Lolo Water Power company's
power and light system and put the
proceeds into his railroad
A Real Builder.
Some years before he had built the
flour mill and the lighting plants be-
cause his home town needed them. He
had seen men haul water in barrels
and sell it from house to house in Nez
Perez because the town had no water
supply. So, like Jacob Of old, he dug
a great well for his townsmen, as ia
cob did for his people. Now there is
an abundance of water there.
But all these properties, with his
addition to the town, he sold in order
to grade and buy ties and rails. Even
hen he could not reach Vollmer with
his road
Farmers to Rescue.
Then he appealed to his farmer
neighbors. The banks would not help
him, but the farmers loaned him $780,
900 and took his note. Everyone said
he could not bond such piece of con-
| struction, that started nowhere and
ended no better. He wrote to the Far
well Trust company and offered them
his bonds. They refused. Everyone in
Lewiston, Spokane and Portland knew
he would be refused. SO he went to
see the Farwell Trust company They
looked at him, he looked at Them and
ne continued to look at them. They
took his bonds. The issue was for
$125,0O0 at per cent and the first
thing he did was to pay off, with in
terest, the loan he had from those far
mers who had so rashly trusted him.
What the Dream Road Did.
The read wouldn't pay. 1t couldn't
pay. Everyone knew that. But for
the four years ending June 80, 1914,
his net profit, after paying operating
expenses, interest and everything else,
was $31, 540.16. With, this profit he
paid off $4,000 of his bonds and has
put the balance into the construction
of the line out of Lewiston.
The Nez Perez & Idaho Railroad
company was organized in September,
Of 1908. 1t began operation between
Nez Perez and Vollmer in June, 1910.
Dr. j. B. Morris, mayor of Lewiston,
drove the first spike on the branch out
of Lewiston in September, 1913. This
piece was completed this week. In
order to build 1t he sold stock to the
Of nd hnrpnutn1
from farmers and Lewiston business
men about $4,000. This money, with
the profits from the Nez Perez branch,
and with what other money Of his own
he could procure, built II miles.
His Faith Contagious.
To extend this branch to Waha will
cost $4,000. His rails he is leasing
from the Northern Pacific, with the
privilege of purchase in 10 years. He
has not dollar with which to build to
Waha, but he says the road will be
built next year People are buying
stock now. John P. Vollmer, the Lew
iston multimillionaire, has subscribed
for $4,000 worth of stock.
Mayor ]. B. Morris of Lewiston is
subscriber to stock, and so are other
business men Of Lewiston. These sup
porters will frankly tell you there was
a time when they had not particle Of
confidence in T. A. Johnson. Now they
want his road built, not only to Waha
through the great wheat fields of Tam
many, but on over the Craig noun
tains. where the line will find billion
feet of merchantable timber.